Universities slow to tell students of tax windfall

UNIVERSITIES are slow to inform students about a tax break that could save postgraduates hundreds of pounds, the National Postgraduate Committee has warned.

The Vocational Training Tax Relief scheme offers cash reductions on course fees, registration fees and exam fees, as well as some course materials. Reductions at the basic rate (23 per cent of the fees) are available. Despite the scheme's emphasis on "vocation", MBA and MSc students can often be eligible.

John Gray, general secretary of the NPC, believes that students are missing out on crucial savings because universities are reluctant to take on the additional administrative burdens. Many were also found to be "innocently ignorant" of the scheme. "With some courses costing thousands of pounds, the VTTR scheme can mean savings of hundreds for an awful lot of people," Mr Gray said.

The VTTR was originally only available for national vocational qualifications, and excluded those entitled to career development loans or college access funds. But in May 1996, these restrictions were removed, and it was extended to include anyone over the age of 30 on a full-time "vocational" course, under one year. The onus is on the institution, not the student, to claim back cash from the tax man.

The widest interpretations of "vocational" seems to apply. The Inland Revenue advises that the course must "provide skills or knowledge which are relevant to, and intended to be used in, paid employment". Some universities, such as the University of East Anglia which actively runs the scheme, are advising students that most normal academic courses, such as MBAs and MScs, do apply.

The NPC has singled out York and Edinburgh universities as examples of places where students are not being given enough information, although they claim many others are similar.

NPC member Margaret Reed, a master's student at York, says her university's finance department did not give out the information. York director of finance Graham Gilbert said: "We were a bit slow off the mark but our graduate office now has the details."

A spokesman for Edinburgh University said that it was only alerted to the changes earlier this calender year. "We should have proper arrangements in place shortly which will not predjudice the position of students who entered this year," he said.

An Inland Revenue spokesman said that all the details of the scheme were in leaflet IR119 (1996), available at all local tax offices.