Foreign language and Information Technology (IT) courses

You can claim tax relief on fees that you pay for certain courses in foreign language and information technology (IT). You may be the student, or you may pay the fees on behalf of another person.

Conditions for relief

To qualify for relief, your course must be:

• a SOLAS approved foreign language or information technology (IT) course
• on the list of approved courses
• less than two years duration
• completed with the award of a certificate of competence, not a certificate of attendance.

Courses in the Irish or English language do not qualify, as these are State languages. Postgraduate courses in foreign languages or information technology (IT) also do not qualify, but may qualify for tuition fees relief.

Relief

You will receive relief at the standard rate of tax, 20%. Relief is available for the cost of courses where the fees cost between €315 and €1,270.

You cannot claim relief for fees that are funded by grants, scholarships or your employer. If you receive partial funding towards course fees, you must declare it to Revenue when you claim relief.

You can only claim relief for the cost of one approved course per person in a tax year.

Checking if a course qualifies for relief

The list of Approved foreign language courses and providers contains all of the approved foreign language courses.

The list of Approved information technology courses and providers contains all of the approved information technology (IT) courses.

How to claim relief

See How to claim relief on tuition fees for more information on this subject.