Interest when repaying a student debt
You have either 15 or 35 years to repay your student loan, depending on the repayment rules that apply to you. Your loan is subject to interest. This means that your student debt will increase. Which interest rate applies to you, depends on your repayment period and your fixed-rate period.
Fixed-rate period
Your interest rate is fixed for a period of 5 years at a time. This is referred to as the fixed-rate period. This means that you will have the same interest rate for 5 years.
Example of fixed-rate period
Anton finished his HBO programme in 2019. He has student debt. As a result, his preliminary phase started from 2020.
- The interest rate for 2020 was 0%. This rate was fixed for a period of 5 years. This means that, from January 2020 until the end of December 2024, Anton pays 0% interest on his student debt.
- In January 2025, a new fixed-rate period will commence for Anton. The repayment rules of SF35 apply to Anton. The interest rate for SF35 for 2025 is 2.57%.Once again, this applies for a period of 5 years, up to the end of December 2029.
- In 2030, the next fixed-rate period will commence for Anton. For the following 5 years he will be subject to the 2030 interest rate.
Does the new interest rate apply to you?
You will only be subject to an interest change once every 5 years. Log in to Mijn DUO and see when your fixed-rate period ends. You will also be able to find this information on your repayment notice ‘bericht terugbetalen’.
In November of each year, you will be informed about your interest rate and the amount of your monthly repayments for the following calendar year. Also check out the options for reduced monthly payments or higher monthly payments.
Overview 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 Lifelong learning credit debt on the page about the various repayment rules.
Paying interest on interest
The 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’.
FAQs
How is the interest rate determined?
The interest rate depends on the repayment rules.
The interest rate under the SF15 repayment rules (repayment in 15 years) 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.
The interest rate under the SF35 repayment rules depends on the average interest on the 5-year bonds from October to the end of September of the following year, which is to say a period of 12 months.
Can I make extra payments?
You can also pay off your student debt earlier or make an additional payment by going to Mijn DUO and using iDEAL. Your debt will then be lower, so you will pay less interest in total.
If you are unable to pay using iDEAL, then please transfer your payment to account number NL45 INGB 0705 0019 03, account holder Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Groningen. In the description, include your citizen service number with the addition ‘ILS’. For example 12346789ILS. This addition ensures that your payment will be processed correctly.
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 can I lower my monthly amount?
What if the amount of your monthly repayments increases and you are unable to pay? It may be possible to reduce your monthly payments, or you could temporarily repay less or nothing at all.