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Student loans
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How interest write-offs work

How interest is charged to your loan

Interest on your loan balance is calculated on a daily basis. The interest rate for the tax year to 31 March 2009 is 6.7%.

Situations where interest is written off

You'll get an interest write-off if you're eligible for an interest free student loan. See "Find out more" below for details.

Please note that 'other interest write-offs' are not available for tax years after 2007. However, you can still apply now to have interest written off for tax years prior to 2007 if you think you may have been eligible at the time (and if the interest hasn't already been written off).

When is interest written off?

The first interest free student loan write-offs were for the 2007 tax year. These were automatically calculated and processed after the end of the tax year (31 March 2007). Interest-free student loan write-offs don't apply to interest charged on tax years prior to 1 April 2006.

What you need to do

  • If you're eligible for an interest-free student loan, you don't need to do anything. Interest charged for the year will be written off automatically after the end of the tax year.
  • If you're applying for an exemption from the 183-day requirement for interest-free student loans, you'll need to provide us with the required documentation, before the interest can be written off.
  • If you think you might be eligible for other interest write-offs, see "Find out more" for details about what you need to do to get these write-offs.

What happens next

Once the interest has been written off your loan for the year, your next student loan statement will show the write-off.

Find out more:

 


Date published: 26 Mar 2008

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