SUSI assesses income from the previous year as part of its assessment criteria. Therefore, the income assessed for the 2016/17 academic year will be gross income for 2015.
Where there is self-employed, farming or rental income, SUSI requires a full set of trading accounts for 2015. SUSI also requires an acknowledgement of self-assessment (received from the Revenue Commissioners on submission of tax returns).
SUSI cannot fully process applications without this information, therefore such tax returns should be made early in 2016. See the following link for more detail: http://susi.ie/quick-links/self-employment-farming-or-rental/