Repaying your student loan

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1. Overview

You need to pay back:

  • Tuition Fee Loans
  • Maintenance Loans
  • Postgraduate Loans

You do not need to pay back other student finance, for example grants and bursaries. You will have to repay any overpayments if you receive more of any type of student finance than you’re entitled to.

You still have to repay your student loan if you leave your course early.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

When you start repaying your loan and how much you pay depends on which repayment plan you’re on.

Keep your contact details up to date in your online account so that you can get messages about your loan.

How to repay

How you repay your loan depends on whether you’re employed or self-employed.

You can make extra repayments in your online account and by card, bank transfer or cheque.

Keep your payslips and your P60 for your records - you’ll need them if you want to get a refund.

If you leave the UK for more than 3 months

You must update your employment details to let the Student Loans Company (SLC) know you have left the UK. 

You will need to continue to repay your loan unless you provide evidence that your income is below the threshold.

You could build up arrears if you do not update your details. You’ll have to repay these even if your income is below the threshold for your repayment plan.

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2. Which repayment plan you're on

When you start repaying your loan and how much you repay depends on your repayment plan.

If you’re not sure which repayment plan you’re on, you can sign in to your online account to check.

You cannot choose your repayment plan. If you have more than one loan, you could be on different plans.

If you applied to Student Finance England

The repayment plan you’re on depends on when you started your course and what type of course you studied.

If you started your course on or after 1 August 2023

You’ll be on Plan 5 if:

  • you’re studying an undergraduate course
  • you’re studying a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)
  • you take out an Advanced Learner Loan

You’ll be on a Postgraduate Loan plan if you’re studying a postgraduate master’s or doctoral course.

You’ll be on Plan 2 if you take out a Higher Education Short Course Loan.

If you started your course between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023

You’ll be on Plan 2 if:

You’ll be on a Postgraduate Loan plan if you’re studying a postgraduate master’s or doctoral course.

If you started your course before 1 September 2012

You’re on Plan 1.

If you applied to Student Finance Wales

The repayment plan you’re on depends on when you started your course and what type of course you studied.

If you started your course on or after 1 September 2012

You’re on:

  • Plan 2 if you studied an undergraduate course or a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)
  • a Postgraduate Loan plan if you studied a postgraduate master’s or doctoral course

If you started your course before 1 September 2012

You’re on Plan 1.

If you applied to Student Awards Agency Scotland

You’re on Plan 4, whether you studied an undergraduate course or a postgraduate course.

If you applied to Student Finance Northern Ireland

You’re on Plan 1, whether you studied an undergraduate course or a postgraduate course.

If you think you’re on the wrong plan

Check which plan you’re on by signing in to your online account and downloading your ‘active plan type letter’. Then ask your employer which plan they have you on.

If it’s different from the plan in your letter, show this to your employer so they can update your payroll details. You can get a refund if you paid back too much of your loan because you were on the wrong plan type.

3. When you start repaying

You’ll only repay your student loan when your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan, unless you’ve been overpaid.

Your income is the amount you earn (including things like bonuses and overtime) before tax and other deductions.

The threshold amounts change on 6 April every year.

The earliest you’ll start repaying is:

  • the April after you leave your course
  • the April 4 years after the course started if you’re studying part-time or doing a Postgraduate Doctoral course and your course is longer than 4 years
  • April 2026 if you’re on Plan 5

Your repayments automatically stop if either:

  • you stop working
  • your income goes below the threshold

You’ll make a repayment if your income goes over the weekly or monthly threshold for your plan (for example, if you’re paid a bonus or overtime). You can ask for a refund at the end of the tax year if your annual income was less than the yearly threshold for your plan.

If you have a Plan 1 student loan

You’ll only repay when your income is over £480 a week, £2,082 a month or £24,990 a year.

If you have a Plan 2 student loan

You’ll only repay when your income is over £524 a week, £2,274 a month or £27,295 a year.

If you have a Plan 4 student loan

You’ll only repay when your income is over £603 a week, £2,616 a month or £31,395 a year.

If you have a Plan 5 student loan

You’ll only repay when your income is over £480 a week, £2,083 a month or £25,000 a year.

If you’re on a Postgraduate Loan repayment plan

If you took out a Master’s Loan or a Doctoral Loan, you’ll only repay when your income is over £403 a week, £1,750 a month or £21,000 a year.

Early repayments

There’s no penalty for paying some or all of your loan off early.

Repaying an overpayment

The Student Loans Company (SLC) will write to you if you’re paid more student loan or grant than you’re entitled to.

You must repay this separately from the rest of your student loan.

Read more about repaying an overpayment.

4. How much you repay

How much you repay depends on your income - the amount you earn (including things like bonuses and overtime) before tax and other deductions.

You’ll repay a percentage of your income over the ‘threshold’ for your type of loan, depending on how often you get paid.

The thresholds are different for each plan type.

Plan type Yearly threshold Monthly threshold Weekly threshold
Plan 1 £24,990 £2,082 £480
Plan 2 £27,295 £2,274 £524
Plan 4 £31,395 £2,616 £603
Plan 5 £25,000 £2,083 £480
Postgraduate Loan £21,000 £1,750 £403

You’ll repay either:

  • 9% of your income over the threshold if you’re on Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5
  • 6% of your income over the threshold if you’re on a Postgraduate Loan plan

The examples show how much you’d repay depending on your income and plan type:

Example

You’re on Plan 1 and have an income of £33,000 a year, meaning you get paid £2,750 each month.

Calculation:

£2,750 – £2,082 (your income minus the Plan 1 threshold) = £668  

9% of £668 = £60.12

This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £60.

Example

You’re on Plan 4 and have an income of £36,000 a year, meaning you get paid £3,000 each month.

Calculation:

£3,000 – £2,616 (your income minus the Plan 4 threshold) = £384  

9% of £384 = £34.56

This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £34.

If your income changes during the year

You’ll make a repayment if your income goes over the weekly or monthly threshold for your plan (for example, if you’re paid a bonus or overtime). You can ask for a refund at the end of the tax year if your annual income is less than the yearly threshold for your plan.

Interest

How much interest you’re charged depends on which plan you’re on. You’re currently charged:

  • 6.25% if you’re on Plan 1
  • 7.8% if you’re on Plan 2
  • 6.25% if you’re on Plan 4
  • 7.8% if you’re on Plan 5
  • 7.8% if you’re on a Postgraduate Loan plan

You can find out more about:

If you’re on more than one plan type

How much you repay depends on which of your plan types has the lowest repayment threshold and whether or not you have a Postgraduate Loan.

If you do not have a Postgraduate Loan

You’ll repay 9% of your income over the lowest threshold out of the plan types you have. You’ll only have a single repayment taken each time you get paid, even if you’re on more than one plan type.

Example

You’re on Plan 1 and Plan 2 and have an income of £26,400 a year, meaning you get paid £2,200 each month. This is over the Plan 1 threshold of £2,082 but under the Plan 2 threshold of £2,274.

You’ll repay 9% of your income over £2,082 a month because that is the lowest threshold out of the plan types you have.

Calculation:

£2,200 – £2,082 (your income minus the lowest threshold) = £118 

9% of £118 = £10.62

This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £10.

If your income went over the Plan 2 threshold, you’d still only repay 9% of your income over the Plan 1 threshold. You would not have to make a separate repayment towards your Plan 2 loan.

If you have a Postgraduate Loan

You’ll repay 6% of your income over the Postgraduate Loan threshold (£21,000 a year) and 9% of your income over the lowest threshold for any other plan types you have.

Example

You have a Postgraduate Loan and a Plan 2 loan and have an income of £28,800 a year, meaning you get paid £2,400 each month. This is over the Postgraduate Loan threshold of £1,750 and the Plan 2 threshold of £2,274.

Calculation:

£2,400 – £1,750 (your income minus the Postgraduate Loan threshold) = £650
6% of £650 = £39

£2,400 – £2,274 (your income minus the Plan 2 threshold) = £126
9% of £126 = £11

This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £50.

If you have more than one job

You’ll only make repayments from jobs where you’re paid over the threshold for your plan type, not your combined income.

Example

You have a Plan 1 loan and you have 2 jobs. Before tax and other deductions, you’re paid £1,000 a month from one job and £800 a month for the other.

You will not have to make repayments because neither salary is above the £2,082 a month threshold.

Example

You have a Plan 2 loan and you have 2 jobs. Before tax and other deductions, you’re paid £2,300 a month from one job and £500 a month for the other.

You will only make repayments on the income from the job that pays you £2,300 a month because it’s above the £2,274 threshold.

If you’re self-employed

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will work out how much you repay each year from your tax return. Your repayments will be based on your income for the whole year.

If you’ve already made repayments from a salary, HMRC will deduct them from the amount you have to repay.

5. How to repay

Your repayments will be taken out of your salary at the same time as tax and National Insurance if you’re an employee. Your payslips will show how much has been deducted. You should check your employer has you on the correct repayment plan.

You start repaying when your income is more than the minimum amount.

There’s no penalty if you make extra repayments to pay some or all of your loan off early.

If you’re self-employed

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will work out how much you pay from your tax return. You pay at the same time as you pay your tax.

If you’re an employee and you do a tax return

If you earn over the minimum amount, your employer will deduct loan repayments from your salary.

Check your payslips or P60 to see how much of your loan you’ve paid off during the tax year. You’ll need to include this information when you fill in your tax return.

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

If you leave the UK for more than 3 months

You must update your employment details to let the Student Loans Company (SLC) know you have left the UK. 

You will need to continue to repay your loan unless you provide evidence that your income is below the threshold.

If you do not update your details, you could build up arrears on your account. You’ll have to repay these even if your income is below the threshold for your repayment plan. You will need to repay any arrears separately to your monthly repayments.

To make sure you’re repaying the correct amount, you’ll need to update your employment details each year.

Repayment thresholds for different countries

The rules for repayment are the same as in the UK, apart from different repayment thresholds for each country.

If you’re abroad, your repayment amounts are based on:

Once SLC have told you how much you need to repay, you can make repayments:

  • through your online account
  • by International Bank Transfer (IBAN)

Online account

Sign in to your online account to:

  • make a one-off or set up recurring card payments using an international debit card
  • set up a Direct Debit

You can also use your online account to update your contact details and make extra repayments.

International Bank Transfer

To transfer money from a non-UK bank account, use the following details:

IBAN: GB37NWBK60708010027254
SWIFT: NWBKGB2L
NatWest Government Banking Team
NatWest Customer Service Centre
Brampton Road
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Staffordshire
ST5 0QX

Use one of these as your reference:

  • customer reference number
  • grant reference number (if it’s for a grant repayment)

Checking your repayments

You can check your repayments and balance in your:

If your contact details change, you must update them in your online account.

Avoid paying more than you owe

If you have nearly repaid your loan, you may be able to make your final repayments by Direct Debit instead of from your salary.

This makes sure your employer will not accidentally take more than you owe.

SLC will contact you in the final year of your loan repayments to let you know how to set up a Direct Debit.

Keep your contact details up to date in your online account.

6. Make extra repayments

You can choose to make extra repayments towards your student loan. These are in addition to the repayments you must make when your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan. There’s no penalty if you make extra repayments.

You cannot get a refund of any extra repayments you make.

You might not benefit from making extra repayments because your loan will be written off at the end of the loan term. Before you make an extra repayment, check when your loan will be written off.

You should speak to a financial adviser if you’re unsure whether you should make extra repayments or not.

If you decide to make an extra repayment, you can choose how it is applied to your loan. For example, you can use it to reduce the total balance of your loan or to reduce the balance of a specific plan (if you have more than one plan).

If you do not choose how the repayment is applied, the Student Loans Company (SLC) will decide how it’s applied for you.

If you’re a full time student from Wales, you may be able to get £1,500 of your Maintenance Loan written off.

Make a repayment without signing into an account

You can make a card repayment towards your loan or someone else’s without signing into an online account.

You need the person’s surname and customer reference number.

Make extra repayments from the UK

You can make extra repayments:

  • through your online account
  • by bank transfer
  • by cheque

Online account

Sign in to your online account to:

  • make a repayment using a debit card
  • set up a Direct Debit

Bank transfer

To make a bank transfer or set-up a standing order from a UK bank account you must use the following bank details:

Account name: Student Loans Company
Sort code: 60 70 80
Account number: 10027254

Use one of these as your reference:

  • customer reference number
  • grant reference number (if it’s for a grant repayment)

Your payment will not be applied to your student loan account if you do not use your reference number.

Cheque

To pay by cheque make your cheque payable to Student Loans Company Ltd and send it to:

Finance Department
Student Loans Company Ltd
10 Clyde Place
Glasgow
G5 8DF

You need to write your customer reference number on the back of your cheque. If you do not, your payment will not be applied to your student loan account.

It takes longer to process cheques than payments made by debit card or bank transfer. Your cheque will be backdated so you will not build up additional interest because of the delay.

Make extra repayments from overseas

You can make extra repayments:

  • through your online account
  • by International Bank Transfer (IBAN)

Online account

Sign in to your online account to:

  • make a one-off or set up recurring card payments using an international debit card
  • set up a Direct Debit

International Bank Transfer

To transfer money from a non-UK bank account, use the following details:

IBAN: GB37NWBK60708010027254
SWIFT: NWBKGB2L
NatWest Government Banking Team
NatWest Customer Service Centre
Brampton Road
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Staffordshire
ST5 0QX

Use one of these as your reference:

  • customer reference number
  • grant reference number (if it’s for a grant repayment)

Your payment will not be applied to your student loan account if you do not use your reference number.

Pay your loan off in full

Call or contact SLC on social media to find out:

  • the total amount you owe (this is called the ‘settlement amount’)
  • the date you need to pay by (this is called the ‘settlement date’)

You’ll need your latest payslip if you’re employed.

Once you know the total you owe, you can pay by debit card over the phone, bank transfer or cheque.

If you do not pay the settlement amount by the settlement date, you’ll need to contact SLC again. This is because the amount you owe might have changed. You’ll only need to provide any recent payslips or calculations since you last called.

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)

Find out about call charges

7. 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)

Find out about call charges

You can contact SLC by post.

Student Loans Company Ltd
10 Clyde Place
Glasgow
G5 8DF

8. When your student loan gets written off or cancelled

When your student loan gets written off depends on which repayment plan you’re on.

If you’re a full-time student from Wales, you may be able to get £1,500 of your Maintenance Loan written off.

When Plan 1 loans get written off

When your Plan 1 loan gets written off depends on when you were paid the first loan for your course.

If you were paid the first loan on or after 1 September 2006

The loans for your course will be written off 25 years after the April you were first due to repay.

If you were paid the first loan before 1 September 2006

The loans for your course will be written off when you’re 65.

When Plan 2 loans get written off

Plan 2 loans are written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.

When Plan 4 loans get written off

When your Plan 4 loan gets written off depends on when you were paid the first loan for your course.

If you were paid the first loan on or after 1 August 2007

The loans for your course will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.

If you were paid the first loan before 1 August 2007

The loans for your course will be written off when you’re 65, or 30 years after the April you were first due to repay – whichever comes first.

When Plan 5 loans get written off

Plan 5 loans are written off 40 years after the April you were first due to repay.

When Postgraduate Loans get written off

If you’re a student from England or Wales, your Postgraduate Loan will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.

If you’re a postgraduate student from Northern Ireland, you’re on Plan 1.

If you’re a postgraduate student from Scotland, you’re on Plan 4.

If someone with a student loan dies

The Student Loans Company (SLC) will cancel the person’s student loan.

You need to let SLC know that the person has died and provide evidence (for example an original death certificate), as well as the person’s Customer Reference Number.

If you can no longer work because of illness or disability

SLC may be able to cancel your loan if you claim certain disability benefits. You’ll need to provide evidence (for example a letter from the benefits agency) and your Customer Reference Number.

9. Update your employment details

You need to update your details if you:

  • leave the UK for more than 3 months
  • get a letter or email from the Student Loans Company (SLC) asking you to update your employment details

SLC use these details to work out if you should be repaying your loan.

You might be charged a higher interest rate if you do not update your details.

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