DEDUCTIONS AND TAX CREDITS (RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY) RULES

DEDUCTIONS AND TAX CREDITS

(RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.107

DEDUCTIONS AND TAX CREDITS

(RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS FOR

INDUSTRY) RULES

1st January, 2017

LEGAL NOTICE 175 of 2017, as amended by Legal Notices 207 of 2017

283 of 2020, 287 of 2021, 266 of 2023, 323 of 2024 and 79 of 2026.

(1)

The title of these rules is the Deductions and Tax

Credits (Relevant Qualifications for Industry) Rules.

(2) These rules shall apply for applications received on or

after the 1st January 2017.

In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Income Tax Act;

"the Commissioner" means the Commissioner for Revenue;

"Corporation" means the Malta Enterprise established under

the Malta Enterprise Act;

"guidelines" means the relevant guidelines as published by the

Corporation from time to time;

"parents" mean the father or the mother and includes any

person who has the care and custody, whether legal or actual, of a

student;

"relevant qualification" means a certification, degree or post-

graduate degree approved by the Corporation for the purposes of

these rules, awarded on the successful completion of a relevant

course and undertaken through a university, institution or another

entity recognised by the Corporation;

"relevant course" means a course of studies leading to a

relevant qualification;

"student" means an individual following a relevant course;

"study costs" means such fees paid by an individual to the

university, institution or other entity recognised by the Corporation

for the admission and attendance to the relevant course and for sitting

for the examinations required to achieve the relevant qualification or

as specified in the guidelines.

DEDUCTIONS AND TAX CREDITS

(RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY)

(1)

Subject to the other provisions of this rule, an

individual who is a student shall become entitled to the tax credit

referred to in this rule when, after following a relevant course, he

successfully completes that course.

(2) With effect from the 1st January 2017, the tax credit

referred to in this rule shall be an amount as may be determined by

the Corporation that shall not exceed seventy per cent (70%) of the

study costs paid by the student for the period commencing on the date

of the commencement of the relevant course till the end of the

relevant course or on a date specified by the Corporation.

(3) The tax credit referred to in this rule shall be due as a

deduction from the tax payable by the student on his chargeable

income for the year of assessment commencing on the 1st January of

the year immediately following that in which the relevant

qualification is obtained, and any amount not absorbed by the tax

payable for that year of assessment may be carried forward to be

allowed as a tax credit for the subsequent ten years of assessment

Provided that the beneficiary of the tax credit referred to

in these rules may be the student or his/her parents, as the case may

be.

The tax credit referred to in this rule shall not be due

unless the student submits to the Commissioner the following

documentation, with the tax return for the first year of assessment for

which the tax credit is claimed

(a)

a declaration that he is not and has not been

entitled from any source whatsoever to any reimbursement of

or compensation for the costs claimed as a tax credit or any

part of those costs; and

(b)

a copy of the certificate or an equivalent

document issued by a university or institution recognised by

the Department, providing the course in question, confirming

the successful completion of the course by that individual; and

(c)

a copy of the tax credit certificate issued by the

Department confirming that the qualification obtained is a

relevant qualification

Provided that the Commissioner may require evidence

confirming that such costs have been incurred and the authenticity of

the certificate substantiating the claim for the tax credit.

DEDUCTIONS AND TAX CREDITS

(RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY)

The tax credit certificate referred to in rule 4(c) shall be

issued by the Corporation in terms of guidelines to be published in

the Corporation’s website following the application by a student,

when the Corporation is satisfied that the application is a bona fide

application that complies with the provisions of rule 3, and when,

after it has obtained all such information and made such

ascertainment as it has considered necessary, it considers it

appropriate so to do, it may determine that the course in question is a

relevant course and determine the extent to which, in its opinion, the

expenditure referred to in the application constitutes qualifying study

costs and is necessary and reasonable in the light of the purpose for

which it is incurred, and the amount so determined shall constitute

the maximum qualifying study costs

Provided that the Corporation shall not issue the tax

credit certificate in respect of a course of studies that commences

after 31st December, 2025 or after such earlier date as the

Corporation may specify by means of a notice in the Gazette

Provided further that the Corporation shall not issue the

tax credit certificate in respect of an application covering a course or

programme of studies leading to a relevant qualification unless the

individual submits an application to the Corporation declaring the

intention of benefit from these rules by 31 st December 2026 and

provides the required documentation to confirm the attainment of the

relevant qualification by 31 st December 2030.