How can I get a 18% refund on my tuition?

Are you, your spouse, or your children enrolled in school? Then you’re eligible for a refund—find out how!

For tuition at preschool, extracurricular, general secondary, vocational (technical), and higher education institutions, you can get 18% of the cost back through a tax credit.
Legal grounds for receiving a tax credit.
The legal grounds for receiving a tax credit are set forth in subparagraph 166.3.3 of Article 166 and Article 179 of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

Who is eligible for a tax credit?
Ukrainian citizens who are officially employed and receive a salary, and who have paid fees to domestic (public and private) institutions of preschool, extracurricular, general secondary, vocational (technical), and higher education for themselves or for first-degree relatives are entitled to a tax credit.

Important!
An individual entrepreneur who has received income from entrepreneurial activities is not entitled to a tax credit on such income.
An individual entrepreneur who is an employee is entitled to a tax credit exclusively for income received during the year in the form of wages.
Expenses for military training, other additional educational services, and the cost of studying abroad are not taken into account for the purpose of claiming the tax credit.

How much is the tax credit?
The tax credit amounts to 18% of the cost of education. The
amount of the tax credit cannot exceed the amount of personal income tax paid.

How is the education tax credit calculated?
For example, your salary for 2024 was 250,000 UAH. Personal income tax was withheld at a rate of 18.00%
: 250,000 × 0.18 = 45,000 UAH.
An analysis of tuition fees at private schools in Kyiv shows that, on average, tuition costs range from 250,000 to 400,000 UAH.
The average tuition fee for contract-based programs at universities is 46,000–47,000 UAH. Tuition at UCU, for example, is 129,000 hryvnias per year.
If the cost of one year of tuition that you paid was 200,000 UAH, the tax credit would be: 200,000 × 0.18 = 36,000 UAH.
If, for example, the cost of one year of tuition was 300,000 UAH, The tax credit would be: 300,000 × 0.18 = 54,000 UAH. 
However, since 54,000 UAH exceeds the amount of personal income tax withheld from you, the tax credit in this case will be 45,000 UAH—the amount of tax withheld from you.

How do you claim the education tax credit?
By December 31 of the year following the year in which you paid for your education, you must file a tax return reporting your assets and income for the relevant tax year.
For example, if you paid for your education in 2024, you must file the return by December 31, 2025.

Where should you apply to receive the tax credit?
You must apply to the tax office at your place of registration (permanent address).
If you have an electronic key, you can file the return online via the electronic registry. 

What documents are required?
To receive a refund for tuition, you must attach the following documents to your tax return:

• a copy of your passport;
• a copy of your identification number;
• an income statement (Form No. 3);
• a copy of the contract with the educational institution;
• a copy of the tuition payment receipts; 
• originals of documents confirming the family relationship (birth certificate, marriage certificate);
• bank account details for the refund transfer. 

How do I fill out the tax credit application online?
First, you’ll need a qualified electronic signature (electronic key) or you can log in using Diia.

You can obtain an electronic signature free of charge from the Information and Reference Department of the State Tax Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, or PrivatBank.
For example, if you have a PrivatBank card, you can generate an ACSK key.

Next, log in to the State Tax Service’s electronic registry. On the left side of the dashboard, select the “Electronic Registry for Citizens” section and first generate a request for the amounts of income paid, then select the “Tax Return on Assets and Income” section and click “Create.” Immediately in the form, indicate: “person claiming a tax credit.” In Section 9, fill out Form F3, and the credit will be calculated automatically.
If your application for tuition compensation is approved, the funds will be transferred to your bank account within 60 days of receipt of the document package.

You can also receive a tax credit for a portion of the interest paid by such a taxpayer on a residential mortgage loan, as well as for insurance payments (insurance premiums) and pension contributions paid by the taxpayer to an insurer—a resident, a private pension fund, or a banking institution—under long-term life insurance contracts, private pension plans, or a pension contract with a private pension fund, as well as contributions to a bank pension deposit account, to pension deposits and accounts of participants in bank-managed funds, payment for assisted reproductive technologies, and/or payment for the cost of government services related to the adoption of a child, including the payment of state fees.
Valentina Slobodinskaya, Attorney at Law, BARRISTERS COMMERCIAL, LLC