The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/470) (“the Principal Regulations”). The Principal Regulations govern the repayment of income-contingent student loans paid to students under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998(c.30).

Regulations 3 to 12 amend the Principal Regulations.

Regulation 3 amends the content which may form part of a information notice which may be served on a borrower.

Regulations 4 and 12 remove the limit to the number of annual increases to repayment threshold and the applicable threshold for student loans which are not post-2012 student loans, by the retail price index, where the final increase would have been for the year 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016.

Regulations 5 and 10 change the legislative provisions under which interest rates are calculated for amounts which employers have not paid to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Regulation 6 permits the smallest employers to file returns about all the student loan repayments in a month on or before making the last payment to employees in the tax month, providing that they meet certain conditions.

Regulation 7 extends the time for those employers who are permitted to file on paper (i.e. care and support employers) to file information with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs from 14 days after the end of the tax month to 14 days after the end of the tax quarter.

Regulation 8 clarifies that regulation 59F (Returns under regulations 59B and 59E: amendments) applies whether the mistake is careless or deliberate.

Regulation 9 ensures there is no penalty awarded under section 98A Taxes Management Act 1970 (c.9) if the final return for 2014-15 is not made by 19th May 2015.

Regulation11 provides for penalties under Schedule 24 to Finance Act 2007 (c.11) where an employer makes an incorrect return and as a result of that return there is an understatement of a student loan or a false claim for repayment from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

A final Impact Assessment covering regulations 5 and 10 of this instrument was published on 14 April 2009. This was produced following a consultation on the harmonisation of interest charged by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and is available on the National Archives’ website at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090606121538/http:/www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2009/interest-penalties-2410.pdf. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to regulations 5 and 10 of this instrument.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering regulations 6 to 9 of this instrument was published on 15 March 2012 alongside the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S. I. 2012/822). This was updated as a result of changes to the impacts as a result of the year long Real Time Information pilot and is available on the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/tiins.htm. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to regulations 6 to 9 of this instrument.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering regulation 11 of this instrument was published on 20 March 2013 and is available on the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2013/tiin-4762.pdf. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to regulation 11 of this instrument.

An impact assessment has not been produced for the regulations which are not covered by the Tax Information and Impact Notes and the Impact Assessment mentioned above because they have no impact on businesses or civil society organisations. The Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.