• You are here:
• Home /
• Publications /
• Annual Reports /
• Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2003

Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2003

Chapter 3 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners - Income Tax Relief on Tuition Fees

Office of the Revenue Commissioners

Income Tax Relief on Tuition Fees

I received a complaint from the father of a student who was attending a computer engineering course in a particular college. The father complained that he had been twice denied tax relief on the tuition fees that he had paid on his son's behalf, even though the college in question had assured him that the course attracted tax relief. The Revenue Commissioners had rejected his claim for the tax relief on the basis that the particular course was not one of those listed as attracting relief.
Tax relief is available for tuition fees paid for certain approved courses in the area of information technology and foreign languages. The tax relief is available for the tax year 1997/1998 and following years. In the year 2000/2001 the relief was extended to an individual's child or a person for whom the individual is the legal guardian. Qualifying courses must meet certain criteria, including the approval of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and FÁS with the consent of the Minister for Finance. The list of courses and course providers are approved by FÁS and forwarded to the Revenue Commissioners annually. The Revenue Commissioners themselves have no role in the approval of the courses. In this case the course was not listed as a qualifying course on the list provided by FÁS to the Revenue.

When my Office examined the case the Revenue, having contacted FÁS, clarified that the course was in fact a qualifying one for tax relief and that it had been inadvertently omitted from the formal list sent to the Revenue. The full relief was paid to the complainant in this case. My Office also requested the Revenue to put arrangements in place to ensure that other taxpayers similarly affected could be made aware of the relief. The issue has now been brought to the attention of Revenue staff, to the colleges in question and has been highlighted in relevant professional publications.

Back to contents