If you click a link with an * to go through to a provider, we may get paid. This usually only happens if you get a product from it. This is what funds our team of journalists, and keeps us free to use. Yet there are two crucial things you need to know about this.
- This never impacts our editorial recommendations – if it's in, it's in there because we independently rate it best.
- You'll always get as good a deal (or better) than if you went direct.
For a more detailed explanation see How MSE is financed.
-
More on this topic
![Plan 2 English student loans]()
Plan 2 English student loans
How they work if you started uni between 2012 and 2022
![What student loan plan am I on?]()
What student loan plan am I on?
Find out what student loan you have
![Student bank accounts]()
Student bank accounts
Grab the top overdrafts and freebies
Tip Email
FREE Weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
Student living costs: how much can I borrow?
Updated 18 December 2024
If you're English and studying in England under the age of 60, you'll be eligible for a loan to help with living costs while at uni – known as a maintenance loan. The amount you can borrow will depend on your family income, which for many students under 25 means parental income – though not always. This guide explains how family income is worked out, and what happens if you're not supported by your parents or are 25 or older.
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
How much you can borrow will depend on your family income
Full-time students can take out a loan to pay for their living costs, such as, food, books, accommodation and travel. They're known as maintenance loans, and are usually paid in three termly instalments direct to the student's bank account.
How much you can get depends on where you're from (England, Scotland, Wales or Norther Ireland) and which country you study in.
This guide focuses on English students studying in England. In England, the maximum possible loan amount depends on whether students live at home or go away to study (with an increase for those studying in London).
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, students can get a mixture of a loan and non-repayable grant. In Wales, students get a combination of a grant and a loan (but they all get the same TOTAL amount of support regardless of parental income). See our parental contribution calculator for more details of how it works in each country.
In England, the loan is means-tested based on annual 'family residual income'. For most students under 25, it'll be based on parental income (including biological and adoptive parents, or your sole living parent). What counts here is the parent you're financially dependent on. So even if you know your dad for instance has a lot of money but your parents are divorced or you haven't seen him in years, you won't need to declare the income of your dad - as you're not financially dependent on him.
The higher the residual family income, the lower the loan – and the loan amount starts reducing with family income of just £25,000/year. There's more explanation below about the expected parental contribution to bridge this gap.
Residual family income won't be taken into account for every student however. For some under 25s it might not be appropriate to take parental income into account and they are therefore classed as 'financially independent' and those aged 25 or over are automatically given this status – so are assessed on their own.
Below we take you through what you need to know about how residual income is calculated, based on your age and circumstances...
If you’re aged 24 or younger and financially dependant on a parent
Most students under 25 will be considered financially dependant on at least one parent. There will be times when this isn't the case – if you're estranged from your parents, are a parent yourself, or have supported yourself financially for at least three years – in which case you could be classed as an independent student.
However for the majority of under 25s, the following will be taken into account when calculating your maintenance loan:
Parental earnings. If you rely on your parents financially, it's their income that will be used to assess how much maintenance loan you're entitled to.
If your parents are separated or divorced. It will be the income of the parent you're financially dependant on that will be taken into account. You will not need to declare the income of the parent you're not dependant on, or have less contact with.
If their combined earnings are above £25,000, they're expected to help top up your maintenance loan.
Step-parents or parent's partner earnings if they have one. If your parents are separated but have a new partner, their income will also be taken into consideration. A partner includes:
- A spouse (husband or wife)
- A civil partner
- A person ordinarily living with the parent as his or her spouse
- A person ordinarily living with the parent as his or her civil partner.
Your income. Any money you earn from paid employment won't be taken into consideration, but you do have to declare any taxable unearned income you receive from:
- Bank or building society gross interest
- Property, lettings or rent
- Dividends or investments
- Trusts or sponsorships
- Any other payment received for attending the course.
If you live with another relative who supports you financially, like a grandparent, you would still be expected to ask your biological or adoptive parents to provide their financial information for income assessment. If however you're estranged from your biological or adoptive parents, you may be able to apply as an independent student.
How it's worked out
Once Student Finance England has all this information it works out your parents' residual income (including the income of your parent's partner, if they have one) by taking their gross income (before tax and National Insurance) and taking off allowances for the following:
- Payments into private pension schemes, additional voluntary contributions and employment-related costs
- £1,130 for any child other than you who is totally or mainly financially dependent on them
- £1,130 if your parent is also a student.
Once this has all been worked out, they add it to your income and do an income assessment.
The amount left after these deductions is the residual income, which is used to determine how much maintenance loan you're eligible for.
If you're aged 24 or younger and financially independent
If you do not financially depend on your parents, then for the sake of student finance you are classed as an 'independent student' and your parents' income won't be taken into account when working out the household income contribution.
To be classed as independent the following must apply for your parents' income not to be taken into account:
You have the care of a person under the age of 18 on the first day of the academic year. To prove this, you'll need to send the child’s original birth certificate and evidence that you’re caring for a child, such as, evidence that you get Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit or the child element of Universal Credit.
You've been married or in a civil partnership. This must have been before the start of the academic year, even if you’re now divorced or separated. You'll need to be able to provide your marriage certificate or civil partnership schedule.
You have no living parents.
You’ve supported yourself for at least three years before the start of your course. This includes any time you:
- Were in paid, full-time employment
- Received Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or other state benefits
- Received any pension, allowance or other benefit because of a disability or by any reason of confinement, sickness or illness
- Received training under any scheme for the unemployed or other funding by any state authority or agency.
You need to be able to provide evidence to show a reasonable level of income to live off. If you’ve been working or claiming benefits you must provide written confirmation of this.
Your parents can’t be traced. Or it’s not practical or possible to contact them.
Your parents live outside the European Union and an income assessment would put them in jeopardy. Or it’s not reasonably practical for them to send funds to the UK if a contribution were assessed (this might apply to you if you’re a refugee).
You’ve not communicated with your parents for one year. This must be before the beginning of the academic year, or you can demonstrate you’re permanently estranged from your parents. You’ll need to prove that the lack of contact with your parents is permanent, for example with a letter from your social worker (if you have one).
You were looked after under the care of a local authority. This must have been throughout any three month period ending on or after the date on which you turned 16, and before the first day of the first academic year of your course
If you’re aged 25 or older
Those aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year automatically have independent student status, so are assessed on their own.
If you’re an independent student who is married, in a civil partnership or are over 25 and are living with your partner, Student Finance England will take into account the income of your husband, wife, civil partner or partner.
Your partner’s residual income will generally be worked out in the same way as your parents’ residual income. However, different rules apply if you separate from your partner – their income for that year is pro-rated for the time they cohabited.
How it's worked out
Your partner’s residual income will be worked out by taking the gross income (before tax and National Insurance) and taking off allowance for the following:
- Payments into private pension schemes, additional voluntary contributions and employment related costs
- £1,130 for any child who is totally or mainly financially dependent on them
- £1,130 if your partner is also a student
Once the relevant amounts have been taken off your partner’s residual income has been worked out, this will be added to your income and your household contribution will be assessed.
Note, your partners income will be taken into consideration if you are cohabiting any time before the start of the academic year – so even if you have only been together a few months and you were financially supporting yourself previously, it'll still count.
The living loan starts decreasing at a residual family income of £25,000
The student maintenance loan received starts to be gradually reduced the more above £25,000 (family) income you have – less than that, you get the full loan.
For someone who lives away from home to study, it tops out at income of roughly £62,000 (£70,000 in London, £58,000 if you stay at home to study), at which point the student gets the minimum loan – about half the full amount.
For 2024/25 starters, the full loan is £8,610 if living at home, £10,227 living away from home, £13,348 away from home in London.
For under-25s, this missing amount is effectively an unsaid, parental contribution – as the only reason you get less is that your family earns more.
To help you work out what parents need to contribute, just type in your details into our parental contribution tool. Of course, knowing what the parental contribution is doesn't mean parents can afford to pay it – or even chose to pay it. Yet at least it lets you understand what amount is expected, and helps students and parents have an open dialogue on it.
Minimum and maximum maintenance loan amounts for 2024/25
Where you'll be living at uni |
Minimum maintenance loan per year |
Maximum maintenance loan per year (4) |
Living at home |
£3,790 (1) |
£8,610 |
Living away from home (not in London) |
£4,767 (2) |
£10,227 |
Living away from home (in London) |
£6,647 (3) |
£13,348 |
(1) You'll get this if your household income is £58,9307/year or more.
(2) You'll get this if your household income is £62,347/year or more.
(3) You'll get this if your household income is £70,098/year or more.
(4) You'll get this if you're household is £25,000 or less.
What if parents can't, or won't, contribute?
While student loan amounts depend on parental income, in reality you can’t make your parents contribute if they don’t want to, or don’t agree they should (interestingly we’ve found out that technically a child could take a parent to court to force this issue, but clearly most probably wouldn’t feel able or comfortable enough to do this. And of course there is no point trying to force a parent to contribute who doesn’t have the money to support you (e.g., if they have a decent income, but are on a debt management plan).
Some under-25s can have their finances declared independent from their parents and thus separately assessed, but the criteria is extremely tough. You need to prove that you completely supported yourself financially for three years before starting university.
Even with the full maintenance loan/parental contribution, you might find it hard to cover the costs you need to. The irony of the student finance debate is that while many headlines focus on demonising the 'huge debts', the biggest practical problem some students face is that the loan isn't big enough. With rents rising (there really is a need for greater control over the student rental market), even the full living loan amount can leave some struggling to make ends meet.
Budgeting help if you're struggling
- Having a decent budget in place is a key ingredient to making sure you can stretch your money while at uni. See both our Student budgeting planner guide and full Budget planner guide for more help and how to get started.
- You can get FREE money from grants, bursaries and scholarships, our Don't miss out on FREE money while at university guide walks you through it all.
- Our Student Bank Accounts guide tells you everything you need to know including which accounts have a 0% overdraft.
Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
-
Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?
16 December 2024![]()
Update September 2017: It’s eight years since I first braved this subject, expecting a snowstorm of protest. Instead, year after year more join in, like Julia who recently tweeted me, “@MartinSLewis, finally took your advice and told my family I can’t afford Christmas presents. What a weight off my mind. Thank you.” One year even the Archbishop of... -
When will your student loan be written off, cancelled, or paid off?
5 November 2024![]()
It’s a question I’m asked all the time. Many know that current students no longer need to repay their loans 30 years after the April following graduation, yet for those who started university before 2012, there are a variety of options. This information has been a long-term part of my Should I repay my student loan? guide (where...
-
LAST OOOOORDERS! The deadlines for free and cheap delivery before Christmas 2024
18 December 2024![]()
If you’re shopping online for gifts, the deadline for ordering to get ’em in time for Christmas may be sooner than you think. Here are the top retailers' cut-off dates for deliveries. -
15 minutes of fame – how to boost your chances of getting on and winning TV game shows
2 September 2024![]()
We all can shout out the answers on the couch at home, but being in the studio doing it for real is very different. Take it from me – I’ve been on a TV game show recently as well as auditioned for others, and it’s not easy. What is easier than you’d think though, is getting ON...
MSE tools & calculators
Clever ways to calculate your finances
