Glossary · UK
What is Plan 4 Student Loan?
The UK student loan plan for Scottish students, with the highest repayment threshold of any plan at £33,795 for 2026/27, repaid at 9% of income above that.
Full Definition
Plan 4 covers student loans taken out by Scottish students studying anywhere in the UK, administered by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). It has the highest repayment threshold of any UK student loan plan (£33,795 for 2026/27, uprated each April), reflecting Scotland's policy of not charging tuition fees to Scottish-domiciled students for their first degree, so most Plan 4 debt relates to maintenance loans rather than tuition. Repayments are 9% of income above the threshold, collected via PAYE or Self Assessment in the same way as other plans. Interest is charged at RPI only, without the additional earnings-linked increments that apply to some Plan 2 borrowers, and any outstanding balance is written off 30 years after the April repayments first became due. Borrowers who study in Scotland but are not Scottish-domiciled, or who moved between the different UK nations during their studies, should check which plan type actually applies to their loan, since it depends on domicile and course start date rather than simply where the course was studied.
How Plan 4 Student Loan is calculated
Monthly repayment = 0.09 x max(0, Annual income - 33795) / 12- 33795
- Plan 4 annual repayment threshold for 2026/27 (GBP).
- 0.09
- Repayment rate applied to income above the threshold.
Worked example: On a salary of GBP 40,000, income above the threshold is 40,000 - 33,795 = GBP 6,205. Annual repayment is 9% x 6,205 = GBP 558.45, or about GBP 46.54 a month.