If you have received a letter from us regarding the start of repayment of your loan
Why have you sent me a letter advising I am due to start repayment of my Income Contingent Loan?
You become eligible to repay your Income Contingent Loan in the April following your graduation date, or date you leave your course. As this date approaches we contact HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and ask them to confirm your current employment status to us. The letter you have received provides confirmation of the employment status HMRC currently holds for you.
Your employment status can be one of the following:
- You are currently in employment – HMRC will instruct your employer to deduct student loan repayments from your salary once your gross income exceeds the repayment threshold. See How Repayments are Calculated for more information.
- You are currently in receipt of benefits – This includes benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or an Occupational Pension. You are not required to make any student loan repayments in this case.
- You were overseas but have returned to the UK - HMRC has informed us that you are now back in the UK and are employed or subject to self assessment. If this information is incorrect, and you will still be overseas for a period of 3 months or more, please contact us to confirm this and we will update our records and re-instate your overseas repayment schedule.
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Your letter advises that I am currently in employment, but this is incorrect. Why have you sent me this letter and what should I do?
You do not need to take any action at this time.
The letter you have received represents the most up to date information we have from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
If it is incorrect we will send you a Confirmation of Customer Details Pack once HMRC confirms this to us. This pack requests the current details of your circumstances.
Confirmation of Customer Details pack - frequently asked questions
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Do I have to inform my employer that student loan repayments are to be made from my salary?
You should not need to take any action as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will normally instruct your employer to take deductions from your salary once you are earning over the repayment threshold. See How Repayments are Calculated for more information.
If you are earning over the repayment threshold and no deductions are being taken from your salary from the date advised on your letter, please check with your employer if they have received a Start Notification from HMRC.
If your Employer has not received a Start Notification from HMRC, please call us on 0845 073 8891 to advise your current employment details i.e.
- The name and address of your employer
- Your employer’s PAYE Reference Number
- Your payroll number
- The date you commenced employment with your employer
We will contact HMRC with this information and they will issue another Start Notification to your employer.
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What should I do if my circumstances change?
If your salary changes you do not need to do anything as your employer will only deduct 9% of your gross salary over the repayment threshold.
If you change your employer they should give you a P45 form with box 5 marked with a Y. This is an instruction to your new employer to deduct repayments from your salary once it exceeds the repayment threshold.
If your previous employer has not given you a P45 form you can ask your new employer for form P46 and you should mark the relevant box on this to show you are eligible to make student loan repayments.
If you leave employment you do not need to inform us of this as no deductions can be taken while you are unemployed. HM Revenue & Customs will advise us you are no longer in employment and we will then issue you with a Confirmation of Customer Details Pack requesting you supply us with details of your circumstances at that time.
Confirmation of Customer Details pack – frequently asked questions.
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I have received a Confirmation of Customer Details pack, why has this been sent to me?
This has been sent to you because HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has informed us that they do not have a record of you:
- currently being in employment in the UK, or
- being in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or an Occupational Pension.
There are two forms with the pack, a UK Form and an Overseas Form.
Please complete and return the UK Form if:
- You are working in the UK.
- You are resident in the UK but not working.
Please complete and return the Overseas Form if:
- You are working overseas for a period of 3 months or more.
- You are overseas for a period of 3 months or more and are not working.
Please note that if you are overseas and do not fully complete and return an overseas form to us you may be liable to pay an overseas default amount.
Overseas repayment thresholds – more information.
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Why have I been sent a Confirmation of Customer Details Pack indicating I am not in employment when I am?
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have advised us that the most up to date information they have is that you are not currently in employment.
Please complete and return the UK form to us and we will advise HMRC of your current employment details.
HMRC will update their records with this information, acknowledge this to us and issue a Start Notification to your employer.
You should still complete and return the UK Form to us even if student loan deductions are currently being taken from your salary. This is to ensure that both HMRC and Student Loans Company records are accurate and up to date.
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What if I want to repay more or less than is being deducted from my salary?
Your employer cannot take deductions that are more or less than 9% of your gross salary over the repayment threshold.
If you wish to make additional repayments to your student loan, please see information about How to Repay More Quickly.
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I am a parent/3rd party - What do I do if a Confirmation of Customer Details pack has been received for a customer who is currently overseas?
If the customer is not currently in the UK and will be overseas for a period of less than 3 months, they should complete the UK Form and return this to us immediately upon their return to the UK.
If the customer is not currently in the UK and will be overseas for a period of 3 months or more, you can take the following actions on their behalf:
- Send the Overseas Form to the customer for them to complete and return this to us with the required evidence.
- Advise the customer that they can print off an Overseas Form (56kB) from this website and return it to us with the required evidence.
- If you are supporting the customer financially, you can complete the overseas form on their behalf and return this to us with a signed letter confirming you are currently supporting them while they are overseas.
- You can complete and return the overseas form to us with the appropriate evidence if you have this to hand e.g.:
- If the customer is living from savings while overseas, please provide us with a copy of their most recent bank statement showing the funds they are living from (please note that their name must be shown on this statement).
- If the customer is working overseas, please provide us with evidence of their income from employment.
Confirmation of Customer Details pack - frequently asked questions.
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Where can I get further information regarding my Income Contingent Loan repayments?
Please refer to the booklet Repaying your Student Loan in the Reference Guides section for more information on repayments.
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If you have received a Confirmation of Customer Details pack
Why have I received a Confirmation of Customer Details pack?
You have received a Confirmation of Customer Details pack because HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has advised us, based on their most up to date information, that you are not currently employed in the UK or in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or an Occupational Pension.
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What should I do if I am working in the UK?
Please fully complete the UK Form and return this to us.
We would particularly ask you to provide us with your employer’s PAYE Reference Number. An employer’s PAYE Reference Number is shown on your P60 and sometimes on payslips. The format of an employer’s PAYE Reference Number is 3 numbers followed by / and then alpha numeric characters.
If this information is not shown on your payslips, and you have not yet received a P60, please ask your employer for this information.
On receipt of your fully completed UK Form we will contact HMRC who will update their records with this information. They will acknowledge this to us and issue a Start Notification to your employer instructing them to take student loan deductions from your salary once you are earning over the repayment threshold.
For more information, see How Repayments are Calculated.
If you are Self Employed – please note your Unique Tax Payer Reference Number on the form. This is a ten digit number provided by HMRC. If you have not yet been allocated this number, please provide us with evidence of your current means of support (See below).
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What should I do if I am in the UK but not working?
Please fully complete the form and return this to us together with evidence of your current means of support.
Some common circumstances are:
- You are unemployed and in receipt of benefits.
Please provide us with a copy of a letter, dated within the last 3 months, from the DWP confirming your benefits or a copy of your current benefits agency book.
If your benefits are paid directly into your bank account, please provide us with a copy of your most recent bank statement which shows your name and the benefit being paid to you.
You can also ask the Benefits Agency to stamp the form and have someone there record their signature and the current date beside the stamp.
Please provide us with a signed letter from that person confirming that they are supporting you financially. They do not need to specify any amounts, only that they are providing you with financial support.
Please return the form to us if you are currently in receipt of financial support from the Student Loans Company. Write your Customer Reference Number on the form for the grant or loan that has been paid to you.
You must have received at least the first instalment of any grant or loan in the current academic year for this to be counted as your means of support.
If you are not in receipt of further support from us, please provide evidence of your means of support while you are studying, e.g. 3rd party support letter, copy of a bank loan agreement, copy of a grant award letter etc.
Please provide us with a copy of your latest bank statement showing the funds you are living from. Please note that your name must be shown on this statement.
On receipt of your fully completed UK Form, confirming you are not currently in employment, we will record this information on our records.
You should advise us immediately if you become employed or go overseas for more than 3 months. We will contact you again regarding repayments if HMRC advise us that you are in employment in the UK.
If you are having any difficulty in completing the UK Form, please call us on 0845 073 8891 to speak to one of our advisors.
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What should I do if I am overseas for more than 3 months and working?
Please fully complete the overseas form and return this to us with evidence of your salary. This can be:
- Copies of your last 3 months payslips
- A copy of your contract of employment dated within the last 3 months
- A letter from your employer, dated within the last 3 months, on headed paper confirming your gross salary. Note: Gross salary can be advised as weekly, monthly or annually.
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What should I do if I am overseas for more than 3 months and Self Employed?
We will accept your fully completed overseas form with no evidence if you tick the Self Employed (first year) box. However, you will have to provide us with evidence for self employment in subsequent years e.g. Tax Assessment, profit and loss accounts, accountant’s letter etc
Please note that there are certain circumstances where you may be working overseas but still in the UK Tax System e.g. British Army. If you are still in the UK Tax System and paying National Insurance contributions, you will have student loan repayments deducted through your salary. If this applies to you, please fully complete and return the UK form to us.
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What should I do if I am overseas for more than 3 months and not working?
Please complete the overseas form and return this to us together with evidence of your current means of support.
Some of the possible circumstances are the same as indicated above for customers not working in the UK e.g. you may be being supported by a 3rd party or living from savings etc.
If you will be working with a Voluntary Organisation overseas, please provide us with a letter from that organisation on headed paper confirming this.
If you are having any difficulty in completing the Overseas Form, please call us on 0845 073 8891 to speak to one of our advisors or, if you are calling from overseas, on + 44 141 243 3660.
Please note that completed UK/Overseas Forms, and any required evidence, must be posted to us as we cannot accept faxed or emailed copies of these forms.
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