£189m of Student Loan refunds can be claimed by 100,000s

Data from the Student Loans Company reveals 100,000s of borrowers made refundable repayments in 2025/26 alone, totalling £189m.

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The Student Loans Company (SLC) has released stats revealing that over £189 million was overpaid on Student Loans in the 2025/26 tax year, affecting 100,000s of graduates who are now entitled to an average refund of £240.

If you think you've heard this story before, you're not wrong – every year new numbers are published, with huge amounts of money available to be reclaimed by many Student Loan borrowers.

So even if you don't think you've overpaid your Student Loan, this is a perfect reminder to check anyway, as you could be owed hundreds of pounds.

Why might you be owed a Student Loan refund?

There are four reasons why you may be eligible for a Student Loan refund:

• You made a repayment in your weekly, fortnightly or monthly payslip, but eventually earned less than the annual repayment threshold*
• You were placed on the wrong Student Loan repayment plan
• You made a repayment before the repayment period begins (usually the first April after you graduate)
• You carried on repaying even after clearing your debt in full.

*Unlike the other reasons, these payments are initially taken correctly, as you earned more than the weekly/fortnightly/monthly equivalent of the threshold.

How many people can claim Student Loan refunds?

Most commonly, borrowers can claim a refund if they made a repayment despite eventually earning less than the annual threshold. In 2025/26, overpayments of this kind totalled £155,345,588, including £92,404,764 by 650,602 borrowers with Plan 2 loans.

A total of £6,683,877 was taken before borrowers' repayment periods had started – usually the first April after a student graduates – including £4,422,886 by 25,045 Plan 2 borrowers.

Borrowers made £4,618,803 of repayments on the wrong Student Loan plan, with the vast majority (£4,169,833) by 12,994 people who should have been on Plan 2.

Meanwhile, 56,376 people had repayments taken despite already having cleared their balance in full, with the overpayments totalling £23,237,898.

As long as you didn't make the payment voluntarily (i.e. it was taken from your pay, rather than you actively choosing to make a repayment), you can claim a refund in all instances.

How to claim a Student Loan refund

How to claim your Student Loan refund depends on how you overpaid it.

You repaid but earned below the annual threshold

SLC now contacts everyone who made a repayment but then earned less than the annual repayment threshold. They'll contact you in the following financial year (so in 2026/27, if you made the overpayment in 2025/26), inviting you to request a refund through your online account.

All graduates can request a refund this way, regardless of whether or not SLC has contacted you.

You repaid on the wrong plan

If you think you've made repayments under the wrong plan, you'll need to contact SLC directly, either over the phone (0300 100 0611) or through social media.

You started repaying your loan early

As with repaying on the wrong plan, if you had Student Loan repayments taken early, you'll either need to contact SLC over the phone (0300 100 0611) or on social media.

You kept repaying after clearing the balance in full

If you continued repaying your loan even after clearing the balance, you'll usually get a refund automatically. If eligible, the refund will be paid directly into your bank account.

Should you claim your Student Loan refund?

Our Student Loans expert, Tom Allingham, has explained why you might be owed a refund, and if it's worth claiming:

Following the distinct lack of Student Loan repayment reform in the Autumn Budget, 100,000s of borrowers will be relieved to discover they can ease the burden of their loan by claiming a refund.

Borrowers with Plan 2 loans – the subject of much of the recent Student Loan debate – are most frequently affected, with the most common reason being those made a repayment despite earning below the annual threshold.

In 2025/26, the Plan 2 repayment threshold was £28,470. But Student Loan repayments are taken when you're paid, not at the end of the tax year, so the weekly, fortnightly or monthly thresholds are just as important.

If you work extra shifts, receive a bonus or change jobs part-way through the year, you may earn more than the weekly or monthly threshold. But if your total earnings in that financial year are eventually less than the annual threshold, you're eligible for a refund.

Whether graduates should claim the refund depends on each individual's circumstances and preferences. As has been noted this year, many Plan 2 borrowers never clear their debts before they're wiped, so voluntarily overpaying is simply pouring money down the drain. In this case, it makes financial sense to claim the refund.

If you think you're on track to clear your debt before it's wiped – particularly if you're not on Plan 2 – then you may be happy to overpay now and clear the debt slightly earlier. Alternatively, you might want to claim the refund anyway, preferring to have the extra cash during a cost of living crisis.

The important thing is to decide for yourself, depending on what's right for you.

Student Loan refunds are just one of the many ways to get free money with low or no effort.