Interest when your student finance ends
If you received a grant, loan, student travel product or a lifelong learning credit, we will have calculated an interest on this student finance. The government determines how high the interest rate is. While you were studying, the interest rate was always fixed for 1 year. From January of the year following the end of your student finance, the interest rate will be set for 5 years. This is called a fixed-rate period. You will be notified of the interest rate that applies from the following January in October.
Which interest rate applies to you?
The interest rate is linked to the repayment rules that apply to you and the fixed-rate period. For more information on the repayment rules that apply to you, go to Mijn DUO.
Overview of interest rates
| year | Interest rate(%) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,57 (SF35) en 2,21 (SF15) |
| 2024 | 2,56 (SF35) en 2,95 (SF15) |
| 2023 | 0,46 (SF35) en 1,78 (SF15) |
| 2022 | 0,00 |
| 2021 | 0,00 |
| 2020 | 0,00 |
| 2019 | 0,00 |
| 2018 | 0,00 |
| 2017 | 0,00 |
| 2016 | 0,01 |
| 2015 | 0,12 |
| 2014 | 0,81 |
| 2013 | 0,60 |
| 2012 | 1,39 |
| 2011 | 1,50 |
| 2010 | 2,39 |
| 2009 | 3,58 |
| 2008 | 4,17 |
| 2007 | 3,70 |
| 2006 | 2,74 |
Interest for lifelong learning credit
You are required to repay a lifelong learning credit in no more than 15 years. The interest rate is equal to the SF35 interest rate and a fixed-rate period of 5 years also applies here. You can find all information about repaying an lllc debt on the page about the various repayment rules.
Interest rate after obtaining your diploma
Are you obtaining your diploma? Then your performance-related grant (basic grant, supplementary grant and student travel product) will be converted into a gift, including the interest accrued.
How interest works
Interest is calculated month by month on your total residual debt, which is the amount of your debt plus any interest that has already accrued. So you are paying interest on interest. This is referred to as ‘compound interest’.
Example of fixed-rate period
Saskia graduated from her secondary vocational education (MBO) programme in 2019. She has taken out a loan, so she has a student debt. As a result, a fixed-rate period started from 2020.
- The interest rate for 2020 was 0.00%. This rate was fixed for a period of 5 years. This means that, from the start of January 2020 until the end of December 2024, Saskia will pay no interest on her student debt.
- In January 2025, a new fixed-rate period will commence for Saskia. The repayment rules of SF15 apply to Saskia. The interest rate for SF15 for 2025 is 2.21%. Once again, this will apply for a period of 5 years, up to the end of December 2029.
- In 2030, the next fixed-rate period will commence for Saskia. For the following 5 years, she will be subject to the 2030 interest rate.
FAQs
I would like to pay off (part of) my loan now. How do I do that?
You can always begin paying off your debt (or part thereof), even if you are not yet required to begin paying back your loan.
Once you have obtained your diploma, your performance-related grant will be converted into a gift in January after the last payment of your student grant. If there is still a debt left, you will receive a message in February about your fixed interest period. From that moment on you can pay with iDEAL in Mijn DUO.
When you want to make payments before this moment, please transfer an amount to DUO:
- Account number: NL45 INGB 0705 0019 03
- Name of account holder: Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Description: your citizen service number, with the addition ‘ILS’. Example: 12346789ILS.
If you have several debts with various interest rates, we will always deduct any additional payments from the debt with the highest interest rate. Would you like to write off a debt for which the interest rate is being increased? Transfer the desired amount as explained above. Please contact our customer service once the payment has been debited. The employee can then debit the payment from the debt, the percentage of which is increased.
How is the interest rate determined?
The interest rate depends on the repayment rules. Under the repayment rules of SF15, the repayment period is 15 years.
The interest rate under the SF15 repayment rules depends on the average interest on the 3-year to 5-year bonds in the month of September, which is to say interest due for that month alone.
How can I keep my interest as low as possible?
If you are able to spare the money, you can choose to repay part of your performance-related grant now. Your debt will then be lower, so you will pay less interest in total. You will then have to pay back less of your performance-related grant if you do not obtain your diploma on time. This is because the interest will then be calculated on a smaller amount. Have you obtained your diploma on time? Then the part of the performance-related grant that has been repaid will be transferred back into your bank account.