Student loan repayments are taken automatically, so mistakes and mismatches do happen. GOV.UK lists four situations where you can ask for money back. Voluntary extra repayments are not one of them: GOV.UK says you cannot get a refund for extra repayments.
Because payroll tests each pay period separately, deductions can be taken in a year when your total income ends up under the yearly threshold, for example in a month with a bonus. GOV.UK says you can ask for a refund if your income over the whole tax year (6 April to 5 April) was less than the yearly threshold for your plan. For 2026/27 the yearly thresholds are £25,000 for Plan 5, £29,385 for Plan 2, £26,900 for Plan 1, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan.
Timing: you can only ask for tax years that have ended, and the refund is not paid until the SLC has confirmed your annual income with HMRC. If you are repaying a combination of Plans 1, 2 and 4, GOV.UK says you only qualify if your income was below the lowest of your thresholds.
How to claim: sign in to your student loan repayment account and ask for a refund for the previous tax year.
The earliest you are due to start repaying is the April after you leave your course. If a deduction was taken from your salary before your start date, you can ask for a refund. This can happen if you started a job while still studying and said on your starter checklist that you had a student loan.
A wrong plan usually means the wrong threshold. For example, if you are on Plan 2 (threshold £29,385) but payroll used Plan 5 (£25,000), you would have repaid too much. GOV.UK says you can get a refund if you repaid more than you needed to because your employer had you on the wrong plan type. First download your 'active plan type letter' from your online account and show it to your employer so they correct payroll. See which plan am I on?
When your loan is fully repaid, HMRC tells your employer to stop deductions, but GOV.UK says this can take around four weeks, so you may pay a little too much at the end. The SLC will try to contact you or refund you automatically; the payment shows in your bank account as 'SLC Receipts'. If you think you have overpaid and have not heard anything, you can ask for a refund. To avoid it in the first place, the SLC can move you to Direct Debit in the final year.
For the below-threshold refund, the SLC first needs your income for the year from HMRC, so it cannot be paid until after the tax year ends and that check is done. Keep your contact and bank details up to date in your online account so the payment reaches you.
Repayments through Self Assessment are worked out on your income for the whole year, so the month-by-month mismatch does not arise in the same way. If a figure on your return was wrong, correct the return with HMRC.
A Plan 5 borrower earns £23,000 in 2026/27, with a £1,000 bonus in one month that triggers a deduction of about £75. Their income for the year is £24,000, below £25,000, so after 5 April 2027 they can ask for that money back through their online account, once the SLC has confirmed their income with HMRC. See bonuses, overtime and two jobs.
Check what you should be repaying with the calculator.
Sources: GOV.UK: getting a refund · GOV.UK: when you start repaying · GOV.UK: which repayment plan you're on · HMRC: student loan guidance for employers. Checked 29 October 2026.
Last checked: 29 October 2026. Estimates only, not financial advice.
On Plan 5, you can ask if your income for the whole tax year was below £25,000 and deductions were still taken. You claim after the tax year ends.
The SLC pays refunds into your bank account. Automatic refunds of overpayments show as 'SLC Receipts'.
No. GOV.UK says you cannot get a refund for extra repayments.