I am having difficulty repaying my student loan

Student loans Dates

JAN 15

Interim student loan repayments are due. They count towards your end-of-year repayment obligation.
FEB 7

End-of-year student loan repayments are due. If you have an amount to pay, you'll have received a letter or text message from us.
APR 1

We add an administration fee to student loans to help pay for some of the ongoing costs of administering the loan

You may find yourself in a difficult situation while repaying your loan. We have a number of options available to help make things easier.

Reduced repayments from your New Zealand income

You can apply for to lower the deductions from your New Zealand salary or wages if you are in any of the following situations.

You are studying full time and earning under the annual repayment threshold.
You have more than 1 employer and your main income is under the annual threshold.
Your salary and wage deductions are putting you into hardship.

Go to your student loan account in myIR and select 'Apply for a reduced deduction rate'. This is also available in the 'More' section of your student loan account.

Reduced repayments when you live overseas

If you're about to move overseas, or have recently left, you can take up to a 12 month break from repaying your student loan.

Temporary repayment suspension for student loans

You can apply to negotiate your repayments if you need to make them more affordable for a while.

Send a student loan overseas-based customer repayment application - IR219

Instalment arrangement or financial relief

You can request an instalment arrangement or apply for financial relief if you have either:

loan repayments that are not deducted from your salary or wage
other payments due to us that you cannot afford.

We’ll ask you about your financial situation, which may include details of your income and expenses.

Apply for an instalment arrangement

Apply for financial relief - individuals in New Zealand

Apply for financial relief - overseas-based or non-resident individuals

Late payment interest

If you miss a payment on your student loan, you may get late payment interest. You'll need to know this rate and the reduced late payment rate we charge under instalment arrangements.

Student loan interest and fees

Late payments and borrowing more

You will not be able to take out a new student loan if:

your overdue student loan amount is more than $500
any part of that debt is 12 months or older.

You will need to pay off the outstanding amount before you can borrow more.

You can check in myIR whether you have any late payments.