1.0 Tuition Fee Loan
Tuition fees are the amount your course charges each year to attend. A Tuition Fee Loan covers the cost of your tuition fees. If you’re starting or continuing a course in 2017/18, you can get up to £9,250 to cover the fees you are charged
The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to your course provider in three instalments throughout the academic year.
2.0 Maintenance Loan
This helps with your living costs and is paid to you in three installments’ throughout the academic year. The figures shown below are totals for each academic year.
| Living with parents | Up to £7,097 |
| Studying in London and not living with parents | Up to £11,002 |
| Studying outside London and not living with parents | Up to £8,430 |
3.0 Repayments
Repayments are based on your income. You don’t start paying until you are earning £21,000 a year. Any income over £21,000, you pay 6% on.
Interest is charged at the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 3% from the day Student Loans Company make your first payment to you until your Postgraduate Loan is repaid in full or written off.
You can make a voluntary repayment towards your Postgraduate Loan at any time.
3.1 How repayments are calculated
You’ll repay 6% of your income over the current threshold (£21,000 a year) towards your Postgraduate Loan.
So, if you’re paid monthly and earn £2,500 a month before tax you’ll repay 6% of the difference between what you earn and the monthly threshold (£1,750).
£2,500 – £1,750 = £750
6% of £750 = £45
So your Postgraduate Loan repayment would be £45 that month.
A repayment will be taken even if you don’t earn £21,000 in a year but exceed the weekly or monthly threshold at any time, for example if you work overtime or get a bonus.
This table shows how much you’d repay towards your Postgraduate Loan each month depending on your income.
| Income each year (before tax | Monthly salary | Monthly repayment |
| £21,000 | £1,750 | £0 |
| £22,000 | £1,833 | £4 |
| £23,500 | £1,958 | £12 |
| £25,000 | £2,083 | £19 |
| £27,000 | £2,250 | £30 |
| £30,000 | £2,500 | £45 |
3.2 How are repayments taken?
No repayments will be taken towards your Postgraduate Loan before April 2019 and only then when your income is over the current threshold of £21,000 a year.
If you’re employed, your will employer takes repayments directly from your salary. Your employer tells HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) how much student loan you’ve repaid. After the end of the tax year, HMRC tells us how much you’ve repaid that year. The Student Loans company apply the repayments to your balance and work out the interest to be added.
4.0 Child Care Grant
If you’re a full-time student and have dependent children under the age of 15 (or 17 if they have special educational needs) you might be able to get extra funding to help towards your childcare costs. You can tell us you want to apply for a Childcare Grant (CCG) when you’re filling in your main student finance application.
4.1 What is CCG?
CCG is help with childcare costs if you’ve got a dependent child under the age of 15 at the beginning of the academic year, or under 17, if they have special educational needs. You have to be using registered, approved childcare.
4.2 How much can I get?
Depending on your household income, you can apply for up to 85% of your actual childcare costs during term time and holidays. In academic year 2017/18, you can get up to £159.59 per week for one child or up to £273.60 per week if you have two or more children.
4.3 How is it paid?
CCG is usually paid in three instalments, one at the start of each term. It’s paid directly into your bank account with your other student finance payments.
4.4 Do I have to pay it back?
No, but if your estimates of your childcare costs are too high, or you don’t confirm your actual costs on time you’ll have to repay any CCG that you’ve been overpaid.
4.5 How do I apply for CCG?
Tell the Student Loans Company on your main application that you want to apply for CCG. Make sure you send them any evidence they’ve asked for, for example your child’s birth certificate and evidence that they are dependent on you, such as your tax credit award letter.
The SLC will send you a Childcare Grant Application form (CCG1) to fill in. This form will ask you to give us an estimate of your weekly childcare costs. They’ll use this information, and the information on your main application, to work out how much CCG you can get. You can also download a CCG1 form from www.gov.uk/studentfinance
Three times a year you’ll be sent a Childcare Grant Costs Confirmation form (CCG2). This form asks for your childcare provider to confirm how much they’ve charged you. The Student Loans Company use this information to make sure you’re getting the right amount of CCG. If you’ve been paid too much or not enough they’ll adjust your next payment.
Make sure you send the CCG2 back when we ask for it, if you don’t they won’t be able to pay any more CCG and will ask you to repay what you’ve
4.6 Do I need to know anything else?
You can’t get CCG if you, or your husband, wife, civil partner or partner, get:
- the childcare element of either Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit,
- Tax-Free Childcare from HM Revenue & Customs, or
- Childcare Allowance from the NHS and you started your course before 1 August 2017
All three and four year olds, and some two year olds, are able to get a free, part-time early-learning place in a pre-school setting. CCG won’t be paid for any period covered by this free place, but it can be paid to cover the cost of any extra childcare.
You can find more information about registered, approved childcare at www.gov.uk/childcare-grant
4.7 Will getting CCG affect my entitlement to benefits?
CCG won’t be taken into account when Jobcentre Plus or your local authority’s housing benefit teams are working out your other benefits. HM Revenue and Customs won’t count CCG when they’re working out your entitlement to tax credits, but remember you, or your partner can’t get CCG and the childcare element of Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit at the same time.
5.0 Parents Learning Allowance
If you’re a full-time student and have dependent children you might be able to get extra funding to help with the additional costs that you’ll have.
5.1 What is Parents’ Learning Allowance?
Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA) is help with course-related costs if you have children who depend on you. You can apply for PLA even if you choose not to apply for a Childcare Grant (CCG).
5.2 How much can I get?
The amount you can get depends on your income, and the income of your husband, wife, partner or civil partner (if you have one) and the income of any dependants you have. In academic year 2017/18, you can get up to £1,617 a year.
5.3 How is it paid?
PLA is usually paid in three instalments, one at the start of each term. It’s paid directly into your bank account with your other student finance payments.
5.4 Do I have to pay it back?
No, unless you’ve been overpaid.
5.5 How do I apply for PLA?
You don’t have to do anything extra to apply for PLA, just make sure you fill in all the sections of your main application for student finance. Don’t forget to send any evidence we ask for, for example your child’s birth certificate and evidence that they are dependent on you, such as your tax credit award letter.
5.6 Will getting PLA affect my entitlement to benefits?
PLA won’t be taken into account when Jobcentre Plus or your local authority’s housing benefit teams are working out your other benefits. HM Revenue and Customs won’t count PLA when they’re working out your entitlement to tax credits.
Source: The studentroom.com
