Families with children studying away from their home island in the Canary Islands face significant financial outlays, including tuition, rent, living expenses, and transport. To ease this burden, a regional tax deduction is available that can lead to substantial savings on their annual tax bill.
This aid, which can reach up to 1,920 euros, is one of the lesser-known and, consequently, less frequently applied by taxpayers. It is crucial to note that it is not automatically applied in the draft Income Tax Return, requiring manual entry to benefit from it.
The deduction applies to post-compulsory education such as university degrees, master's degrees, and Advanced Vocational Training. The general amount is 1,800 euros for each dependent studying outside their home island. This amount increases to 1,920 euros if the taxpayer's taxable base is below 37,062 euros. Additionally, a deduction of 900 euros has been introduced for students who, while remaining on the island, must move to another municipality to pursue studies not available in their original locality.
The key requirement for applying the full deduction is that there must be no public in-person offering of those studies on the student's usual island of residence, and the relocation must be mandatory, not voluntary.
To access this tax benefit, the student must meet several conditions: be under 25 years old, be single, be financially dependent on the taxpayer, not exceed 8,000 euros in annual income, be enrolled in higher education, and complete at least 30 credits or a full course. Taxpayers must also meet income limits: 46,455 euros for individual taxation and 61,770 euros for joint taxation. The deduction cannot exceed 40% of the total regional tax liability.
To claim this deduction, it must be manually entered in box 0435 of the Renta WEB program. Ensure the child is correctly included in the family data and select the higher education deduction in the Canary Islands regional deductions section.
