How to decrease the cost of the programme investment and secure it with a ruling
Under certain conditions, learners can deduct both direct costs (tuition fees) and certain indirect
cost (educational trips, books, etc.) of the programme as professional expenses for tax purposes.
For self-employed individuals, either as sole proprietors (personne physique) or within a company structure (en société), these expenses can be deducted just like any other deductible business expenses.
For salaried employees, it is also possible, provided you opt for the "actual expenses" (frais réels)
deduction method rather than the “standard deduction” method (frais forfaitaires). If this applies
to you, it is advisable to secure this deduction through the "advance ruling" mechanism.
An advance ruling is a legal decision by the Federal Public Service for Finance that determines how the tax law will apply to a specific situation or transaction that has not yet had any tax implications.
Please note that the school provides this information as a courtesy and cannot be held responsible for any issues or failures related to tax deductions or rulings. We strongly advise consulting with a qualified accountant or tax advisor to ensure the correct application of these tax benefits.
Ruling process
- Test your eligibility to file a ruling request. (See: Who can submit a request? – Which taxes? – When to submit?)
- Submit a request for pre-filling using the Project for Request - Professional Expenses - Study Expenses available on SPF Finance. Consulting an accountant is advised. (See: Why use Prefiling?)
- After a thorough analysis of your "Prefiling" file, you may be invited by SDA to submit an official ruling request. (See: What should a request include? – Where to submit a request?)
- After receiving the request, the team will draft an advance ruling, which will only be sent to you by registered mail after approval by the SDA College. (See: What is the response time for requests?)
External use document available via this link.