Tax Reliefs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2021

Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Questions (319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326)

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

319. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30567/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

320. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for undergraduate courses in public higher institutes of education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30568/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

321. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for undergraduate courses in private colleges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30569/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

322. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for undergraduate courses in higher education institutes abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30570/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

323. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for postgraduate courses in public higher education institutes here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30571/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

324. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for postgraduate courses in private colleges here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30572/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

325. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for postgraduate courses in higher education institutes abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30573/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

326. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer on an annual basis of the tuition tax relief for undergraduate and postgraduate courses respectively, in higher education institutes in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30574/21]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325 and 326 together.

Section 473A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for income tax relief in respect of qualifying tuition fees paid by an individual for a third level education course, including a postgraduate course. The relief is granted at the standard rate of income tax (currently 20%), where an individual pays tuition fees for an approved course, whether on his or her own behalf or on behalf of another individual. The relief is restricted to tuition fees and excludes other education costs such as administration fees, examination fees, capitation fees and any element of the fees met by a grant, scholarship or employer contribution.

All courses provided by publicly funded universities, colleges and institutes of higher education in Ireland are approved for the purposes of the relief. All courses provided by publicly funded or accredited universities and institutions in other EU Member States or in the UK are also approved for the purposes of the relief. This includes courses provided by colleges or institutions through distance education into Ireland. Private colleges in Ireland and private distance education colleges based in the EU or the UK must operate in accordance with a code of standards which has been approved by the Minister for Education and Skills.

I am advised by Revenue that the annual cost of tax relief on approved training courses or third level education fees are set out in Revenue’s Cost of Tax Expenditures Publication, which is available on the Revenue website. This data is summarised below. The information included in the statistics at present is for 2004 to 2018. Tax returns for 2019 were filed in late 2020 and the data from these are now being processed and statistics will be updated over the coming months.

Year	Cost (€m)
2004	11.1
2005	14.3
2006	15.7
2007	18.1
2008	19.9
2009	20.6
2010	19.4
2011	14.5
2012	13.5
2013	12.5
2014	12.7
2015	12.9
2016	13.9
2017	15.2
2018	17.2

Question No. 320 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 321 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 322 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 323 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 324 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 325 answered with Question No. 319.

Question No. 326 answered with Question No. 319.