response in this situation

Dear all,

I have a private tutor who teaches me Japanese, and at the end of each lesson, I pay her the fee. When she accepts the cash, she says, ''ありがとうございます''. I am not sure what to say in response to this, so I say, ''どういたしまして ''. I know that どういたしまして is taught as the standard response (to beginners, at least), but most people seem to translate this as ''You're welcome'' or ''Don't mention it''. It seems a little strange to me to say this because I haven't done her a favour or gone above and beyond (in fact, I am always thanking her for the lesson). Is どういたしまして still an appropriate response when someone thanks you for paying her / him?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Telfer

Hi!(^-^)/
Yes, どういたしまして is a bit strange.
In that case, こちらこそ (it's I who should say so) matches.
And you can say とんでもない (what a thing to say) also.
They are often used as とんでもない！こちらこそありがとうございました.
In Japanese culture, polite people often thank and apologize with little reason, so this phrase is often used.

Telfer,

Actually, what do you say as you pay her the fee?

At the end of any kind of lesson, the student is supposed to say ありがとうございました. You can pay her the fee as you say this, and then she'd probably say ありがとうございました in return, and that would finish your greetings.

If there has to be a few momemts between your ありがとうございました and your payment, then you can say よろしくおねがいします or どうぞ、おおさめください (please take this) as you pay her, and then she's day ありがとうございました in return, and that would finish the greeting.

As Uco said, if you still say ありがとう to her,
you can say いえ、こんごともよろしくおねがいします (oh no, I appreciate your continued teaching). いえ is able to be omitted.

Or you may want to ask her "What should I say in this situation?"

Thank you both for these very helpful answers.

Uco, in answer to your question, when I offer sensei the money, I bow, offer th money with both hands, and say "どうもありがとうございます", and then sensei replies with the same while accepting. It was at this point that I was unsure of what to say, but now, thanks to you both, I have some responses that feel more natural to try out.

ajapaneseboy, I had considered asking sensei directly, but I failed to do so after my first lesson and so many lessons have passed since then that I have been too embarrassed to bring it up!

Thank you again to both of you.