Free education? College can cost €13,000 a year

STUDENTS will each spend up to €13,000 this coming academic year on college fees and living expenses, research has revealed.

The figure, released as part of Dublin Institute of Technology’s annual cost of living guide for the academic year 2018-2019, showed that students in the capital can expect to pay €1,000 more in rent than students in the rest of the country.

Students in Dublin will pay on average €541 a month for a single room, up from €508 last year.

According to DIT, rents in Dublin vary widely, ranging between €483 a month for a shared room and up to €1,784 or more for a one-bedroom unit in Dublin 2.

Students studying outside of

Parents are missing out on tax relief

Dublin and living away from home can expect to spend close to €12,000 during the academic year.

According to the figures, students outside of Dublin can expect to pay €430 a month or €3,870 for the academic year for accommodation.

The typical student who opts to live at home and commute instead will have to pay €6,780 for the year with a significant portion of that, €1,215, going to travel expenses.

However, DIT is advising parents that they can avail of tax relief if they are supporting more than one child through college.

Dr Brian Gormley of DIT said: ‘You can claim tax relief on the student charge for the second or subsequent children. Also, if you are paying tuition fees, either for a post-graduate programme, a parttime programme or for repeating the year, you may be entitled to tax back.’

Parents cannot claim tax relief on their first child’s student contribution as the first €3,000 is not subject to tax relief but the contribution for a second child in college at the same time can be claimed. Parents can claim tax relief on the fees at a rate of 20%.

‘It’s clear from talking to students and their families that it is not widely known that you can get tax relief on college fees paid. Less than 12% of students claim back tax, and for full-time undergraduates, that figure is lower at 7%,’ said Dr Gormley. ‘We estimate that Irish families are missing out on millions of euro in unclaimed tax relief.’

You cannot claim tax relief on fees if your tuition is paid for by a grant, a scholarship or through an employer. According to the Student Universal Support Ireland, 81,997 students or 40% of all students received a grant for the 2017/2018 academic year. Students who are eligible for the maintenance grant get the student contribution paid.

DIT’s guide also expects students to spend €1,521 a year on food, €1,215 on travel and €684 on ‘social activities and miscellaneous’.

Dr Gormley is also asking families who have a spare room to consider renting it to a DIT student. ‘A person renting a room can earn up to €14,000 in rent before paying tax on the rental income,’ he said. Comment – Page 12 ronan.smyth@dailymail.ie