Repaying Student Loans 2009/10 guide discussion

Poolie

It is HM Revenue and Customs who advise your employer when to stop and start the repayments. SLC asks HMRC to do so.

If you are not earning more than £15,000 in your PAYE employment then no deduction will be taken.

When you complete your self assessment you should tick the box to say you have a post 1998 student loan.

HMRC collect on behalf of SLC from employers and self assessment cases. The money is then past to SLC.

raphanius

this till doesnt explain why they have suddenly written to my employer after all these years and how they expect me to pay it back on an £80 a week wage.

MrsManda

Have you been keeping the SLC informed with your address?
Have you been employed since you graduated?
Have you ever earned over £15000 a year and if so were student loan repayments taken?
Have you been filling out a self assessment form each year?

Basically what happens is that the HMRC informs your employer that you are eligible (i.e. it's after the April of your graduation) to repay your student loan therefore your employer has to take 9% of anything you earn over £15,000. If you don't earn over £15,000 (or £1250 a mth if you're paid monthly or £288 a week if you are paid weekly) then your employer doesn't take the money.

Oldernotwiser

raphanius wrote: »

i have a £500 student loan from about 2001/2002 (i did an OU course) and my employer has just received a letter from the inland revenue (not the student loans company) demanding repayment from my wages. i work 14 hours a week and get roughly £80 on the national minimum wage. i also earn a little each year self-employed but not nearly enough to make me eligible for student loan repayments.

has anyone else had a similar experience? what do i do about this situation? i have no idea why the tax office want it back not the student loan company. am i being screwed?

You can't take out Student Loans when studying with the OU - are you sure it isn't some other kind of loan?

raphanius

Have you been keeping the SLC informed with your address? they write to me once a year not the other way around and i havent moved house in 20 years
Have you been employed since you graduated? i have been in continuous part time employment since i had the loan (i'm not a graduate its ony a £500 loan for a foundation year i never completed)
Have you ever earned over £15000 a year and if so were student loan repayments taken? no and no
Have you been filling out a self assessment form each year? no

i dont know about nowadays but the OU degrees used to be eligible for a £500 a year student loan.

MrsManda

raphanius wrote: »

i have been in continuous part time employment since i had the loan (i'm not a graduate its ony a £500 loan for a foundation year i never completed)

You did an OU course in 2001/02 which means if you did pass your foundation year you'd have been eligible to pay for your student loan April 03. As far as I am aware you can take 8 years to complete a degree with the OU (as opposed to three) therefore had you continued you could've waited until July 09 to graduate which would mean you were eligible to pay your loan back after April '10 which would tally with the HMRC informing your employer of the loan to be repaid now.

This is just a guess though, you need to look at your letters and contract to see what it says about repayment.

raphanius

that makes sense of why its suddenly cropped up mrsmanda thanks

moolamaker

Hi

I took out a student loan in 2001, graduated in 2005 and started work in Octber of that year. I foolishly thought that i would start making repayments automatically from april (2006). I never really paid much attention after that but realised a while ago that the payments have not been taken from my pay.

What are my options. I know I should inform the SLC but will my employer or myself be fined? Im also worried that the debt has balloned although i understand in real terms i have not lost out. I have just started a new job and dont want to put my new employer in a position where they will be fined.

Can you please advise

Many thanks

Poolie

It is your responsibility to contact SLC to find out why the repayments have not been taken. It may an issue at the tax office which needs to be resolved. Nobody will be fined although you could ask them to recalculate the interest based on repayments you should have been making if it is an issue at SLC or HMRC.

miss_jane_3

Hello,

I started uni in 1996 and took out two loans, I think in 1998 and 1999. I have never paid these back as I have always earned less than the threshold for repayment.

I am currently off on maternity leave and am not planning on going back to work. So, when the letter comes in asking for proof of income, what do I do? I have no income! I get child benefit but that is it. How do I prove I have no income? Will they ask about my husband's income?