Can I claim for Higher Education course?

FTworkPTstudy

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone here can help me with some advice. I have been working full time in the construction industry for around 10 years now (civil engineering and groundworks mainly). This year i started a Part time course studying Civil Engineering HNC and as you may know tuition fees are not cheap. I had no student finance available to me so i had to pay the fees myself. I am unsure whether i can deduct these fees from my taxable income on my self assessment and i cant seem to get a definitive answer anywhere online, including the .GOV website. The way i see it I am Myself a business and i am undergoing Industry related training to improve my business so i believe i should be able to claim for this, However i have been told i cant by some and that i can by others. Obviously i don't want to claim for something i am not entitled to and alas here i am reaching out in hope that someone who knows a bit about this area might be able to shed some light on it for me??! Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

le_loup

No you can't.
You are not a business.
You could approach your employer for some help, most good ones will.

Pennywise

Are you an employee or are your self employed?

If self employed, are you a sole trader or a limited company?

These are the facts that will determine whether there's even a chance of you claiming the costs against your taxable income.

You're getting different answers because there are different answers according to your exact circumstances. With tax, the devil is in the detail.

FTworkPTstudy

I am self employed, Just under my name as a sole trader i guess. After holding for about half an hour i got through to the tax office and they told me i cant claim it because you cant claim for training that gains you the ability to do a job... only training that enables you to maintain a job is claimable. Which sounds a bit silly to me but i guess the folks in government dont know much about paying for education.

Annie1960

FTworkPTstudy wrote: »

I am self employed, Just under my name as a sole trader i guess. After holding for about half an hour i got through to the tax office and they told me i cant claim it because you cant claim for training that gains you the ability to do a job... only training that enables you to maintain a job is claimable. Which sounds a bit silly to me but i guess the folks in government dont know much about paying for education.

You can claim tax relief on CPD (continuing professional development). So, if you are already working in your field, and are keeping up-to-date with developments in your industry, this could count as CPD.

Give the tax office another ring to discuss your situation if you believe your course counts as CPD rather than initial training to enable you to do the job.

It is usually much quicker to get through to HMRC if you ring at their opening time (about 8am unless this has changed).