Current Year Income Assessment Student Loan

Beanman

First academic year will be 2014/15 and we have completed parents income assessment form online giving 2012/13 household income. As actual for 2014/15 will be much less we are now filling in the current year assessment form showing estimated income for 2014/15 (paper form as not possible online).
Does anyone know how student loan will be assessed in future years? Are we committing ourselves to be assessed on a current year basis into the future, or do we have the opportunity to revert to the previous year's basis with an option for actual if this falls by more than 15% again. Income levels are likely to be erratic as work comes and goes.

New_York_No1_fan

Beanman wrote: »

First academic year will be 2014/15 and we have completed parents income assessment form online giving 2012/13 household income. As actual for 2014/15 will be much less we are now filling in the current year assessment form showing estimated income for 2014/15 (paper form as not possible online).
Does anyone know how student loan will be assessed in future years? Are we committing ourselves to be assessed on a current year basis into the future, or do we have the opportunity to revert to the previous year's basis with an option for actual if this falls by more than 15% again. Income levels are likely to be erratic as work comes and goes.

You are not committed to being assessed on the current year for each year you're at Uni.

If you use current year assessment for 14/15, they will use those figures for 15/16 unless your income drops by more than 15% again in which case you ask to be assessed on current year.
Just keep on top of your income figures.

We filled in current year assessment forms for the majority of DD and No1 sons time at uni as our income altered almost every year we had no problems.

Beanman

Thanks for the very clear response. We have struggled with the information online so your actual experience is very helpful.
It does mean then that if 2014/15 income is particularly low (as it may well be) we can have that year used twice, for 2014/15 and 2015/16. And possibly for a third year as the standard methos seems to use income from 2 years ago (2014/15 assessed on 2012/13 income). It doesn't make a lot of sense but then these things often don't.

New_York_No1_fan

Beanman wrote: »

Thanks for the very clear response. We have struggled with the information online so your actual experience is very helpful.
It does mean then that if 2014/15 income is particularly low (as it may well be) we can have that year used twice, for 2014/15 and 2015/16. And possibly for a third year as the standard methos seems to use income from 2 years ago (2014/15 assessed on 2012/13 income). It doesn't make a lot of sense but then these things often don't.

Yes that is correct.

You'll fill in a current year assessment form when you first apply for student finance. It'll just be a one page estimate for the year and then after April they should(but you may need to remind them) send you a current year assessment form which is the usual x amount of pages long but this is when you actually list what you have received from info on P60s, building societies etc.

They will obviously give you your loan based on your estimate and then may give you more back after April if you over estimated or they may take a bit back if you underestimated. but thats usually done by taking it off of the following years entitlement. Hopefully your estimate won't be too far out.

Simples!:)

Mouschka

I'm interested in understanding how this works too.
What would happen if household income went up in year 2 onwards?
I understand that if it stays the same you use 14/15 figures, if it drops by 15% or more you do another CYI declaration but if the figure goes up do you need to tell Student Finance and if so would it not be better to do it immediately rather than waiting until the end of the tax year?

New_York_No1_fan

Mouschka wrote: »

I'm interested in understanding how this works too.
What would happen if household income went up in year 2 onwards?
I understand that if it stays the same you use 14/15 figures, if it drops by 15% or more you do another CYI declaration but if the figure goes up do you need to tell Student Finance and if so would it not be better to do it immediately rather than waiting until the end of the tax year?

Sorry for the delay.

During the year that you have asked to be current year assessed, initially you estimate your income for the year and they assess you on that basis.
At the end of the financial year in April they will send you a form to fill in where you give your exact income figures. If your income proved to be more than your estimate then they will require some money back although they often do this by just knocking it off what you would get the following year.

Its not worth telling them mid year if your finances go up as unexpectedly , they may also come back down again. This would involve far too much chopping and changing of monies and end of year is far more reliable.

If you use current year assessment and are assessed accordingly at the end of the tax year in April, these are the figures they will use for the following year regardless of whether your income goes up.

Hope this makes sense.

Mouschka

New_York_No1_fan wrote: »

Sorry for the delay.

During the year that you have asked to be current year assessed, initially you estimate your income for the year and they assess you on that basis.
At the end of the financial year in April they will send you a form to fill in where you give your exact income figures. If your income proved to be more than your estimate then they will require some money back although they often do this by just knocking it off what you would get the following year.

Its not worth telling them mid year if your finances go up as unexpectedly , they may also come back down again. This would involve far too much chopping and changing of monies and end of year is far more reliable.

If you use current year assessment and are assessed accordingly at the end of the tax year in April, these are the figures they will use for the following year regardless of whether your income goes up.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the reply. I think I understand (having said that its taken me five years to get my head around tax credits so we'll see) but my two students don't so they will have to pass paperwork over to me when asked for details.