Student Finance Calculator: How Much Can You Get?

Most adults with an eligible immigration status can apply for two types of student finance: a Tuition Fee Loan that covers your course fees, and a Maintenance Loan that helps with living costs. The tuition loan is paid straight to your university, so you never receive it yourself, and you pay nothing upfront. The maintenance loan is paid to you in three instalments across the year, one near the start of each term, and how much you receive depends on where you live while you study and your household income.

The calculator above gives you an estimate in under a minute. The rest of this page explains how the figures are worked out, what changes them, and how your immigration status affects what you can get.

How to use this calculator

1. Choose your immigration status. This decides which loans you can get, and it is the question most calculators skip.
2. Tell us where you will live while studying - with your parents, living elsewhere outside London, or living elsewhere in London.
3. Set your household income. The maintenance loan reduces gradually as income rises, so this changes your estimate.
4. Check your results. See the approximate amount of student finance that could be available to you.

The quick answer

These are the maximum maintenance loan amounts for the 2026/27 academic year in England, before the household-income assessment reduces them:

These figures are set each academic year, so always confirm the current amounts on gov.uk. For the full eligibility rules and exact figures, see our Am I eligible page.

How the maintenance loan is worked out

The Tuition Fee Loan does not depend on your household income: for eligible full-time students it covers your course fees up to the Student Finance limit for your course (£9,790 a year for most full-time degrees in 2026/27). The Maintenance Loan is the part that varies.

If your household income is at or below £25,000 a year, you are assessed for the maximum maintenance loan for where you live. Above that level the loan reduces gradually, but for most people it does not fall to nothing - there is a minimum amount available across a wide range of incomes.

Whatever you are awarded is paid to you in three instalments, one near the start of each term, rather than as a monthly amount. The exact taper and the amounts for 2026/27 are published by Student Finance England on gov.uk.

Does your income, job or savings affect it?

What counts towards the assessment, and what doesn't:

• Household income usually means your partner’s income, or your parents’ income if you are under 25 and financially supported by them. It is based on a recent tax year, not on what you earn now.
• Earnings from work during the academic year - including holiday, evening or weekend work - usually do not need to be declared for your maintenance loan assessment, which is based on household income.
• If you are 25 or over, you are usually assessed as an independent student, so your parents’ income is not taken into account.
• The value of your savings or property is not assessed - but income from savings, investments or letting out a property can count. The assessment is about income, not what you own.

Funding by your immigration status

Your immigration status decides which loans you can get. Here is how the main categories work:

• Settled status or Indefinite Leave to Remain. Usually assessed on the same terms as a UK citizen, once you meet the residence rules.
• Pre-settled status. On its own this usually gives you the Tuition Fee Loan. If you also work in the UK, or are self-employed, you may qualify for the Maintenance Loan too - so pre-settled status is not always “tuition only”. The detail matters, and we explain it in full in our pre-settled and settled status guide.
• Ukraine schemes. The rules are more generous, with no three-year residence wait. See our guide to student finance for Ukrainians.
• Refugee status or Humanitarian Protection. Usually both loans available, with no residence wait.

If you are not sure where you stand, book a free consultation with an advisor - it is free.

What you will repay after you graduate

Repaying works differently from a bank loan: you pay back a percentage of your income, not a fixed monthly bill. You usually start repaying from the April after you finish or leave your course, and only once you earn over £25,000 a year (on Plan 5, the plan most new students are on); then you repay 9% of what you earn above that - nothing on the income below it. Anything still owed is written off after 40 years. Interest is added each year too (on Plan 5, at the rate of inflation), and how much it affects you depends on your earnings. To see your own figures, and how repayment and interest work in detail, see what you’ll repay.

Related calculators and guides

Frequently asked questions

This is general information about Student Finance England; the rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Estimates are approximate - Student Finance England makes the final decision based on your circumstances. Always confirm current figures on gov.uk. Figures: England, 2026/27.