Tax back · Ireland

Tuition fees tax relief in Ireland: worked examples

Cases (2025 rules)

Worked out by the tax back checker’s engine, which reproduces Revenue’s five worked examples; each refund is capped by the income tax paid that year.

Who can claim, and for which courses

• The person who paid. You can claim for yourself or for anyone you paid fees for, such as a child, partner or other relative. If two people paid, each claims their own part.
• An approved course at an approved college. Revenue publishes the list. Undergraduate courses must last at least two academic years. Postgraduate courses qualify if they last one to four years, lead to an award based on a thesis or exams, and the student already holds an undergraduate degree or equivalent.
• Colleges abroad. Publicly funded or accredited colleges in other EU countries qualify; for postgraduate courses, so do publicly funded or accredited colleges outside the EU.
• Couples. A jointly assessed couple shares one claim and one disregard; any refund is split in proportion to the tax each paid.

How to claim, step by step

1. Sign in to myAccount and choose Review your tax for the previous 4 years, then the year the course started (or the year you paid).
2. Request the Statement of Liability, then Complete your Income Tax Return.
3. Under Tax Credits & Reliefs, choose Tuition Fees and add each student, college, course and the amount you paid. Include any grant, scholarship or employer payment towards the fees.
4. For the current year you can claim once the fees are paid, through Manage your tax for the current year. Self-employed people claim on Form 11.

Revenue does not ask for receipts when you claim, but you must keep them for six years: the Receipts Tracker in myAccount stores them for you. If a college later refunds fees you claimed on, tell Revenue within 21 days.

What people get wrong

• Expecting relief on one student contribution. On its own it equals the full-time disregard; the relief starts above €3,000.
• Taking the disregard twice. It applies once per claim per year, however many students you pay for.
• Claiming levies. Registration, student centre, sports and USI levies do not count; only tuition fees and the student contribution.
• Claiming fees a grant paid. Fees paid by SUSI, a scholarship or an employer are excluded.

Frequently asked questions

How much tax relief do I get on college fees in Ireland?
20% of the fees you paid, capped at €7,000 per course, after taking off €3,000 a year (€1,500 if all courses are part-time). A €8,500 master’s gives €800.

Is the student contribution covered?
Yes, the student contribution counts as a qualifying fee. But one €3,000 contribution is wiped out by the €3,000 disregard, so you get €0. Two children each paying €3,000: €600, because the disregard is taken only once a year.

Should I claim fees paid in instalments in one year?
Revenue lets you claim in the year the course started or in the year each instalment was paid, and says the first is generally better. €7,000 claimed in one year gives €800; split €3,500 and €3,500 over two years it gives €200.

Is the disregard changing in 2026?
The Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 proposes cutting it to €2,350 full-time and €1,175 part-time from 2026. Revenue’s page still shows €3,000 and €1,500 as of 13 November 2026; we will update when the Finance Act is signed.

Related

• Irish tax back checker: tuition, rent, medical and remote working, every year since 2022.
• Rent Tax Credit for parents of students · the four-year rule

Sources

• Revenue: how to calculate tuition fees relief, fees paid in instalments, restrictions

Read 13 November 2026. General information, not advice; it cannot see your records. Claiming directly from Revenue is free. We are not Revenue, we are not a tax agent, and we never ask for your myAccount details. Revenue decides every claim.