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About income assessment

The rules on income assessment can be complicated, and this page is only a general guide. If you’re looking for more detailed information - or answers to questions about your individual circumstances - see the section below on ‘Finding out more about income assessment’.

Student Finance Calculator: your quick guide to what’s available

Students starting a course in 2009/2010 can use the Student Finance Calculator - just enter your details for a quick idea of how much you’re likely to get.

How does income assessment affect what you get?

If you're an eligible student from England, you can get a Student Loan for Tuition Fees (to cover your tuition fees in full) and a Student Loan for Maintenance (to help with accommodation and other living costs).

The total help you can get with living costs depends on a range of factors. These include whether you study in London or elsewhere, whether you live at home, whether you're in the final year of your course - and your household income.

How does income assessment work?

If you apply for the ‘income assessed’ part of the student finance package, you’ll need to supply the information on household income requested on the student finance application.

Deductions may be made from the figure you supply - for example, for any dependent children you have. The amount left after these deductions is used to decide how much financial help you’re entitled to.

Whose income is counted as part of the assessment?

Your own income will always be counted as part of the assessment. This will include 'unearned' income, such as interest from savings, but not casual or part-time earnings during your course.

Your parents' or partner's income may also be counted. Whose income is taken into account depends on whether you are classed as a 'dependent' or 'independent' student.

The information below tells you what’s usually taken into account when classifying students - but it doesn’t cover all circumstances. See the section below on ‘Finding out more about income assessment’ for information on where to get detailed guidance.

Dependent students

If you’re a dependent student, the income assessment will take into account the income of your parents or adoptive parents as well as your own income.

In general, you’ll be classed as a dependent student if you’re under 25 on the first day of the academic year for which you’re applying for support and are financially dependent on one or both of your parents (even if you don't live with them).

If your parents are divorced or separated and you started your course in or after September 2004, only the income of one of them will be assessed  - whichever one seems appropriate in the circumstances. The income of your other parent will be ignored, but the income of any spouse, civil partner or live-in partner of the parent who is assessed will be taken into account (including a partner of the same sex if you started your course in September 2005 or later).

Independent students

Whose income is counted?

If you’re classed as an independent student, only your income and that of your partner will be counted.

This can mean your spouse, civil partner or:

• if you started your course in or after September 2000 and you’re 25 or over on the first day of the academic year for which you’re applying for support, any live-in partner of the opposite sex
• if you started your course in or after September 2005 and you’re 25 or over on the first day of the academic year for which you’re applying for support, any live-in partner of the same sex

Who is classed as an independent student?

The lists below aren’t exhaustive, but you’ll usually be classed as independent if any of the following apply on the first day of the academic year for which you’re applying for support:

• you are aged 25 or over
• you have care of a child
• you have no living parents
  

Generally speaking, you’ll also be classed as independent if either of the following applies to you before the first day of the academic year for which you’re applying for support:

• you are, or have been, married or in a civil partnership
• you are classed as having supported yourself for at least three years

Finding out more about income assessment

For more about income assessment, see ‘Higher Education Student Finance: how you are assessed and paid’.

If you have questions about whether you’ll be classified as dependent or independent, contact the organisation you're applying to. If you're a new student starting in 2009/2010, you'll apply to Student Finance England.

If you started in 2008/2009 or earlier, your application will be handled by either your local authority or the Student Loans Company - depending on where you live. See 'Contact your local authority (student finance applications)' to find out who you should get in touch with.

• Download Higher Education Student Finance: how you are assessed and paid 2009/2010 (PDF, 1169K)

• Download Higher Education Student Finance: how you are assessed and paid 2008/2009 (PDF, 1577K)

• Contact Student Finance England

• Contact your local authority (student finance applications) Opens new window

Part-time students and students from outside England

Income assessment works differently for part-time students - and the help you’re entitled to may be different if you’re not from England.

• Finance for part-time students - applying for the first time

• Student finance: not from England

More useful links

• Eligibility for student finance

• Student finance: what parents and partners need to do

Back to main page on 'Applying for student finance'

• Applying for student finance