The Student Loans Company (SLC) says it refunded £97.6 million in below-threshold student loan repayments in 2025/26, while its online claims service passed 1.6 million requests since opening in May 2024. SLC announced the request milestone Oct. 29, 2026.
Across four refund categories, SLC returned £125.2 million during the tax year, with an average refund of £240. The company reported 514,700 customers refunded across those categories, though the count may include people who received more than one payment.
The figures cover repayments made through PAYE payroll deductions and exclude Self-Assessment repayments. The tax year ran from April 6, 2025, to April 5, 2026. The £97.6 million was paid during that period, but the deductions being refunded may have been made in earlier years.
A deduction can be triggered by earnings in a particular pay period even when a borrower’s total income for the year stays below the annual repayment threshold. SLC uses annual earnings information from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to identify people who may qualify and invite them to request a refund.
The other refund categories cover deductions assigned to the wrong repayment plan, taken before a borrower’s statutory repayment due date, or collected after a loan was cleared. SLC said its digital service made it significantly easier to request below-threshold refunds, contributing to high totals in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Borrowers receive the refund, but SLC says most refunds are added back to the outstanding loan balance, where the amount can accrue interest. A refund for deductions taken after the loan was fully repaid does not add to a remaining balance.
SLC said 2025/26 Self-Assessment figures would not be available until March 2027. Those figures will cover repayments excluded from the current PAYE-based statistics.
