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Repaying Your Student Loan
You will not have to start repaying your loan until the April after you have finished or left your course. The amount you repay will be linked to your income. You will be expected to repay 9% of your income each year over the £10,000 or the monthly (£833) or weekly (£192) equivalent.
The SLC will work with the Inland Revenue to collect repayments. They will be taken by your employer and shown on your pay statement. If you are self-employed, the repayments will be collected through the tax self-assessment system.
You will not have to make repayments while your income is below the threshold of £15,000. If for any reason your income falls below that amount, you will not have to make repayments until your income rises above it.
The table below shows the monthly repayments that you would need to pay if you were earning different amounts, and how much the repayments would be as a percentage of you total income.
Repayments from April 2008
Income each year Monthly repayment Repayment as a % of income
upto £15,000 0 0%
£16,000 £7 0.6%
£17,000 £15 1.1%
£18,000 £22 1.5%
£19,000 £30 1.9%
£20,000 £37 2.3%
£21,000 £45 2.6%
£22,000 £52 2.9%
£23,000 £60 3.1%
£24,000 £67 3.4%
£25,000 £75 3.6%
How much will you have to pay back?
Interest on the amount that you owe will be linked to inflation. This means the value of the amount you pay back will be broadly the same, in real terms, as the value of the amount you borrowed. This will apply as long as the loan lasts, and will include any time when you are studying or are not repaying the loan, as well as when you are repaying the loan.
The length of time to repay your loan will depend on your income after you leave university/college and the total amount you have borrowed. You will normally continue to repay the loan until you have paid off the full amount. If you have kept up your repayments, any loan you still owe will be cancelled:
- when you reach the age of 65;
- if you become permanently disabled;
- after 25 years
You can find more details on repaying your loan in the guide 'Student Loans: A guide to Terms and conditions', which is available on the Direct Gov website.
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