Funding a bootcamp in New Zealand
New Zealand's student support system is built around approved courses at approved New Zealand providers, so the routes that reach a course taught from abroad run through work instead: an employer funding the training as a business expense, and the deduction against your own business income if you contract.
How you are paid decides which route reaches you
Inland Revenue lets you deduct training against business income you already earn, and there is no equivalent deduction for salaried employees, so the question here is not which scheme to apply to, it is how you are paid. If you contract or run a business, the deduction is yours to claim. If you are on a salary, the route is your employer, who deducts the same training as a business expense.
Your employer paying for the training, which is the widest route in New Zealand. A business deducts staff training as an ordinary expense, so the cost to the company is the fee less its tax, and nothing about the arrangement depends on who delivers the course. This is the conversation worth having first, and it is easier to win for a share of the fee than for all of it.
The deduction against your own business income, if you are self-employed, a sole trader or a contractor. A course that relates to the income you already earn is deductible against that income. Inland Revenue looks for the connection to your current business rather than to a new one, which is the same test Australia applies and the same trap: study to enter a field you are not yet in sits outside it.
Interest-free instalments from us, which need nobody's approval. Tuition spread into monthly payments made directly to Code Labs Academy, with no eligibility test beyond a place on the course.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use StudyLink or a Student Loan for this?
No, and the reason is structural rather than about any particular course. StudyLink's loan and allowance both apply to courses approved by the Tertiary Education Commission at approved New Zealand providers, so the system asks about the course and the provider before it asks about you. The same is true of the Training Incentive Allowance.
I am a contractor. Can I claim the fees?
If the course relates to the income you already earn, yes: it is deductible against that business income. Inland Revenue looks for the connection to your current business, so a web freelancer deepening into data work is on much firmer ground than someone entering tech for the first time. Talk to your accountant about your own position.
I am on a salary. Is there a deduction for me?
New Zealand has no self-education deduction for salaried employees, which is the scope of the tax rules rather than anything specific to this course. In practice that makes the employer route the one worth pursuing: your company can fund the training and deduct it as a business expense.
Will my employer be taxed on paying for my course?
Training your employer buys for business reasons is an ordinary deductible expense for them. Fringe benefit tax rules can apply depending on how the arrangement is structured, so it is worth their accountant confirming the treatment before the invoice is raised rather than after.
Could ACC pay for retraining after an injury?
In principle. ACC vocational rehabilitation is not restricted to New Zealand providers, so an online course can be considered, but it needs an accepted claim, weekly compensation, an approved rehabilitation plan and, since May 2026, pre-approval. We have no documented case of it funding a course like ours, so treat it as a question for your case manager rather than as a route to plan around.
Does studying with you affect my Fees Free entitlement later?
It might, and Fees Free is the right place to ask rather than us. It covers the final year of a first eligible New Zealand qualification, and Inland Revenue says that study or a payment you have already had can count against a claim. Whether a course like ours is treated that way is a question for them, so check your own position on Inland Revenue's Fees Free page before you enrol.
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