Calculate your means-tested maintenance loan and tuition fee loan entitlement
Student Finance England (SFE) provides two main types of funding for eligible students: a tuition fee loan that goes directly to your university, and a maintenance loan paid into your bank account to help with living costs. Understanding your entitlement before you apply helps you plan your budget and make informed decisions about where and how you study. The tuition fee loan is not means-tested and covers the full cost of your tuition fees, up to the maximum of 9,535 per year for the 2026-27 academic year. Every eligible English student can access this regardless of household income. The maintenance loan, however, is means-tested based on your household income, meaning students from lower-income families receive more support. Our calculator estimates your student finance entitlement for the 2026-27 academic year based on the latest available rates from Student Finance England. The maintenance loan amount depends on three key factors: your household income, whether you live at home, away from home outside London, or away from home in London. It is important to understand that student loans in England operate very differently from commercial debt. Repayments only begin once you earn above the repayment threshold, and any remaining balance is written off after a set period. For students starting from 2023-24 onwards, Plan 5 terms apply: repayments at 9% of income above 25,000, with write-off after 40 years. This means your loan functions more like a graduate tax than a traditional debt.
To calculate your student finance entitlement: 1. Enter your household income. This is the combined gross income of your parents or guardians (or your own income if you are an independent student). SFE uses the previous tax year income for assessment. If your circumstances have changed, you can apply for a reassessment. 2. Select your living arrangement. Choose "Living at home with parents" if you will commute from the family home. Choose "Away from home, outside London" for most university towns and cities. Choose "Away from home, in London" if your university is in Greater London. Each option has different maximum and minimum loan amounts. 3. Choose your course year. While the rates are broadly similar across years, selecting your year helps you track your entitlement throughout your degree. 4. Select your domicile. This calculator uses English student rates by default. Students from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have their own student finance bodies (Student Finance Wales, SAAS, and Student Finance NI) with different rates and terms. 5. Review your results. You will see your tuition fee loan, maintenance loan, total annual finance, and monthly loan income. The pie chart shows the split between tuition and maintenance funding.
The maintenance loan uses a linear taper between two income thresholds: For students living away from home outside London, the maximum maintenance loan is 10,544 per year (at household income of 25,000 or below) and the minimum is 4,767 per year (at household income of 62,370 or above). For household incomes between these thresholds, the formula calculates: maintenance loan = maximum loan minus ((household income minus 25,000) multiplied by (maximum minus minimum) divided by (62,370 minus 25,000)). This creates a smooth, linear reduction from the maximum to the minimum loan as income increases. The rates for other living arrangements are: at home, maximum 8,490 and minimum 3,790; away in London, maximum 13,762 and minimum 6,485. The tuition fee loan is a flat 9,535 regardless of income. It goes directly to the university and does not enter your bank account. Total annual finance = tuition fee loan + maintenance loan. Monthly loan income = maintenance loan divided by 12, which represents the approximate monthly amount paid into your account in three termly instalments. For example, a student with household income of 40,000, living away outside London, would receive the full 9,535 tuition fee loan plus approximately 8,225 in maintenance loan, totalling around 17,760 in annual support.