SUSI Grant 2026/27: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

If you’re starting or continuing college in September 2026, the SUSI grant is the main State support for student living costs and fees, and applications for the 2026/27 academic year are open now at susi.ie. Eligibility mainly depends on your household’s reckonable income, family size, and how far you live from college. Thanks to Budget 2026, thresholds are higher and the student contribution is permanently lower, so it is worth applying even if you were refused before.

What does the SUSI grant actually cover?

SUSI provides two separate supports: a maintenance grant towards your living costs, and a fee grant that can cover the student contribution charge. Many students qualify for both, some for just one, and the amounts depend on your household income band.

• Maintenance grant — paid in instalments across the academic year to help with rent, food, travel and day-to-day costs.
• Fee grant — can cover the student contribution (now €2,500 per year for undergraduates), and in some cases tuition fees or field trip costs where the Free Fees Initiative doesn’t apply.

Remember that the Free Fees Initiative already covers tuition fees for most first-time, full-time undergraduates — so for most students, the fee grant’s real value is covering that €2,500 contribution.

Who qualifies for SUSI in 2026/27?

Qualification depends mainly on your household’s reckonable income for the previous tax year, assessed against thresholds that vary with family size and how many family members are in college. There are also nationality/residency requirements and rules about progression (you generally can’t get a grant to repeat the same level of study).

Your maintenance rate also depends on distance:

Rate	Distance from home to college
Adjacent	Less than 30km
Non-adjacent	30km or more

The non-adjacent rate is higher because it assumes you need to live away from home. Exact maintenance amounts vary by income band, so check the current rate tables on susi.ie rather than relying on figures from older articles.

If you’re a mature student or living independently of your parents, you may be assessed on your own (and your spouse’s or partner’s) income instead — citizensinformation.ie explains the classes of applicant in detail.

What did Budget 2026 change for students?

Budget 2026 made several permanent improvements that take effect for the 2026/27 academic year. The headline changes:

• The undergraduate student contribution was permanently reduced from €3,000 to €2,500 per year.
• The Special Rate (top-rate maintenance) income threshold rises from €27,400 to €28,600 from September 2026.
• The household income threshold for the €500 student contribution grant rose from €115,000 to €120,000 — so more middle-income families get at least partial help with the contribution.
• The holiday-earnings income disregard rose from €8,424 to €8,830, meaning more of a student’s own summer job earnings are ignored when household income is assessed.
• The postgraduate fee contribution grant rose from €4,000 to €4,500.

The practical message: if your family was just above a threshold last year, run the numbers again. Full details are on gov.ie and susi.ie.

How and when should you apply?

Apply online at susi.ie as early as possible — you do not need a CAO offer or college place to apply. Applications for 2026/27 are open now, and early applicants are processed first, which matters if you want your grant confirmed before term starts and rent deposits fall due.

The broad steps:

1. Create or log in to your SUSI account and complete the online application.
2. SUSI checks much of your income data directly with Revenue and the Department of Social Protection.
3. If more evidence is needed, SUSI writes to you with a document request — respond quickly.
4. You receive a decision letter setting out what you’ve been awarded (or why you were refused).

What documents will you need?

Most applicants need proof of income for the relevant tax year, plus documents confirming identity, residency and household circumstances. Commonly requested items include:

• PPS numbers for you and your parents/guardians (or spouse/partner)
• Evidence of income not visible to Revenue (e.g. foreign income, rental income)
• Proof of separation, divorce or lone-parent status where relevant
• Confirmation of other children in full-time further or higher education

Gather these before you apply — the single biggest cause of delay is slow responses to document requests.

What can you do if you’re refused?

You have the right to appeal, and many appeals succeed where circumstances were misunderstood or have changed. First, read the refusal reason carefully. Then:

1. Appeal to SUSI — submit an appeal to a SUSI appeals officer within 30 days of the decision.
2. Student Grant Appeals Board — if the SUSI appeal fails, you can escalate to the independent appeals board.
3. Change of circumstances — if household income has dropped since the assessed tax year (job loss, retirement, separation), you can ask to be assessed on the current year’s estimated income instead.

The appeals process is explained step by step on citizensinformation.ie.

What are the most common SUSI mistakes?

The most common mistakes are applying late, understating household details, and ignoring correspondence. Watch out for these in particular:

• Waiting for CAO results to apply — apply now; you can update your course choice later.
• Missing document deadlines — an unanswered request can close your application.
• Forgetting siblings in college — more family members in full-time education raises the income thresholds in your favour.
• Not declaring a change of circumstances — a mid-year drop in income can move you into eligibility.
• Assuming last year’s refusal still stands — thresholds changed in Budget 2026, so reassess.

Applying costs nothing but an hour of your time. With the higher 2026/27 thresholds and the reduced €2,500 contribution, the combination of a fee grant and even a partial maintenance grant can take thousands of euro of pressure off a college year — start at susi.ie today.