If you've overpaid on your student loan, or your employer has been deducting repayments incorrectly, you may be entitled to a refund from the Student Loans Company.
Here's a clear breakdown of when you can claim, how much you might get back, and exactly how to apply.
When Do Student Loan Repayments Start?
Repayments begin the April after you finish or leave your course — not while you're still studying. The specific start dates are:
The April following course completion for most students
The April after four years for part-time or extended doctoral programmes
April 2026 — the first repayment year for Plan 5 borrowers (students who started in England from August 2023 onwards)
The 2026/27 Repayment Thresholds
You only repay when your earnings exceed the annual threshold for your plan. The current thresholds (from April 2026) are:
Plan | Annual threshold | Repayment rate
|
|---|---|---|
Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% |
Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% |
Thresholds are updated every April 6th. For context on how disbursements work, see our guide to SLC disbursements explained.
When Can You Claim a Student Loan Refund?
You've overpaid your total balance — if repayments exceeded the total amount owed, the excess should be returned to you.
Your annual income fell below the threshold — if you earned below the threshold but repayments were still deducted through PAYE, you can claim back the difference.
Repayments started too early — any payments taken before the April following your course end date can be refunded.
Wrong repayment plan applied — if your employer used the incorrect plan code, your deductions may have been calculated incorrectly and you may have overpaid.
Note: Voluntary overpayments cannot be refunded.
How to Claim a Student Loan Refund
Online (via your Student Finance account)
Log in to your student loan account at studentfinance.gov.uk
Go to "Your Balance"
Click the "Request a refund" link
Verify your bank details and email address
Submit your refund request
By phone
England, Scotland & Northern Ireland: 0300 100 0611
Wales: 0300 100 0370
International: +44 (0)141 243 3660
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8am–6pm
Mikaela Bartlett, senior SEO writer for us at Student Beans' talks about her experience with requesting a student loan refund and how simple it was:
"I rang up the Student Loans Company when I saw on TikTok that people were getting refunds from overpaying their student loan. I had absolutely zero hopes going into it (and actually wondered if I'd paid too little!), but they told me I had overpaid by £383! The overpayment gets re-added to your student loan balance but at this rate I'll never pay it off anyway, so the cash injection was a great Christmas gift top-up and was so simple to do!"
Well, that beats the £15 refund I got.
How Long Does a Refund Take?
The SLC aims to process refund requests within 28 days. You'll receive three confirmation emails as your claim progresses, and funds arrive within 3–5 working days of the final notification.
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