HECS/HELP

Payment Options for Commonwealth Supported Students

If your taxable income is over the threshold limit and you are required to make payments towards your HECS/HELP* debt, Joeline Pearsall from Financial Dynamics recommends taking advantage of the discounts available.

Joeline has provided the following list of payment options for Commonwealth supported students:

1/ Make a full upfront payment

If a full upfront payment is made, students will only have to pay 80% of the student contribution amount on or before census date**. A 20% discount will be received and there will be no HECS/HELP debt.

2/ Make a partial upfront payment

A partial upfront payment can be made on or before census date. To receive the 20% discount, a payment of $500 or more is required. The balance of the debt may be deferred to HECS/HELP.

3/ Defer payment - HECS/HELP

A loan is available to eligible students enrolled in Commonwealth supported studies. This loan pays the student contribution directly to your higher education provider on your behalf. A HECS/HELP debt is then recorded with the Australian Tax Office.

HECS/HELP debts are indexed annually on 1 June. Indexation is the adjustment of your outstanding debt for inflation.

You will receive a statement of your HECS/HELP debt yearly and when you lodge your income tax return, repayment of your HECS/HELP debt will be included in your tax outcome if your income is over the threshold for repayments.

Voluntary repayments of your deferred HECS/HELP debt

You can make voluntary HELP debt repayments to the Tax Office at any time and for any amount. Voluntary repayments are in addition to your compulsory repayments and are non-refundable.

If you make a voluntary repayment to your HELP debt of $500 or more, you will receive a bonus of 10%. This means your HELP account will be credited with an additional 10% of the payment that you make.

If you have a new HECS/HELP debt against which you wish to make a voluntary repayment, contact the Tax Office first to see if the debt has been recorded against your TFN, as there is usually a delay between the census date and when the Tax Office records the debt. For administrative purposes, debts for the period January to June are recorded as being incurred on 31 March, and debts for the period July to December as being incurred on 31 August.

Voluntary repayments for HECS/HELP debt should be made before lodging your tax return and if possible, before indexation is applied on the 1st June each year (allow time for the voluntary payment to be processed so it is credited to your account by this date).

Note that you must advise your employer if you have an accumulated HELP debt on a TFN declaration form. Your employer must withhold additional amounts from your pay once you earn $765 or more per week (in the 2007-2008 income year).

There are several ways to make voluntary repayments including Bpay, direct credit, mail or in person at an Australia Post outlet.

Please contact Joeline at Financial Dynamics on 442 12345 or email joelinep@financialdynamics.com.au  for further details.    

* HECS (Higher Education Contributory Service)/HELP (Higher Education Loan Programme)

**Census dates are the dates by which you must finalise your arrangements for payment of your student contribution or fees. The dates will be provided by the institution you are studying

Tel: 02 4421 2345Fax: 02 4421 2340