Let’s face it. As a student, more often than not you are living on a shoestring budget. Between books, nights out and rent/board, it can be a bit of a financial struggle.
So, like many others, you might have a part-time job – or two, or three! – which gives the bank balance a bit of a boost. But it still seems like a lot of your pay is going to the tax man.
Students are often the worst for claiming back tax as they think they’re not entitled to anything – that couldn’t be further from the truth. Therefore, I put together this guide to claiming tax specifically for students to help you get more of your hard earned cash back!
1. Emergency Tax
When you look at your payslip, does it look like a little too much of your pay is going to the tax man?? This could be due to you being charged Emergency Tax which is at a much higher rate than the Standard Tax Rate. This is particularly common if you’ve worked a couple of different jobs within the year, as all of your tax credits are applied to one job even if you aren’t using them all.
Assuming you have the standard Tax Credits (Personal & PAYE), you can earn up to €16,500 in one year before you start paying Income Tax. However, sometimes when you start working for the first time, your employer doesn’t have all the information they need so they charge you at a higher rate of tax. However, this can all be sorted by your employer once they’ve received the correct information from Revenue or by submitting a claim the following year.
2. Working part of the year
If you’re only working during the Summer holidays to get a bit of extra cash, you might have been taxed as if you were earning that pay throughout the whole year – and therefore, you’ve been charged more than you should. Typically, if you have just been working over the Summer, you should be able to claim the majority of your tax back.
3. Tuition Fees
You can claim tax relief at 20% against Tuition Fees you have paid in any given year – so long as you have paid tax in that year! Now, this one gets a little tricky as there’s a few sneaky conditions that can catch you out.
So, the basics are
- Tax Relief is available for fees paid as far back as 2011 up to a maximum of €7,000 per year
- Eligible fees include tuition fees and the Student Contribution butnot examination fees, registration fees or administration fees
- The fees must relate to an approved course at an approved college
- Tax relief is not available where you have received a grant or scholarship to cover your fees or your employer has paid for your tuition fees
Now, where it starts to get a bit tricky is that Revenue applies a ‘discarded amount’ when it comes to claiming tuition fees, which effectively subtracts a lump sum from your fees paid, before the tax relief is given. In 2014, this rate is €2,750 for full-time courses or €1,375 for part-time courses. Therefore, unless your course is very expensive, your tuition fees are unlikely to exceed this ‘discarded amount’.
Example: Studying Full-Time in Standard Fee Courses
2014 Student Contribution €2,750
Minus Discarded Amount -€2,750
Total for Tax Relief €0
Example: Studying Full-Time in Higher Fee Courses
2014 Tuition Fees €4,000
Minus Discarded Amount -€2,750
Total for Tax Relief €1,250
Maximum Tax Relief @ 20% €250
There are also situations where this tax relief might still be available for students with lower tuition fees and this is where your parents are paying for your tuition fees, as well as those of a sibling/s. In these situations, your parents can apply for tax relief and all tuition fees paid in a year can be combined and only the one ‘discarded amount’ is deducted before tax relief is calculated.
Example: Two Children Studying Full-Time
2014 Student Contributions €5,500
Minus Discarded Amount -€2,750
Total for Tax Relief €2,750
Maximum Tax Relief @ 20% €550
There is one exception to this rule, and that is in the case of Foreign Language or Information Technology courses. Special rules apply to approved Foreign Language and Information Technology courses, and 20% tax relief is available where tuition fees for an approved course are more than €315. The maximum relief is €1,270 per course.
4. Health Expenses
When it comes to doctors and dentists, these types of appointments can be put on the long finger when you’re a student, unless they’re absolutely necessary! But it’s in these situations when these expenses can add up to a tidy sum.
So long as you’ve paid tax in the relevant year, you can claim tax relief at 20% of qualifying health expenses – these include things like GP visits, prescriptions, physiotherapy (when prescribed by a GP) and hospital fees.
You can also claim for dental expenses, however this does not include routine dental such as fillings, extractions or scaling procedures. It does cover braces, crowns, veneers and surgical extraction of wisdom teeth.
Be Sure to Claim Back What is Yours
So many people don’t bother to claim back what is rightfully theirs as they think it’s not worth the hassle. But, we think it’s better off in your pocket than in Revenue’s and we take all the hassle out of claiming back your taxes. All you have to do is fill in the form and sit back and wait for your Tax Agent to deliver the news!
Apply now for your 4-year tax review – if there’s no refund, there’s no fee!
Written by Alexandra Byrne
I’m what you call an all-rounder! Having worked in customer services, accounting and marketing, I’m the one who can tie all the pieces of the puzzle together. I’ve a BSc from University of Limerick so I’m analytical, but I also love change! I’m constantly astounded by the lack of awareness we Irish have about our entitlements and like spreading the word about tax refunds – so as many people as possible can claim everything they are entitled to.