Course fees relief

'Course fees relief' is given to encourage an individual to continuously upgrade himself so as to enhance his life-long employability. The relief is targeted at those who are or have been gainfully employed.

This course fees relief does not apply to polytechnic/university graduates for their polytechnic/university course fees if he has never exercised any employment or carried on any trade, profession or vocation before. Vacation jobs or internships are not considered employment for the purpose of the course fees relief.

Who can claim

You can claim the course fee relief if you:

• have studied a course or attended seminars and conferences, and
• satisfy all the conditions for claim.

Type of courses, seminars and conferences covered under this relief

• Course, seminar or conference leading to an approved academic and professional qualification. To-date, there is no specific listing of approved academic and professional courses. With effect from Year of Assessment (YA) 2009, a course (completed on or after 1 Jan 2008), seminar or conference (attended on or after 1 Jan 2008) leading to an approved vocational qualification is eligible for this relief; or
  
  
  Points to note if you have attended a vocational course

  To qualify for relief on course fees incurred on acquiring any vocational qualification, the following conditions must be satisfied:

  • the acquired skills or knowledge can be applied in a vocation or a specific area in an industry; and
    
    
  • the course, seminar or conference provider is a Singapore registered entity i.e. registered with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
    

    
    You can use the online search at ACRA website, or check with the programme provider to find out if it is a Singapore registered entity.
    
    

  You would not qualify for the relief if you:

  • attended the course, seminar or conference for recreational or leisure purposes; or
  • acquired general skills or knowledge (examples include internet surfing course and Microsoft office skills) from the course, seminar or conference, or
  • acquired skills or knowledge as a hobby (examples include photography, language and sport courses).
  
  
• Course, seminar or conference that relates to your trade, business, profession, vocation or employment;or
  
• Course, seminar or conference that does not relate to your trade, profession, vocation or employment at the time they were taken but are now relevant due to a career change.
  

When to claim

• When fees are incurred in the preceding year
  
  

  Generally, if you have attended or are attending a course, you should claim course fees relief when you have incurred fees in the preceding year.
  Example: An individual can claim relief in YA 2012 if he has incurred course fees in Year 2011.

• Deferring the claim
  
  

  With effect from YA 2009 onwards, if the course, seminar or conference leads to an approved academic, professional or vocational qualification, you would be allowed to defer the claim if you were unable to claim relief in the preceding year because your assessable income did not exceed $22,000.

  Scenario 1: Assessable income does not exceed $22,000 throughout the duration of the course

  Miss Lim is a hairdresser and she takes up a part-time vocational course in tourism. Her course begins on 1 July 2008 and ends on 30 May 2010. She continues to work as a hairdresser after she completes the course. Her annual assessable income and course fee expenditure starting from YA 2009 are as follows:

  YA	Assessable Income	Course Fee Expenditure
  2009	$19,000	$2,000
  2010	$20,000	$3,000
  2011	$21,000	$1,000
  2012	$22,000	Nil
  2013	$23,000	Nil

  Miss Lim is allowed to defer her claim on course fee relief since her assessable income for YA 2009 to YA 2011 (i.e. during the course duration) did not exceed $22,000. In YA 2013, she is entitled to claim a relief of $5,500, notwithstanding that she has incurred $6,000 on course fee. This is because under the deferment, a taxpayer is only allowed to claim the relief once.

  
  
  Scenario 2: Your income fluctuates (i.e above & below $22,000) during the duration of the course

  Mr Goh is an IT security executive and he registers to attend a 2-year course on Master in IT Security Management. He quits his full-time job when he begins the course in 2009. After completing his 1st year, he defers the course until 2012. Upon completion, he takes on his old portfolio with a new employer.

  Mrs Goh also signs up for a Diploma in Finance in 2009. She studies part-time during the 1st year, does her internship during the 2nd year and switches to full-time study during the 3rd year. Upon completion, she becomes a homemaker. Their annual assessable income and course fee expenditure are as follow:

  While Mr Goh is allowed to defer his claim on course fee arising from 2009, he must claim the relief of $5,500 in YA 2011 when his assessable income exceeds $22,000.

  		Mr Goh		Mrs Goh
  YA	Year	Assessable Income	Course Fee Expenditure	Assessable Income	Course Fee Expenditure
  2010	2009	$0	$7,000	$15,000	$2,500
  2011	2010	$30,000	Nil	$23,000	$3,500
  2012	2011	$30,000	Nil	$0	$3,400
  2013	2012	$0	$3,300	$0	Nil
  2014	2013	$32,000	Nil	$0	Nil
  2015	2014	$32,000	Nil	$0	Nil

  Similarly, Mrs Goh is allowed to defer her claim of $1,500 arising from 2009. However, she must claim the relief in YA 2011 for course fee incurred for 2009 and 2010, subject to the cap of $5,500. This is because under the deferment, a taxpayer with assessable income exceeding $22,000 during any YA of the course duration is required to claim the relief for course fee incurred for that YA as well as any preceding YAs.

  Mr Goh is also allowed to defer his claim arising from 2012 and make his claim of $3,300 in YA 2014. However, Mrs Goh will forfeit the relief of $3,400 since she has no assessable income during YA 2013 and YA 2014.

  
  

  • When there is a career change

    For course, seminar and conference completed but do not relate to your trade, profession, vocation or employment at the time they were taken but are now relevant due to a career change, you can claim the relief if you made the career change within 2 YAs from the YA which you have completed the course or attended the seminar or conference.

    Example

    An engineer took up a pet grooming course in Jan 2009 and incurred course fees. He completed the pet grooming course in Jun 2009. In Sep 2011, he made a career change. He started a business offering pet grooming services.

    For YA 2010 and 2011
    He is not eligible for course fee relief.
    
    This is because the pet grooming course does not lead to an approved academic or professional qualification and is not relevant to his current job as an engineer.

    For YA 2012
    He is eligible for course fees relief. The relief for the course he attended in Jan 2009 can be claimed in his YA 2012 tax return.
    
    This is because he made the career change within 2 YAs from the YA he completed the pet grooming course.

    
    

    How much you can claim

    With effect from YA 2011, you can claim the actual course fees paid up to a maximum of $5,500 each year ($3,500 each from YA 2004 to YA 2010) regardless of the number of courses, seminars or conferences you attended.

    Your claim should only include:

    • Registration or enrolment fees
    • Examination fees
    • Tuition fees
    • Aptitude test fees (for computer courses)

    How to claim

    You need to enter your claim under 'course fees' in your tax form.

    Find out more about how to submit your tax return.