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Repaying your student loan

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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:

  • £26,900 a year for Plan 1
  • £29,385 a year for Plan 2
  • £33,795 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 £26,900 a year.  

The Plan 2 threshold is £29,385 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 (£26,900 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

Sign into your student loan repayment account and ask for a refund.

If you need a refund for any other reason

Contact the Student Loans Company with your customer reference number (CRN).

View a printable version of the whole guide

This page is Part of Start a new job: step by step

  1. Step 1 Get your National Insurance number

    You'll usually need your National Insurance number when you start your new job.

    1. Find your National Insurance number
    1. Apply for a National Insurance number if you do not already have one

  2. Step 2 Accept the job offer

    The offer might be ‘conditional’ or ‘provisional’, which means you may need to give further details to your new employer or pass pre-employment checks.

    1. Find out about your rights when accepting a job offer

  3. Step 3 Share your details for any employer checks

    Give your new employer what they need to complete any pre-employment checks.

    1. Find out what checks your employer can make
    1. Find out how to prove your right to work
    1. Find out about criminal record checks

  4. Step 4 Review your employment contract

    Your new employer should give you an employment contract. Check the terms before you agree to it.

    1. Find out about employment contracts

  5. and If you're leaving a job, hand in your notice

    Tell your current employer that you’re going to leave and when your last day will be. This is known as handing in your notice.

    1. Find out how to hand in your notice

    When you hand in your notice, ask your employer when you’ll get your P45.

    1. Find out about the P45

  6. Step 5 Prepare your personal information for your first day

    To get paid, you’ll need to give your new employer:

  7. Step 6 Give your P45 to your new employer

    Your new employer will use your P45 to work out how much tax to take from your pay.

    1. Find out about the P45

  8. or If you do not have a P45, fill in the starter checklist

    Use the starter checklist to give your employer details they need to work out your pay and tax.

    1. Fill in the starter checklist

  9. Step 7 Check your first payslip

    Your employer must give you a payslip on or before payday.

    1. Find out what should be on your payslip

    It’s your responsibility to make sure you’re paying the right amount of tax.

    1. Check if the tax on your payslip is correct

    If you think the tax is wrong, your tax code may be incorrect.

    1. Find out what to do if you think your tax code is wrong