Repaying your student loan

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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)

If you return to the UK after more than 3 months away

You must update your employment details when you return to the UK after more than 3 months away.

If you do not, you’ll continue repaying your loan at the rate for the country you’ve been living in. That could mean:

  • paying more than you need to
  • you’re charged a higher rate of interest

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.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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