The International Schools Review Forum

Can anyone tell me which countries outside the Middle East do not regard free tuition for dependent children as a taxable benefit?

Mostly the big lion countries, and the hardship regions. Either there is no tax, its not collected, or the IS pays it on your behalf. The places to avoid are SG/HK and soon all JP. Most of WE taxes tuition benefits.

Tuition in Japan (JP?) is taxable now and always has been. It can make a big difference to your yearly tax bill, especially as the top tier schools tuition is 30K a year per child.

I don't believe it is a taxable benefit in Mexico and on south. Sweeping generalization, I know.

@Rhysboy

This issue requires clarification for our audience. Tuition has always been a taxable benefit, however in the past there was a threshold that if you dint reach your tuition benefit wasnt taxed. A new system is being implemented, supposedly this year, that will eliminate that exemption and close some other loop holes (this had nothing to do with IE, a number of multi-national corporations were using some creative accounting to avoid taxes on tuition, training and education benefits to there employees). So if your an IT at a upper tier IS your tution benefits were taxed, but if you were at a lower tier IS it was very likely you werent paying taxes on your tution benefit. The other issue is what does soon mean, the change could be implemented this year, or delayed.

So as far as western Europe goes, Switzerland appears to be the only country where free tuition for dependent kids is not taxed as a benefit?

@Nomad68

Thats not technically true. School fee tax benefits depend on the canton (state), and they do differ, and have various eligibility requirements, however in general the IS has already arranged for a tax ruling by the local tax administration authority to exempt school fees from tax.

@PsyGuy

Many thanks for the clarification. I will keep that in mind should anything ever come up i can apply for.