Repaying your student loan
Getting a refund
You can ask for a refund if:
- you’ve paid more than the total amount you owe
- your annual income was below the threshold
- you started making repayments before you needed to
- you’ve repaid more than you need to because your employer had you on the wrong repayment plan
You cannot get a refund for extra repayments.
If you pay back more than you owe
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will tell your employer to stop taking repayments from your salary when you have repaid your loan in full. It can take around 4 weeks for salary deductions to stop.
This means you may pay back more than you owe.
You can avoid paying more than you owe by changing your payments to Direct Debit in the final year of your repayments. Keep your contact details up to date in your online account so SLC can let you know how to set this up.
If you have paid too much the Student Loans Company (SLC) will try to:
- contact you to tell you how to get a refund
- refund you automatically (this will appear in your bank account as ‘SLC Receipts’)
You can check your loan balance in your online account.
If you’ve overpaid and have not heard from SLC you can ask them for a refund.
If your annual income was below the threshold
Your income is the amount you earn (including things like bonuses and overtime) before tax and other deductions.
You can ask for a refund if you made repayments but your income over the whole tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year) was less than:
- £24,990 a year for Plan 1
- £27,295 a year for Plan 2
- £31,395 a year for Plan 4
- £21,000 a year for Postgraduate Loan
If your annual salary is less than this, your employer may still have deducted repayments. For example, if you were paid a bonus that put you over the monthly threshold for your plan, they would deduct a repayment for that month.
You will not get a refund for any repayments until after SLC have confirmed your annual income with HMRC. This will not happen until after the end of the tax year. You can only ask for a refund for tax years that have ended.
If you’re repaying a combination of Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plan 4 loans, you can only get a refund if your income was less than the lowest threshold.
Example
You’re repaying a Plan 1 and Plan 2 loan.
The Plan 1 threshold is £24,990 a year.
The Plan 2 threshold is £27,295 a year.
The Plan 1 threshold is lower.
This means you can only get a refund if your income was less than the Plan 1 threshold (£24,990 a year).
Check which repayment plan you’re on if you’re not sure.
You can check previous thresholds if you ask about a refund on repayments made before this tax year.
If you started repaying before you needed to
If a deduction is taken from your salary before you’re due to start repaying, you can ask for a refund.
If your employer had you on the wrong repayment plan
You can get a refund if you’re on Plan 2 or Plan 4 but your employer had you on another plan. Check your employer has you on the correct repayment plan.
How to ask for a refund
If your annual income was below the threshold for the previous tax year
Fill in a refund request form and send it to SLC.
If you need a refund for any other reason
Call or contact SLC with your customer reference number.
Contact the Student Loans Company
The Student Loans Company
Telephone: 0300 100 0611 (England, Northern Ireland or Scotland)
Telephone: +44 (0)141 243 3660 (outside the UK)
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Telephone: 0300 100 0370 (Wales)
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (not open on bank holidays)
You can contact SLC by post.
Student Loans Company Ltd
10 Clyde Place
Glasgow
G5 8DF