From education to employment

Support your child or partner’s student finance application

You might need to provide information about your income if your child or partner has applied for student finance in England.

Your information will be used to work out if your child or partner can get extra money on top of the Tuition Fee Loan and the basic Maintenance Loan.

There’s a different process if your child or partner is applying in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

  1. You’ll get an email with a link to create an online account or login. You must use your own account – you cannot use the same account as your child or partner.

  2. Provide information about your income in the previous tax year.

  3. If your income this tax year will be at least 15% less you can give your income details for the current tax year instead.

  4. Send in evidence if you’re asked for it.

What information you’ll need

You’ll need to know the following about a previous tax year:

  • your household’s taxable income
  • details of your personal taxable income

The previous tax year will be:

  • 2019 to 2020 if your child or partner is applying for the 2021 to 2022 academic year
  • 2018 to 2019 if your child or partner is applying for the 2020 to 2021 academic year
  • 2017 to 2018 if your child or partner is applying for the 2019 to 2020 academic year

If you’re supporting your child’s application

Your household income is the combined income of:

  • you
  • your partner, if you live with them (even if you were not living with them during the previous tax year)
  • income your child gets from their own savings, investments or property, for example dividends or rent

If you’re supporting your partner’s application

Your household income is the combined income of you and your partner (even if you were not living with them during the previous tax year).

How to provide information about your income

Once your child or partner has applied, you’ll get an email within 24 hours with a link so you can provide your information.

You might need to create an account. You must use your own account – you cannot use the same account as your child or partner.

Household income your current income is lower

You can give your details for the current tax year if you think your household income will be at least 15% lower than the tax year you’ve been asked to provide details for.

What happens next

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will check that the information you’ve provided matches their records. This will usually take up to 2 weeks.

You might be asked to send evidence of your:

  • income – if the details you’ve given do not match HMRC’s records
  • marital status – if you’re separated or divorced

It can take up to 6 weeks to review your evidence.

Student Finance England will write to your child or partner when all your information has been confirmed.

If your information is still being processed when your child or partner starts their course, they’ll still get the Tuition Fee Loan and the basic Maintenance Loan (if they’re eligible).

Supporting a continuing student

Your child or partner needs to apply for student finance each year.

When they apply, you’ll get an email within 24 hours. The email will have a link to sign in to your account, where you must provide:

  • your marital status
  • any changes to the information you provided the previous year
  • your financial information for the previous tax year

If you provided income details for the current tax year

You can use the same income details that you provided last year.

If your income has dropped by at least 15% again, you can send in a new current tax year income assessment form.


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