Student Loan Refund: How to Claim Back £100s in Overpayments 🎓

Did you know you could be owed HUNDREDS of pounds in student loan refunds without even realising?!

More than ONE MILLION student loan overpayments were recorded during the 2025/26 tax year, with the average refund worth around £240!

And the best part? Checking whether you're owed money can take just a couple of minutes, with many people able to request their refund online without providing payslips or filling out lengthy forms.

We even tested this ourselves at My Side Gig!

After submitting a simple refund request through the official Student Loans Company website, we received an email confirming we were owed £27 just a few days later!

Here's how to check whether you're owed anything and how to claim it back.

💷 Why Are People Owed Student Loan Refunds?

If you've attended university and have a student loan, you'll generally start making repayments once your earnings exceed a certain threshold.

For employed people, these repayments are usually deducted automatically from their wages.

However, the amount you repay is calculated based on your earnings during each pay period, rather than your total income for the year.

This means you could end up making repayments even though your annual income was below the threshold!

For example:

• You earn £3,000 one month because you've worked overtime.
• A student loan repayment is automatically deducted.
• You earn less during other months of the year.
• Your total annual earnings end up below your student loan repayment threshold.

In this situation, you could be eligible to reclaim the student loan repayments deducted during that tax year.

Other reasons you might be owed a refund include being placed on the wrong repayment plan, starting repayments too early or continuing to pay after your loan was fully repaid.

🎓 Who Can Claim a Student Loan Refund?

You could be eligible if you've made student loan repayments and:

• 💷 Your total annual earnings were below your repayment threshold.
• 📉 Your income fluctuated throughout the year.
• 💼 You received a one-off bonus or worked additional shifts.
• 🎓 You started repaying your student loan earlier than required.
• ❌ Your employer put you on the wrong repayment plan.
• ✅ You continued making repayments after clearing your loan.

You don't necessarily need to have left university recently, either!

It's possible to reclaim eligible overpayments from previous tax years, even if they happened several years ago.

Student Loan Repayment Thresholds

The thresholds depend on which student loan repayment plan you're on.

Here are the annual thresholds for the 2026/27 tax year:

These figures apply to 2026/27. If you're reclaiming from an earlier tax year, the thresholds may have been different. Other eligibility rules apply.

If your annual income was below the relevant threshold but repayments were still deducted from your wages, it's worth checking whether you're owed a refund.

📱 How to Claim Your Student Loan Refund

The process is surprisingly straightforward, particularly if you're reclaiming repayments made when your annual earnings were below the threshold.

Step 1: Visit the Official Government Website

Head to the GOV.UK student loan repayment service.

👉 Check Your Student Loan Refund Here

This is the official government service, so there's no need to pay a third-party company to check your eligibility.

Step 2: Sign Into Your Student Loan Account

Log in using your existing Student Loans Company account details.

If you haven't accessed your account for a while, you may need to recover your login information.

Step 3: Select 'Request a Refund'

Once you're logged in, look for the option to request a refund.

The online service can check whether you're eligible for repayments made during previous tax years when your annual earnings were below the relevant threshold.

You don't normally need to upload payslips or provide your full earnings history, as the Student Loans Company receives information from HMRC.

If your refund relates to another issue, such as being on the wrong repayment plan, you may need to contact SLC directly.

Step 4: Submit Your Refund Request

Follow the instructions and submit your request.

That's it!

In many cases, there's no lengthy application form or additional documentation required.

Step 5: Wait for Confirmation & Payment

The Student Loans Company will assess your request and confirm whether you're owed a refund.

Eligible online refunds are generally processed within 28 days.

Make sure your bank details are up to date so any money you're owed can be paid directly into your account.

Our experience: We submitted a request and received an email confirming a £27 refund just a few days later!

🤔 Why Doesn't the Government Refund Everyone Automatically?

You might be wondering why people need to request money back in the first place.

The Student Loans Company already receives earnings and repayment information from HMRC, so why doesn't it simply return every overpayment?

The answer is that not all student loan repayments made during a year of lower earnings are automatically refunded.

While SLC proactively contacts eligible borrowers and automatically refunds certain other overpayments, borrowers generally need to request refunds relating to annual earnings below their repayment threshold.

This is partly because leaving the money in your student loan account reduces your outstanding balance, which may be beneficial for some borrowers.

That's why it's important to understand whether claiming is worthwhile for your circumstances.

⚠️ Is There a Catch to Claiming a Student Loan Refund?

There is one important thing to understand.

Claiming a refund increases your outstanding student loan balance by the amount refunded.

For example, if you reclaim £100, you'll receive £100 into your bank account, but your student loan balance will be £100 higher than if you'd left the repayment in place.

For many people, this won't necessarily make a difference to the total amount they eventually repay.

That's because some student loans are written off after a set period, and many borrowers won't repay their full balance before that happens.

However, if you're likely to repay your loan in full, reclaiming could mean paying more interest or taking longer to clear it.

So while checking your eligibility is free, whether you should actually claim depends on your circumstances.

💷 Check Whether You're Owed a Student Loan Refund!

With more than a million overpayments recorded in the latest tax year, it's well worth checking whether you could be owed money.

The process can take just a few minutes, and you might discover that you're eligible for a refund you didn't even know about!

We've tested it ourselves and received confirmation of a £27 refund after submitting a simple online request.

Remember, claiming isn't necessarily the best choice for everyone, particularly if you're close to paying off your student loan.

But if you've made repayments during a year when your earnings were below the threshold, checking your eligibility could be worthwhile!

👉 Check Your Student Loan Refund on GOV.UK

Disclaimer: Refund eligibility depends on your repayment plan, earnings and individual circumstances. Claiming an eligible refund will increase your outstanding student loan balance and may affect future interest or repayments. This guide is for general information and is not personalised financial advice.