This article is from page 29 of the 2008-08-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
THE Citizens Information Service ion Ennis is advising those who are working and have returned to educa- tion that they may be able to claim relief for eligible courses.
Tax relief for third-level tuition fees is available for approved under- graduate and postgraduate courses (full-time and part-time) that are in private or publicly funded third-level colleges in Ireland, in publicly fund- ed or duly accredited third-level col- leges in any other EU country.
Tax relief is at the standard rate of income tax (20 per cent). The max1- mum relief allowable for the aca- demic year 2007/2008 is €5,000
According to Paul Woulfe, manger
with the county wide information service many people who are not re- celving grants and paying for courses are not aware of this.
“When tax relief on third level edu- cation was introduced in 1996/97 it was quite restricted. However since then the relief has been expanded as the Celtic Tiger exposed this coun- try’s paucity of certain skills. So if you or a dependent are on a course costing €5,000 (excluding registra- tion and capitation fees) you can claim back €1,000 backs from the taxman.
The relief can be claimed either on the individual’s tax return at the end of the tax year or during the tax year when the fees have been paid.
Most undergraduate students in
publicly funded third-level courses in Ireland do not have to pay fees. For students who do pay fees, under- graduate courses must be of at least two years duration to qualify for tax relief. Tax relief is also available for approved training courses in the ar- eas of information technology and foreign languages.
The tuition fees must be paid by you on your own behalf or on be- half of your spouse, your child or someone for whom you are the legal eabe-Nueue-Nee
Application forms (IT 31) are avail- able from the Revenue Commission- ers’ website at www.revenue.ie, by telephoning LoCall 1890 306 706 or from the citizens information centres throughout the county.