parent support for student loan

PerplexedParent

Our daughter has been financially independent for 2 years. She is now nearly 21 and is applying for a student loan for a course starting in September 2024. To qualify as independent for her student loan application she would need to have been financially independent for 3 years. We've been asked to submit our income details in support of her application. If we agree, will SF England take that to mean she's no longer independent of us? If she remains independent for a third year, then next year she'd be eligible for a higher loan based on her own income only.
(We're not just being heartless here: moving out was her choice, and combining our income and hers takes her down to minimum maintenance loan, which is what she'd get if we don't submit our details anyway.)

sheramber

It appears she wpuld not qualify as independent as it depends on the situation on the first day of the her first year..

The following years are based on the first year status.

https://www.ucas.com/money-and-student-life/money/student-finance/student-finance-england/finance-independent-students

You'll be classed as independent if:

• you’ve supported yourself for at least three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course

Spendless

PerplexedParent said:

Our daughter has been financially independent for 2 years. She is now nearly 21 and is applying for a student loan for a course starting in September 2024. To qualify as independent for her student loan application she would need to have been financially independent for 3 years. We've been asked to submit our income details in support of her application. If we agree, will SF England take that to mean she's no longer independent of us? If she remains independent for a third year, then next year she'd be eligible for a higher loan based on her own income only.
(We're not just being heartless here: moving out was her choice, and combining our income and hers takes her down to minimum maintenance loan, which is what she'd get if we don't submit our details anyway.)

I may be wrong but I don't think you do combine both your income and hers. I think since she hasn't been independent for 3 years then the maintenance loan would be based on your household income only and if she waited until next year to go and then could prove she'd been independent for 3 years it would go on hers. 

sheramber

Only any unearned income that your daughter received is included with both parent’s incomes to arrive at household income.

Your daughter’s earnings do not count.

PerplexedParent

Thank you Sheramber and Spendless, two very important points I hadn't picked up on. My concern was not disadvantaging her future loan applications by what we do now, so that is really helpful. It is a pretty bizarre system!

silvercar

I’ll ask the forum team to move this to the student board.

PerplexedParent

Sorry if it's on the wrong board, I'm new here! 
One follow-up question: as we will be contributing to both of our children's living costs as they go through uni, are there tax implications about giving away what will be quite large sums of money? We're probably looking at about £5k each per year as the basic maintenance loan won't even cover either of their accommodation. Much of that will have to come out of our savings as our income won't cover it!

MSE_ForumTeam5

Moved as suggested