Parents who pay rent for their children attending third level will be entitled to a €500 tax credit under new proposals agreed by the Government.
Many students were excluded from a rent tax rebate announced in last month’s budget on the basis that the announcement applied to income tax payers. This is because many students do not earn enough to pay income tax to qualify for the rebate.
Under proposals agreed by Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, the rental tax credit will be extended to parents of third level students where they pay their child’s rent and the student is in a tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board.
“We heard from students and their parents about the importance of making sure that they could benefit from this rent tax credit and I am pleased that today we are confirming they can,” Mr Harris said.
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He said eligible students who rent a room or pay rent will receive the credit of €500 per taxpayer per year. In addition, he said parents who pay the rent can benefit too.
“This is a really welcome development for many families and comes in addition to a number of other cost-of-living education measures including the fee reduction and additional student grant payment,” he said.
Mr Donohoe said that having reflected on the situation where a parent pays the rent for their child attending third level education, he decided to extend the application of the tax credit to such parents.
“This will provide further help towards the cost of third level education and builds on the measures announced in Budget 2023 for the higher education sector,” he said.
The cost of higher education has become a growing issue due to rising rents and a lack of affordable accommodation.
Last week, thousands of students walked out of lectures in a protest over the rising cost of living which was organised by student unions. They argue that many students are forced to commute long distances to get to college or are forced to work part-time jobs in order to pay for high rents.
Government sources say a separate financial package to help unlock student accommodation developments on college campuses is under consideration.
While universities have planning permission for thousands of additional student beds on campus, they say they cannot afford to progress with plans because they are not financially viable.
Under plans prepared by Mr Harris, the State would part-fund these developments in exchange for guarantees that beds are available at “affordable” rates.
It is understood a number of options are being examined, ranging from ensuring that all beds in on-campus developments are provided at an affordable rate, or that a proportion of beds are set aside at lower rates for students on a means-tested basis.
However, it could take a number of years for these developments to be built.
