DGII opened a public consultation on draft rules revising Income Tax deductions for educational expenses from the 2026 fiscal year. The proposal included a higher deduction limit for expenses benefiting people with certified disabilities or neurodevelopmental disorders, with comments accepted until 8 December 2026.
The Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) opened a public consultation on 6 October 2026 on a draft General Rule governing the deduction of educational expenses from income tax for individuals.
The proposal aims to align the existing rules with amendments introduced by Law No. 30-26, including an expanded deduction limit for expenses incurred for people with disabilities or neurodevelopmental disorders.
Scope of the proposed rules
The draft General Rule No. XX-2026 updates the existing framework under General Rule No. 06-2009 and is intended to apply to educational expenses incurred from the 2026 fiscal year. It covers eligible natural persons declaring personal Income Tax, including salaried employees, independent professionals, self-employed taxpayers and eligible contributors under the Income-Based Simplified Tax Regime (RST).
Eligible expenses include registration fees, tuition and periodic payments for formal pre-school, basic, intermediate, technical, technical-professional, undergraduate and postgraduate education. Educational materials purchased directly from recognised educational institutions may also qualify if supported by valid tax credit invoices.
Deduction limits and disability provisions
Under the draft, the standard deduction would be capped at 10% of the taxpayer’s taxable income, subject to a maximum of 30% of the official annual tax-exempt threshold established under Article 296 of the Tax Code.
The maximum would increase to 50% of the tax-exempt threshold for educational expenses benefiting a taxpayer or dependent with a certified disability or neurodevelopmental condition. The 10% limit based on taxable income would continue to apply.
To qualify for the expanded limit, the condition would need certification or validation by the National Disability Council (CONADIS) through a biopsychosocial assessment. A clinical diagnosis alone would not automatically establish eligibility for the higher deduction.
Invoicing and compliance requirements
The draft requires educational institutions to issue valid tax credit invoices containing the institution’s name and RNC, payment date, educational concept, student’s name, taxpayer’s name and payment amount. A separate invoice would be required for each student, and taxpayers would not be permitted to share or split the same invoice.
Taxpayers would also need to register their direct dependents and record eligible expenses through the DGII Virtual Office. The deadline for recording expenses incurred during the January-to-December period would be the last business day of February in the following year.
Salaried employees would file Form IR-18, and eligible RST contributors would submit their RST Income Return by the last business day of February. Individual declarants would file Form IR-1 by 31 March.
Legal basis and consultation deadline
The DGII launched the consultation under the applicable provisions of Law No. 167-21 on Regulatory Improvement and Simplification of Procedures, as amended by Law No. 14-25, Decree No. 486-22 and Law No. 107-13 on the rights of persons in their relations with the administration and administrative procedure.
The public consultation will close on 8 December 2026, allowing taxpayers and other interested parties to submit comments on the proposed rules.
