Latest updated 25-09-2026

SUSI Grants, Explained

SUSI's official income thresholds & grant award rates table is dense. I didn't understand it, so I made my own version — AI-generated, then reviewed by me. Hover or tap any dotted-underlined term for a plain-English definition.

Not affiliated with SUSI or any government body. This is an unofficial personal tool.

May contain inaccurate information. Figures change every academic year — check the official SUSI page before making decisions. Don't depend on this page. AI-generated, human-reviewed.

The table, broken down

One table, two things happening at once: (1) how low a household's income must be to qualify for each tier, and (2) how much money that tier actually pays. The tiers run from richest (Special Rate) down to a token €500 fee discount. Rates below are for academic year 2026/27.

tooltips: hover (desktop) or tap (mobile) any dotted term

Award tier <4 dependent children 4–7 children 8+ children Adjacent <30km Non-adjacent 30km+
Special Rate maintenance + field trip + 100% tuition or contribution €28,600 €31,350 €33,980 €3,230 €7,936
Band 1 Full Maintenance + field trip + 100% tuition or contribution €47,010 €51,520 €55,850 €1,774 €4,722
Band 2 Part Maintenance + field trip + 100% tuition or contribution €48,270 €52,900 €57,345 €1,343 €3,532
Band 3 Part Maintenance + field trip + 100% tuition or contribution €51,040 €55,940 €60,635 €975 €2,702
Band 4 Part Maintenance + field trip + 100% tuition or contribution €58,470 €64,080 €69,465 €612 €1,866
No maintenance — 50% tuition fees or 100% student contribution €64,315 €70,490 €76,410 — —
No maintenance — 50% student contribution €71,300 €78,145 €84,710 — —
No maintenance — €500 student contribution €120,000 €131,520 €142,570 — —

Not shown as a column: for each additional person in the household attending a full-time or approved part-time course, every threshold goes up by €4,950 (Special Rate, Band 1 and the fee-only tiers) or €4,785 (Bands 2–4) — two students in one house stretches the same income further. The maintenance amounts (adjacent / non-adjacent) are the same for every tier regardless of family size.

The two axes of the table

Vertical axis — how much you get. The higher tiers pay a bigger maintenance grant AND a bigger share of the fees. The bottom three tiers pay no maintenance at all — they're fee discounts only. Even a €120,000-income household gets something: SUSI covers all but €500 of the student contribution.

Horizontal axis — household shape. More dependent children means a higher income limit, because feeding five kids on €50k is not the same as feeding one. And the extra-student rule raises the limit again for each additional family member studying.

Adjacent vs non-adjacent, in real terms

The distance test runs from the student's normal residence to their college, and it's a cliff edge, not a slope: 29km = adjacent rate, 31km = non-adjacent rate. The non-adjacent rate is roughly 2.5x higher because it's assumed the student is paying rent near campus. Living at home 5km from campus? Adjacent. The gap between the two rates is essentially an accommodation subsidy.

Fine print from the official page: tuition students and anyone receiving BTEA are not eligible for a maintenance grant. Students on compulsory study abroad or Erasmus periods keep receiving maintenance where applicable.

Worked example

A hypothetical household — all figures illustrative, chosen to show how the table gets read. Say: a student lives with one parent, one dependent child in the household, and the household's reckonable income for the assessment year is €12,400.

Step Check Result
1 Household reckonable income (example figure) €12,400
2 Special Rate limit (fewer than 4 dependent children) €28,600
3 Band 1 limit — the fallback tier €47,010
4 Income is under both → top of the table territory qualifies
5 Assessment income window (AY 2026/27) 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2025

At €12,400, this household is deep under every threshold in the table. Even if some income disregard were disallowed, it couldn't plausibly climb above €28,600. The fee grant (100% tuition or student contribution + field trip element) is safe at this income level regardless of tier.

The detail that decides the maintenance rate

The Special Rate (€3,230 adjacent / €7,936 non-adjacent) has an extra condition beyond income: on 31 December of the year before the application, the household's reckonable income must include an eligible long-term Department of Social Protection payment (as prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme), or an EU equivalent. If the example household's income includes a qualifying long-term DSP payment, it's Special Rate. If not, the award is Band 1 Full Maintenance (€1,774 adjacent / €4,722 non-adjacent) — same 100% fee grant, smaller maintenance payments. Same idea at any income: find the row, then check the DSP condition for the Special Rate.

Adjacent or non-adjacent?

If this student's college is under 30km from home, the adjacent rate applies: €3,230 (Special) or €1,774 (Band 1) across the year, paid in 9 monthly instalments directly to the student. Non-adjacent money only enters the picture at 30km or more.

What SUSI pays vs what the student pays

If the course is covered by the Free Fees Initiative, the State covers tuition separately, and SUSI's fee grant pays the entire student contribution (€2,500 in 2026/27) at this income level — the direct college fee bill is effectively zero, plus the field trip element if the course has compulsory trips. Maintenance money lands in the student's bank monthly.

Reality check: the assessment uses actual gross income for the full calendar year before the application (for AY 2026/27, that's 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2025) — not the most recent payslip, and not net income. Real documents (P60s, Statements of Liability, DSP statements) decide it.

Every term on that page, explained

The jargon SUSI's table assumes you already know — the same definitions as the tooltips, in one place.

THE TWO HALVES OF A GRANT
Maintenance grant
Money towards day-to-day living costs — rent, food, transport, books. Paid directly to the student, in 9 monthly instalments across the academic year. "Full" maintenance is the 100% rate (Band 1); "Part" maintenance is reduced percentages (Bands 2–4). Comes in two flavours: adjacent (college under 30km from home) and non-adjacent (30km or more — roughly 2.5x more money, because living away costs more).
Fee grant
The other half, paid to the college, not the student. Three components: tuition fees, the student contribution charge, and compulsory field trip expenses. Which components SUSI actually pays depends on Free Fees Initiative status (see How money flows).
FEE-GRANT COMPONENTS
Tuition fees
The actual cost of teaching — lectures, exams, institutional services. Charged when the course is not covered by the Free Fees Initiative. If SUSI pays them, it pays the college either up to €6,270 (student FFI-eligible but course isn't) or 100% of the EU rate of fee (course is FFI-covered but student isn't).
Student contribution
An annual charge every student pays towards their college, separate from tuition. Set at €2,500 for 2026/27 (permanently cut from €3,000 under Budget 2026). Depending on income band, SUSI pays 100% of it, 50%, or a flat €500. This is why the table's bottom rows still exist: even a €120,000 household gets €2,000 of it covered.
Field trip element
Part of the fee grant covering compulsory field trips the course requires (think geography or biology fieldwork). Deliberately vague in the table: there's no fixed euro amount. You get it only if the course actually has compulsory trips, you apply for it, and there's enough funding left in the total award. The table just marks which tiers can include it.
INCOME & ELIGIBILITY TERMS
Reckonable income
The magic phrase. The household's gross income from all sources for the previous calendar year (for AY 2026/27: 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2025), after SUSI's specific disregards — e.g. student holiday earnings up to a limit, scholarships, and certain payments are subtracted. This is the number compared against the thresholds. Not the same as take-home pay, and not net income either.
Dependent children
Children the household financially supports — under 16, or over 16 and still in full-time education, or with a disability, as prescribed by the scheme. The three columns in the table (<4, 4–7, 8+) are just this: bigger families get higher income limits.
Threshold increase per additional person in college
For each extra family member attending a full-time or approved part-time course, the household's income limit rises by €4,950 or €4,785 depending on band. Two siblings in college = the limit goes up once.
Special Rate
The top tier — the biggest maintenance payments in the whole table. Three conditions: the student qualifies for the ordinary rate, household reckonable income is under the Special Rate limits (€28,600 for <4 children), and on 31 December of the year before applying, the household income included an eligible long-term Department of Social Protection payment (or EU equivalent). It's aimed at households already dependent on long-term welfare.
Bands 1–4
The ordinary maintenance tiers, from full rate down. Band 1 = 100% ("Full Maintenance"), Bands 2–4 = decreasing "Part Maintenance" percentages. Every band still gets the full fee grant (100% tuition or student contribution + field trip element) — only the living-costs money shrinks.
STATUS & SCHEME ACRONYMS
FFI — Free Fees Initiative
State scheme where the government pays tuition for eligible first-time undergraduates on approved courses. After registration, the college determines whether the student and course are FFI-covered — that determination decides which piece of the fee grant SUSI pays (student contribution vs tuition fees).
BTEA — Back to Education Allowance
A Department of Social Protection payment for people returning to education. If you receive it, you cannot also receive a SUSI maintenance grant — you'd get the fee grant only.
Adjacent / Non-adjacent
Distance bands for the maintenance grant. Adjacent: college is less than 30km from the student's normal residence. Non-adjacent: 30km or more. A cliff edge at exactly 30km, and the rate difference (~2.5x) exists to reflect accommodation costs of living away from home.
Gross income (previous calendar year)
Income before tax, from all sources, for the full calendar year before the application — for AY 2026/27 that's 2025. Not your most recent payslip, not last academic year: the calendar year.

How the money actually flows

Who pays whom, and when. The short version: maintenance goes to the student's bank account monthly; fee money never touches the student's hands — it goes straight to the college.

Money Paid to When / how
Maintenance grant the student 9 monthly instalments over the academic year
Student contribution (if FFI) the college after registration, all or part, per band
Tuition fees (if not FFI) the college max €6,270, or 100% EU rate of fee
Field trip element the college only if course has compulsory trips + funds remain

The FFI decision tree

After registration, the college decides two things: is the student eligible for free fees, and is the course covered. SUSI then pays accordingly:

Student FFI-eligible? Course FFI-covered? SUSI pays the college
Yes Yes All or part of the student contribution (State covers tuition separately)
Yes No Tuition fees, up to €6,270
No Yes Up to 100% of the EU rate of fee for the course

Study abroad & Erasmus: if the course includes a compulsory period of study abroad, or a compulsory Erasmus study/work placement through a participating institution, maintenance grant payments continue where applicable. The money follows the course, not the campus.

Why a fee bill can still not be zero: college levies (student centre, sports, USI card) and course equipment are NOT covered by any SUSI element. The student contribution is covered at your band — levies and non-compulsory costs stay with the student.

About this page

What this is, what it isn't, and where the numbers came from.

The origin story: SUSI's official table packs eight award tiers, three family-size columns and a pile of jargon into one grid. I didn't understand it, so I had an AI break it down and then reviewed at a glance. It started as a personal study tool; publishing it in case it helps someone else.

Accuracy: figures are for academic year 2026/27, checked against the official SUSI page in September 2026. Rates and thresholds change most years — always confirm on the official SUSI page before relying on them. This page is not financial, legal, or application advice, and it doesn't cover every rule (course eligibility, nationality/residence, progression rules and more all apply on top of the income test).

Affiliation: none. This is an unofficial page by a private individual. SUSI has not reviewed or endorsed it, and nothing here is an official communication. Grant decisions rest with SUSI alone — when in doubt, ask SUSI directly.

Data licence: the thresholds, rates and scheme rules summarised here come from SUSI's website. Contains Irish Public Sector Information from Student Universal Support Ireland, re-used under the PSI licence (CC BY 4.0).

Sources