How much you repay depends on your income. 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 £22,015 £1,834 £423 Plan 2 £27,295 £2,274 £524 Plan 4 £27,660 £2,305 £532 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 – £1,834 (your income minus the Plan 1 threshold) = £916 9% of £916 = £82 This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £82. Example You’re on Plan 4 and have an income of £30,000 a year, meaning you get paid £2,500 each month. Calculation: £2,500 – £2,305 (your income minus the Plan 4 threshold) = £195 9% of £195 = £18 This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £18. Interest How much interest you’re charged depends which plan type you’re on. You’re currently charged: 5.25% if you’re on Plan 1 6.9% if you’re on Plan 2 5.25% if you’re on Plan 4 6.9% if you’re on a Postgraduate Loan plan The interest rate for Plan 5 will be based on the Retail Price Index. You can find out more about: how Plan 1 interest is calculated and interest rates for previous years how Plan 2 interest is calculated and interest rates for previous years how Plan 4 interest is calculated and interest rates for previous years how Postgraduate Loan interest is calculated and interest rates for previous years 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 £25,200 a year, meaning you get paid £2,100 each month. This is over the Plan 1 threshold of £1,834 but under the Plan 2 threshold of £2,274. You’ll repay 9% of your income over £1,834 a month because that is the lowest threshold out of the plan types you have. Calculation: £2,100 – £1,834 (your income minus the lowest threshold) = £266 9% of £266 = £24 This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £24. 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 £1,834 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 your income changes during the year You can ask for a refund if you make repayments during the year, but your annual income at the end of the tax year is less than the annual threshold for your plan type. 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.

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 will need to tell the Student Loans Company ( SLC ) . They will work out if you have to repay while you’re not in the UK and if so, how much you need to pay. 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: the minimum amount under Plan 1 for that country the minimum amount under Plan 2 for that country the minimum amount under Plan 4 for that country the minimum amount under the Postgraduate Loan plan for that country 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: annual statements from SLC online account 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 .

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 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 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: £22,015 a year for Plan 1 £27,295 a year for Plan 2 £27,660 a year for Plan 4 £21,000 a year for Postgraduate Loan If your annual salary is less than this, your employer may still deduct repayments - for example if you get paid a bonus or overtime. If you’re repaying a Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plan 4 loan , you can only get a refund if your income was less than £22,015. 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 Call or contact SLC on social media with your customer reference number. Contact the Student Loans Company The Student Loans Company Twitter: @SLC_Repayment Facebook: @SLCRepayment 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. The Student Loans Company 100 Bothwell Street Glasgow G2 7JD

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 took out the loan. Academic year you took out the loan When the loan’s written off 2005 to 2006, or earlier When you’re 65 2006 to 2007, or later 25 years after the April you were first due to repay 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 Academic year you took out the loan When the loan’s written off 2006 to 2007, or earlier When you’re 65, or 30 years after the April you were first due to repay - whichever comes first 2007 to 2008, or later 30 years after the April you were first due to repay 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.

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. Start now

Repaying your student loan

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, unless you’ve been paid too much. 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 student loan repayment 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 repayment 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.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Repaying your student loan

Overview

How to repay

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK

Cookies on GOV.UK

Repaying your student loan

Overview

How to repay

Sign in

Related content

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK