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  • Means Test Calculator

    The School Year 2023/2024


    FOR DEMONSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY

    If you meet the initial eligibility criteria for the SEC grant (residence, child’s religion, SEC school), please use the Means Test calculator below to estimate the grant that you may be eligible to receive for the 2023/24 school year

    All funds paid out in grants are provided by the Department of Education and Skills. The means test takes account of all financial information and is used to identify necessitous applicants below a certain threshold. The criteria for the test are reviewed annually by the board of directors of the SEC

    Please be aware that the calculator is only an estimation and does not guarantee you of the grant you may receive

    All applications must be accompanied by supporting documentation

  • 2021 Household Income

  • Enter your household (i.e. your and your spouse/partner/cohabitants) after tax income and/or total social welfare received in 2021

  •  To see which figures from your Revenue documents to include click here

    If you received social welfare only, deduct child benefit from the total figure on your 2021 Social welfare statement and enter it into the after tax income box

    Only capital allowances for trading losses are factored into the means test

  • Less: Dependent Child Allowance

  • This is a figure deducted by the SEC to account for the cost of each dependent child born after 31st August 1999 (under the age of 24) in your household and in full time education

  • In the table below you will see how this figure is calculated

     

     

    Examples:

    I have 3 dependent children and 1 of them is attending third level (eg University, plc, apprenticeship etc), my dependent child allowance is €17,910

    I have 3 dependent children, all attending either primary or secondary school, so my dependent child allowance is €15,336

  • Less: Rent/mortgage

  • Enter the total amount of rent or mortgage you paid in 2021 for your family home only

    If you live rent free or do not pay a mortgage enter €0.00

  • Plus: Liquid assets

  • Liquid assets are treated differently to property as they are divisible and can be converted to cash with relative ease

    Add together the current balances in your current account/s, savings account/s, value of your shares, investment bonds (e.g. Irish state savings), prize bonds, credit union savings

     Deduct €80,000 and enter the remaining figure

     

  • Plus: Property other than your family home

  • Enter property value minus the current mortgage balance then deduct €375,000

    If you have more than one property add the values together and deduct the added mortgage balances. Deduct €375,000 and enter into box

    Example:

    Your holiday home has a value of €400,000. The mortgage balance is €20,000. 

    (€400,000 - €20,000) - €375,000 = €5,000

    Enter €5,000 into box

     

  • You will be asked to provide evidence of valuation for your property and for any mortgage balance statements. Click here for document examples 

  • Based on the values entered to calculate the Estimated Net Reckonable Income, you would not be eligible for a grant

  • This figure does not guarantee the grant level that you will receive, more detailed information and supporting material will need to be supplied

    The estimated grant is based on your Net Reckonable Income

    Net Reckonable Incomes are divided into bands and grant amounts are awarded based on these bands

    The highest Net Reckonable Income that qualifies for a grant is €60,000

    The table below outlines the levels of grant payable in 2022/23. Grant amounts are reviewed annually

  • If you would like to apply for the 2023/24 SEC grant and are a new applicant, request a registration form from your school, if you applied last year a Registration Form will be automatically sent to you in October

     

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