Tax relief on fees/accomodation

Yorky

Does anyone know if the €928.50 payable under the "I am an Irish / EU undergraduate "free-fees" student with no grant" section of the UCD website is tax deductable i.e. is it classified as tuition fees?

Also, can a parent claim rent relief on student accomodation rent paid by the parent on behalf of a son/daughter?

Thanks in advance.

danindublin

Yorky wrote:

Does anyone know if the €928.50 payable under the "I am an Irish / EU undergraduate "free-fees" student with no grant" section of the UCD website is tax deductable i.e. is it classified as tuition fees?

Also, can a parent claim rent relief on student accomodation rent paid by the parent on behalf of a son/daughter?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Yorky,

Things might have changed since my day but ...

The Registration fee is not classified as a tuition fee, its completely separate. The only way you qualify for tax relief is if you were to have to pay course fees which wouldn’t as a first time degreer.

For the accommodation, even though your parents pay it it’s in your name, so you can claim the tax back through your tax but you need the PPS number of the owner of the accommodation. I think this is also a tax credit which means that it is simply removed from any tax you are due to pay.

Hope this helps.


Rent Relief for Private Rented Accommodation

Who can Claim

An individual, paying for private rented accommodation used as a sole or main residence. This includes rent paid for flats,
apartments or houses. It does not include rent paid to Local Authorities or State Agencies or under a lease agreement for 50 years or more.

Additional Information

Rent payable for premises outside the State is also allowable (No territorial limit).


Receipt from Landlord

If your Landlord is resident in this country a receipt for rent paid must be provided if and when it is requested. This will apply
regardless of whether the rent is paid directly to the Landlord or to an Agent on his/her behalf.

Each receipt must show:
Landlord’s name and PPS Number
Amount of rent paid
Period covered by the receipt, for example: From 1/3/2006 to 30/9/2006
Rents payable to non-resident landlords

If your landlord resides outside the country and you pay the rent directly to him/her or into his/her bank account either in the
State or abroad, you must deduct tax at the standard rate of tax (2006: 20%) from the gross rent payable.

Example: Gross rent per month £1,000
Deduct standard rate tax (£1,000 x 20%) £ 200
Pay to Landlord (£1,000 - £200) £ 800

If you pay tax under the PAYE system, you account for the tax deducted by reducing your tax credits and Standard Rate
Cut-Off Point. You must notify your Local Revenue Office who will arrange this for you. If you pay tax under
self-assessment, account for the tax deducted will be displayed on your notice of assessment.
Failure to deduct tax leaves you liable for the tax that should have been deducted.

Tax Refunds

If your claim is in respect of the current tax year an amended certificate of tax credits will be sent to you and your employer
will pay any refund due directly to you.

If your claim is for a previous tax year or during a period of unemployment, any refund due will be sent directly to you by
Revenue. Tax refunds can be paid by cheque or to your Irish bank account. It is not possible to make a refund directly to a
foreign bank account.

As your claim may be selected for future audit, you are requested to retain all documentation relating to this claim for a
period of 6 years.

Chakar

Thanks danindublin. I've been trying to get confirmation that the registration fee is not classified as tuition fees from the student desk. However they haven't replied yet as in the OP's case. They really should put that information on the Revenue website.

Blush_01

Well it does say that the registration fees do not count for tax relief on the form that the giro is attached to. But then again Chakira, you were just being doubly helpful.

pretty*monster

My mum has gotten tax back on my reg fee for the last three years.

The_Minister

/runs to report Pretty to the revenue.

pretty*monster

The_Minister wrote:

/runs to report Pretty to the revenue.

While I'll be the first to admit that I don't know squat about tax (or money in general) I'm pretty sure it's the revenue my mother sends the giro recipt and claim form or whatever to. So, like, one would assume they already know.

Chakar

Blush_01 wrote:

Well it does say that the registration fees do not count for tax relief on the form that the giro is attached to. But then again Chakira, you were just being doubly helpful.

I was just checking it out after pretty*monster said that she got the tax back. The jargon doesn't really help either - "Student Services fee and Student Centre levy do not qualify for tax relief."

pretty*monster

Chakar wrote:

I was just checking it out after pretty*monster said that she got the tax back. The jargon doesn't really help either - "Student Services fee and Student Centre levy do not qualify for tax relief."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know the Student Services fee and Student Centre levy only constitute party of the reg fee.

Chakar

pretty*monster wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know the Student Services fee and Student Centre levy only constitute party of the reg fee.

No. The Student Services fee is currently EUR825.00. Also the Student Centre Levy is currently EUR103.50. That is a grand total of EUR928.50.

pretty*monster

Checked with my mother. She's gotten 20ish% back on my registration fee every year because the revenue commission consider the reg fee to be a tuition fee.
You can call my mother is a liar or you can claw your money back off the government. Tough choice.

Chakar

pretty*monster wrote:

Checked with my mother. She's gotten 20ish% back on my registration fee every year because the revenue commission consider the reg fee to be a tuition fee.
You can call my mother is a liar or you can claw your money back off the government. Tough choice.

I'll have to email the Revenue Commissioners in the morning.

cast_iron

Does it not state on the registration form "Please retain for tax purposes" or some such. It used to be printed diagonally across the background (in grayscale) a few years back anyway.

Chakar

The Revenue Commissioners finally got back to me as to whether there is tax relief available regarding the Registration Fee.

They said that there is no tax relief available on the Registration Fee, which comprises of the Student Services Fee and the Student Centre Levy amounting to 928.50 euro.

pretty*monster

Chakar wrote:

The Revenue Commissioners finally got back to me as to whether there is tax relief available regarding the Registration Fee.

They said that there is no tax relief available on the Registration Fee, which comprises of the Student Services Fee and the Student Centre Levy amounting to 928.50 euro.

So why does my mother get 20% of it back every year?

Chakar

pretty*monster wrote:

So why does my mother get 20% of it back every year?

I don't know. I emailed southcountypaye@revenue.ie for customers in the South Dublin local authority. The person who responded gave me a simple 'no' response. There's a contact details link on the main page at www.revenue.ie

pretty*monster

Chakar wrote:

I don't know. I emailed southcountypaye@revenue.ie for customers in the South Dublin local authority. The person who responded gave me a simple 'no' response. There's a contact details link on the main page at www.revenue.ie

Psh, just fill out the form for tax relief on tuition fees, attatch your recipt for the reg fee and you get 20% back, I'm telling you.

Chakar

pretty*monster wrote:

Psh, just fill out the form for tax relief on tuition fees, attach your receipt for the reg fee and you get 20% back, I'm telling you.

Alright might as well do. I have the receipts for second and third years. I wonder if UCD have a copy of my first year receipt?

pretty*monster

Chakar wrote:

Alright might as well do. I have the receipts for second and third years. I wonder if UCD have a copy of my first year receipt?

Nah you can only claim tax back in the year you paid it.

Yorky

The registration fee is not tax deductable as per the Revenue helpline and leaflet IT31 on the Revenue website.

Chakar

Yeah, I know. I didn't claim tax relief for the registration fees during my undergraduate years but I'm now going to claim tax relief on my postgraduate fees. I have the receipts for the deposit and the fees paid.

Stabshauptmann

pretty*monster wrote: »

So why does my mother get 20% of it back every year?

A mistake perhaps. Human error

djt0607

i would be of the assumpion that if you are under 18, the fee for college cannot be based on your earnings, but your mothers and hence that may be why she is being refunded 20%. Also, it may have something to do with your abode. Whether you are living at home or out on your own may come into consideration too.