Your child is going to university
The student loan for living costs shrinks as your income rises. See how much you're expected to make up each year, and what your child will owe.
Your answer
Enter your income to see your child's loan and what you're expected to add.
About this calculator
For parents in England whose child is starting a full-time degree and will apply to Student Finance England. It uses the 2026/27 figures.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
We add your income and your partner's, then take off private pension payments and £1,130 for each other child who depends on you. That's your household income for student finance.
Up to £25,000, your child gets the full loan for living costs. Above that, it drops by about £1 for every £6.50 of income until it reaches the minimum. The gap to the full loan is what you're expected to make up.
We add the Tuition Fee Loan and a simple estimate of interest to show what your child will owe when the course ends.
Worked example
Student Finance England expects you to add about £4,771 a year to your child's £6,059 loan for living costs: £14,313 over 3 years.
2026/27 figures · Student Finance England · living away from home, outside London · 3 years · tuition at £9,790 a year · household income £55,870
| Your income and your partner's, before tax | £60,000 |
|---|---|
| Less private pension payments | − £3,000 |
| Less £1,130 for each other child who depends on you (1) | − £1,130 |
| Household income for student finance (residual income) | £55,870 |
| Full Maintenance Loan for 2026/27, living away from home, outside London | £10,830 |
| £1 off for every £6.47 over £25,000: £30,870 ÷ 6.47, in whole pounds | − £4,771 |
| Maintenance Loan a year | £6,059 |
| Expected from you each year (the gap to the full loan) | £4,771 |
| Expected from you over 3 years | £14,313 |
| Tuition Fee Loan, paid straight to the university (at most £9,790 a year) | £9,790 |
| Borrowed over 3 years, before interest | £47,547 |
| Interest while studying, at roughly 4.1% a year (RPI) | £2,991 |
| Your child's student loan when the course ends, roughly | £50,538 |
Student Finance England's 2026/27 household income assessment for full-time undergraduates, with a simple yearly interest estimate.
Questions people ask
Do we have to pay the expected contribution?
No. Nothing makes you pay it, and your child doesn't have to pay it back. But the loan is set on the basis that you will, so without it your child has less to live on than the full loan.
Does Child Benefit carry on while they're at university?
No. It can carry on to 20 for school or college courses like A levels, but a degree doesn't count. It stops when they leave school or college.
Who pays the student loan back?
Your child, not you. They repay 9% of what they earn over £25,000 a year from the April after the course ends, and anything left after 40 years is written off.
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