Repayments
How you will repay your student loan for living costs.
You only start repaying your student loans after you leave your degree programme and are earning more than £18,330 a year.
Key points
- you start to pay back your loan when you have graduated and are earning more than £18,330 annually
- the amount will be automatically taken out of your salary
- student loans do not go on credit files
- repayments are made over the course of 35 years
- after 35 years, if you haven’t finished paying the loan, it is wiped off
- you do not have to pay back bursaries or government grants
How loan repayments work
- repayments on your student loan will start in the April following your graduation, provided you are earning more than £18,330
- if your income falls below £18,330, your repayments stop - for example if you take a career break or are unemployed - until you start earning £18,330 again
- all your student loans are added together and your employer will automatically take repayments from your salary, at the same time as they take tax and National Insurance contributions
- if you are self employed, HM Revenue & Customs will collect your repayments through the self-assessment system, along with your tax
- any outstanding balance is written off after 35 years.
Further details on repayment rates and how to repay student loans can be found on the Student Loans Company (SLC) website.