Self Assessment and Student Loan Repayments

Student loan repayments for the self-employed work differently from PAYE. Instead of your employer deducting them from your salary, they are calculated and collected through your Self Assessment return.

How Repayments Are Calculated

Your student loan repayment is based on your total income above the repayment threshold:

| Plan | Threshold (2026/27) | Rate | |------|---------------------|------| | Plan 1 (pre-2012) | £24,990 | 9% | | Plan 2 (post-2012) | £27,295 | 9% | | Plan 4 (Scotland) | £27,660 | 9% | | Plan 5 (post-2023) | £25,000 | 9% | | Postgraduate loan | £21,000 | 6% |

If you have both employment and self-employment income, your employer deducts repayments on your salary through PAYE, and Self Assessment collects the remainder based on your self-employment profit.

What to Enter on Your Return

Your Self Assessment return asks:

• Whether you have a student loan
• Which plan you are on
• Whether you have a postgraduate loan

HMRC calculates the repayment amount automatically based on your reported income.

Budgeting for Repayments

Student loan repayments are on top of your Income Tax and National Insurance. Include them in your tax budgeting. Accounted includes student loan calculations in your real-time tax estimate.

Overpayments

If you are close to repaying your loan in full, you may overpay through Self Assessment (since it is calculated on the full year's income). Contact the Student Loans Company to request a refund of any overpayment.

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