The thresholds: what should be happening
Repayments are income-contingent. Below your plan's threshold, nothing should be deducted. Above it, you repay a percentage of the amount over the threshold, not of your whole income. The current annual thresholds:
- Plan 1: £26,900 (9% of income above)
- Plan 2: £29,385 (9%)
- Plan 4: £33,795 (9%)
- Plan 5: £25,000 (9%)
- Postgraduate Loan: £21,000 (6%)
Notice how far apart those numbers are. A Plan 4 borrower wrongly recorded as Plan 5 starts repaying £8,795 of income too early. The plan on your payroll record is not a technicality. It is the single number that decides whether every deduction you see is right or wrong.
The errors worth checking for
- Wrong plan on payroll. New job, form filled in a hurry, employer defaults you to the wrong plan. Every deduction from then on is computed against the wrong threshold.
- Deductions below the threshold. Variable hours, bonuses, second jobs and payroll quirks can trigger deductions in months where your annual income never justified them.
- Repayments before your start date. You are not due to start repaying until the April after leaving your course. Deductions before that are refundable, and gov.uk says so.
- Deductions after the loan is cleared or written off. The system does not always stop on time. Money taken beyond the total owed is refundable.
- Double collection. PAYE deductions and a Self Assessment bill covering the same year can both collect. Without a reconciliation, the same loan gets paid twice.
- Payments missing from the account. Payslip says paid, account says nothing, and interest is charged on the higher balance in the meantime.
Student loan challenge templates are coming.
Records requests, over-deduction refund letters, wrong-plan complaints and escalation packs. Join the list to hear the moment they launch.
The refunds gov.uk says you can ask for
This is not campaigning. It is gov.uk's own refund page. You can ask for your money back where:
- you have paid more than the total amount you owe
- your annual income was below the threshold for your plan (HMRC confirms your income after the tax year ends)
- you started making repayments before you needed to
- your employer had you on the wrong repayment plan
One hard limit, stated just as plainly: you cannot get a refund for extra repayments you chose to make. A voluntary repayment is one-way. Before making one, look hard at your write-off date, because money paid voluntarily into a balance that was going to be written off anyway is simply gone. The write-off rules, plan by plan, are in the write-off guide.
How to actually check
- Sign in to your SLC repayment account and note your plan, balance and the payments credited
- Pull your payslips and P60 for the year, and total the student loan deductions
- Confirm the plan your employer is using matches the plan SLC has for you
- Compare your annual income against your plan's threshold for each year deductions were taken
- Check every payslip deduction eventually appears as a credit on the account
If any line fails, you have something concrete: not a grievance about an unfair system, but a specific error with a gov.uk-recognised refund route attached. Low-income refunds can be requested through your online repayment account; other refunds mean contacting SLC with your customer reference number. If SLC's answer does not resolve it, a formal complaint is the next step, and escalation routes exist beyond that. Our templates for exactly that journey are in the works: the Student Loan Errors page has the details and the launch list.
The honest bottom line
Parliament's Treasury Committee called the student loan system broken and unfair in July 2026, and said Plan 2 loans were mis-sold. What it did not do is create a compensation scheme, and nobody honest will promise you one. What exists right now is smaller but real: thresholds, refund grounds, and an account that is only correct if somebody checks it. Be the somebody.
The letter for this
Missing Repayment Credit Complaint
Written for this specific ground, with the law cited and the evidence demands built in. Complete the placeholders and send it.
Included free with the letter
- How Student Loan Complaints Work
- Money Left Your Pay But Never Reached Your Balance
Frequently asked questions
What income do I need before student loan repayments start?
It depends on your plan. The current annual thresholds are: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000 and Postgraduate Loan £21,000. You repay 9% of income above your threshold (6% for Postgraduate). Below the threshold, nothing should be taken.
Can I get a refund of student loan repayments?
Yes, in four situations gov.uk lists itself: you paid more than the total you owed; your annual income was below the threshold for your plan; you started making repayments before you needed to; or your employer had you on the wrong repayment plan. For below-threshold refunds, HMRC needs to confirm your income after the tax year ends.
How do I know if I am on the wrong repayment plan?
Your plan depends on when and where you took out the loan. Broadly: Plan 1 covers older English and Welsh loans, Plan 2 covers English and Welsh undergraduate loans from 2012 to 2023, Plan 4 covers Scottish borrowers, Plan 5 covers new English undergraduates from August 2023, and postgraduate loans have their own plan. Check your payslip deduction against your SLC online account. A wrong plan means a wrong threshold, which means wrong deductions every single month.
Can I get a refund of voluntary extra repayments?
No. Gov.uk is explicit: you cannot get a refund for extra repayments you chose to make. That is one reason to think very carefully before making voluntary repayments, especially if your balance is likely to be written off before you would ever clear it.
My payslip shows deductions but my SLC balance has not gone down. Why?
Employer deductions reach your account through HMRC, and there is a lag. But payments that never appear at all, or appear months late while interest ticks on the higher balance, are worth chasing. Keep every payslip and compare them against your SLC account statement.
Was my student loan mis-sold?
In July 2026 the Commons Treasury Committee concluded the promotion of Plan 2 loans amounted to mis-selling. But no court has ruled that, and there is currently no compensation or redress scheme, so treat anyone selling "student loan compensation claims" with caution. What exists today are concrete, individual rights: the refund grounds on this page, and the complaint routes when your account is wrong.
Sources: gov.uk, Repaying your student loan (thresholds, rates and refunds); House of Commons Treasury Committee, Student loans: Broken and unfair?, 7 July 2026. Figures and rules last checked 19 July 2026. Thresholds and rules change: check gov.uk for the current position.