Quick answer: For 2026/27, Student Finance England uses your parents’ taxable income before tax from the 2024 to 2025 tax year. It then deducts pension contributions and £1,130 for each other child who depends on them. If income has fallen by 15% or more since then, your parents can ask for a Current Year Income assessment.
Household income is the single number that decides most of your maintenance loan. Get it wrong and you’ll either be surprised by a smaller loan in September, or you’ll miss out on money you were entitled to. This guide walks through the rules as Student Finance England applies them for the 2026/27 academic year.
Which tax year is used?
For courses in the 2026/27 academic year, Student Finance England asks for household income from the 2024 to 2025 tax year – that’s 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025.
It uses an older tax year because those figures are final and can be checked with HMRC. The downside is that the figure can be out of date. If your family’s income has dropped since then, see the Current Year Income section below.
Whose income counts?
It depends on your family situation, not just who lives in the house.
| Your situation | Whose income is used |
|---|---|
| Parents live together (married or not) | Both parents |
| Parents separated or divorced | The parent you live with or depend on, plus their partner if they have one |
| Parent has a new partner | Your parent and their partner (married, civil partner or living together) |
| One parent has died | The surviving parent, plus their partner if they have one |
| You’re 25 or over | Yours and your partner’s (if you live together) – not your parents’ |
| You’re married or in a civil partnership | Yours and your partner’s |
| You’re independent for another reason | Yours (and your partner’s, if you have one) |
The key point for separated families: Student Finance doesn’t add together two parents who live in different households. A step-parent’s income, though, is counted if they live with the parent you depend on.
What counts as income
Student Finance starts from gross taxable income – the figure before Income Tax and National Insurance come off. That typically includes:
- Salary and wages from employment (including taxable benefits in kind)
- Profits from self-employment
- Taxable income from rental property
- Taxable pensions being received
- Taxable savings interest and dividend income
Take-home pay is not the figure you need. This is the most common mistake parents make – using the amount that lands in their bank account makes household income look far lower than Student Finance will find when it checks with HMRC.
What gets deducted
Two deductions make a real difference and are easy to miss:
- Pension contributions that weren’t already taken off before tax.
- £1,130 for each other child who is financially dependent on the household. Don’t count the student who is applying.
Worked example
Sam is starting university in September 2026 and will live away from home outside London.
- Sam’s mum earned £42,000 and his step-dad £18,000 in 2024 to 2025
- Mum paid £2,400 into a personal pension not taken off before tax
- Sam has one younger sister living at home
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross income (£42,000 + £18,000) | £60,000 |
| Minus pension contributions | −£2,400 |
| Minus £1,130 for Sam’s sister | −£1,130 |
| Household income | £56,470 |
With household income of £56,470, Sam’s loan is about £5,967 away from home outside London. Without the two deductions (at £60,000) it would be £5,421 – so claiming them is worth around £546 a year.
How household income changes your loan
| Household income | With parents | Away, outside London | Away, in London |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 or less | £9,118 | £10,830 | £14,135 |
| £30,000 | £8,354 | £10,058 | £13,349 |
| £40,000 | £6,825 | £8,512 | £11,777 |
| £50,000 | £5,296 | £6,967 | £10,205 |
| £60,000 | £4,013 | £5,421 | £8,632 |
| £70,000 | £4,013 | £5,048 | £7,060 |
For every £1 above £25,000 the loan falls by £1 for every £6.54 (with parents), £6.47 (away, outside London) or £6.36 (London), until it reaches the minimum. You can check your own figure with our household income calculator.
If income has fallen: Current Year Income
If your household income in the current tax year is expected to be at least 15% lower than in 2024 to 2025, your parents can ask Student Finance England to use the current year instead. This is called a Current Year Income (CYI) assessment, and the form is on GOV.UK.
For example, if household income was £48,000 in 2024 to 2025 but has fallen to £38,000 this year (a 21% drop), a student living away from home outside London would get about £8,821 instead of £7,276 – around £1,545 more.
Two things to know:
- The estimate has to be confirmed with actual figures once the tax year ends. If income turns out higher, the loan is adjusted and you may have been overpaid.
- A CYI assessment is for the whole academic year, so apply as early as you can.
What if parents won’t share their income?
If your parents refuse to provide their details, Student Finance England can only give you the minimum loan for your living arrangement. If you have no contact with your parents at all, you may be assessed as an estranged student – speak to Student Finance England and your university’s money advice team, who can help with the evidence.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using take-home pay instead of gross taxable income.
- Forgetting pension contributions paid privately.
- Counting the student as a dependent child – only other children count.
- Using the wrong tax year – it’s 2024 to 2025 for 2026/27.
- Leaving out a new partner’s income – if they live with your parent, it counts.
Next steps
- Work out the figure with the household income calculator.
- Plug it into the maintenance loan calculator to see your loan.
- If the loan is less than you need, read Is the maintenance loan enough?