Student loan repayments Scotland

Confused_exstudent

Does anyone understand student loan repayments, specifically for Plan 4- Scotland. 

 I think I may be due a repayment for a few years ago and the year before that but student loan person says no.  

I am a bit of a unique position (surely i am not the only one) I had a PAYE job in 2021/22 and 2022/23 In both these years I earned more that the threshold so also paid some student loan repayments via my PAYE income. The problem comes with my 2nd job which was self employed. In both of these years I made small self employed losses which meant for the year my total earnings were less than my P60 figure and ultimately less that repayment threshold overall. HMRC send me a small income tax refunds for both the years. 

My partner was emailed by SLC last month because she was on maternity leave for part of last year and ended up being under the repayment threshold for the year so they offered her a refund. I decided to call SLC last month to ask for a refund, the person I spoke to said they ignore self employment figures/losses so as my income was over threshold no repayment due. On thinking about it, I am not sure how correct that can be because you can be sure If in those years I had made a profit like I do now they would of been wanting a top up payment. 

Its not a massive amount that I have paid but with a new baby, partner on maternity leave until February, car needed some work for MOT and food prices going up and up our savings are getting lower and lower and in all honesty it would help.

Has anyone been in same situation an managed to secure a student loan refund? Am I even due a refund? Any experts around?

MeteredOut

Did you complete self-assessment for those years? I assume so since you got a tax refund.

Contact HMRC and ask what they sent to SLC for those years. It should be net figures including your losses. Then go back to SLC and ask what figure they used, and challenge if they used the wrong one.

If you didn't complete as self-assessment (or HMRC don't otherwise know about the losses), then HMRC and SLC won't know about your losses and can only go off the employment figures. 

You can still submit self-assessments for those years.

Ed-1

Confused_exstudent said:

Does anyone understand student loan repayments, specifically for Plan 4- Scotland. 

 I think I may be due a repayment for a few years ago and the year before that but student loan person says no.  

I am a bit of a unique position (surely i am not the only one) I had a PAYE job in 2021/22 and 2022/23 In both these years I earned more that the threshold so also paid some student loan repayments via my PAYE income. The problem comes with my 2nd job which was self employed. In both of these years I made small self employed losses which meant for the year my total earnings were less than my P60 figure and ultimately less that repayment threshold overall. HMRC send me a small income tax refunds for both the years. 

My partner was emailed by SLC last month because she was on maternity leave for part of last year and ended up being under the repayment threshold for the year so they offered her a refund. I decided to call SLC last month to ask for a refund, the person I spoke to said they ignore self employment figures/losses so as my income was over threshold no repayment due. On thinking about it, I am not sure how correct that can be because you can be sure If in those years I had made a profit like I do now they would of been wanting a top up payment. 

Its not a massive amount that I have paid but with a new baby, partner on maternity leave until February, car needed some work for MOT and food prices going up and up our savings are getting lower and lower and in all honesty it would help.

Has anyone been in same situation an managed to secure a student loan refund? Am I even due a refund? Any experts around?

Repayments due on employment and self-employment are treated differently in the regulations, and mimic National Insurance contributions.

Your PAYE income (per pay period) determines your repayments on employed income.

Your total income (if you submit a tax return) determines your repayments otherwise, less any repayments already made via PAYE.

Unless your total income for the year is under the threshold, you can't get PAYE repayments back.

Confused_exstudent

Ed-1 said:

Confused_exstudent said:

Does anyone understand student loan repayments, specifically for Plan 4- Scotland. 

 I think I may be due a repayment for a few years ago and the year before that but student loan person says no.  

I am a bit of a unique position (surely i am not the only one) I had a PAYE job in 2021/22 and 2022/23 In both these years I earned more that the threshold so also paid some student loan repayments via my PAYE income. The problem comes with my 2nd job which was self employed. In both of these years I made small self employed losses which meant for the year my total earnings were less than my P60 figure and ultimately less that repayment threshold overall. HMRC send me a small income tax refunds for both the years. 

My partner was emailed by SLC last month because she was on maternity leave for part of last year and ended up being under the repayment threshold for the year so they offered her a refund. I decided to call SLC last month to ask for a refund, the person I spoke to said they ignore self employment figures/losses so as my income was over threshold no repayment due. On thinking about it, I am not sure how correct that can be because you can be sure If in those years I had made a profit like I do now they would of been wanting a top up payment. 

Its not a massive amount that I have paid but with a new baby, partner on maternity leave until February, car needed some work for MOT and food prices going up and up our savings are getting lower and lower and in all honesty it would help.

Has anyone been in same situation an managed to secure a student loan refund? Am I even due a refund? Any experts around?

Repayments due on employment and self-employment are treated differently in the regulations, and mimic National Insurance contributions.

Your PAYE income (per pay period) determines your repayments on employed income.

Your total income (if you submit a tax return) determines your repayments otherwise, less any repayments already made via PAYE.

Unless your total income for the year is under the threshold, you can't get PAYE repayments back.

Thank you..   My total income - PAYE  minus my self employed losses did take me under the student loan repayment threshold for 2021/22 and 2022/23.   My income as per HMRC was 21k and 23k. instead of around 35k.  2023/24 I turned a self employed profit and payed student loan on both  my PAYE and on my  self employed income. I went 100% self employed 1st Jan 2024. 

SLC are saying they ignore losses and treat them as 0  rather than subtract from PAYE. which I struggle to understand to be honest. You seem to think like I do. The figure on my tax return should be the figure they work with and not PAYE alone

Ed-1

Confused_exstudent said:

Ed-1 said:

Confused_exstudent said:

Does anyone understand student loan repayments, specifically for Plan 4- Scotland. 

 I think I may be due a repayment for a few years ago and the year before that but student loan person says no.  

I am a bit of a unique position (surely i am not the only one) I had a PAYE job in 2021/22 and 2022/23 In both these years I earned more that the threshold so also paid some student loan repayments via my PAYE income. The problem comes with my 2nd job which was self employed. In both of these years I made small self employed losses which meant for the year my total earnings were less than my P60 figure and ultimately less that repayment threshold overall. HMRC send me a small income tax refunds for both the years. 

My partner was emailed by SLC last month because she was on maternity leave for part of last year and ended up being under the repayment threshold for the year so they offered her a refund. I decided to call SLC last month to ask for a refund, the person I spoke to said they ignore self employment figures/losses so as my income was over threshold no repayment due. On thinking about it, I am not sure how correct that can be because you can be sure If in those years I had made a profit like I do now they would of been wanting a top up payment. 

Its not a massive amount that I have paid but with a new baby, partner on maternity leave until February, car needed some work for MOT and food prices going up and up our savings are getting lower and lower and in all honesty it would help.

Has anyone been in same situation an managed to secure a student loan refund? Am I even due a refund? Any experts around?

Repayments due on employment and self-employment are treated differently in the regulations, and mimic National Insurance contributions.

Your PAYE income (per pay period) determines your repayments on employed income.

Your total income (if you submit a tax return) determines your repayments otherwise, less any repayments already made via PAYE.

Unless your total income for the year is under the threshold, you can't get PAYE repayments back.

Thank you..   My total income - PAYE  minus my self employed losses did take me under the student loan repayment threshold for 2021/22 and 2022/23.   My income as per HMRC was 21k and 23k. instead of around 35k.  2023/24 I turned a self employed profit and payed student loan on both  my PAYE and on my  self employed income. I went 100% self employed 1st Jan 2024. 

SLC are saying they ignore losses and treat them as 0  rather than subtract from PAYE. which I struggle to understand to be honest. You seem to think like I do. The figure on my tax return should be the figure they work with and not PAYE alone

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2000/110/regulation/9

The relevant regulation is 9(4) in the Scottish repayment regs:

(4) Where the Scottish Ministers have received a repayment of a student loan by way of deduction from a borrower’s emoluments for a year of assessment in accordance with Part 4 of the Collection Regulations and those emoluments do not exceed the repayment threshold, the Scottish Ministers shall on application by the borrower refund the amount deducted.

So it's a question of whether "those emoluments" is referring to the PAYE income alone or total income for the tax year.

The "Collection Regulations" are:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/470/contents