Student Loans Thresholds, Rates and Loan Start Notices

That the new student loan plan and postgraduate loan thresholds and rates from 6 April 2023 are as follows:

• plan 1: £22,015
• plan 2: £27,295
• plan 4: £27,660
• postgraduate loan: £21,000
  

Deductions for:

• plans 1, 2 and 4 remain at 9% for any earnings above the respective thresholds
• postgraduate loan remains at 6% for any earnings above the respective threshold
  

If you receive a student loan and or postgraduate loan start notice (SL1/PGL1) from HMRC for an employee, it is important that you check and use the correct:

• loan or plan type on the start notice
• start date shown on the notice
  

This makes sure that the employee’s do not pay any more or less than they have to.

If the employee’s earnings are:

• below the respective student loan and postgraduate loan thresholds, you should update the employee’s payroll record to show they have a student loan and or postgraduate loan and file the start notice — you do not need to return this to HMRC
• above the respective student loan and postgraduate loan thresholds, and deductions have not been taken, HMRC will send a generic notification service prompt as a reminder — if deductions still haven’t started, we may contact you directly

Deductions should continue until HMRC notifies to stop.

For more information, read starting student loan and postgraduate loan deductions — checking plan and loan type guidance .