Students must return the overpaid support by the end of April
If you want to voluntarily repay the 2021 scholarship, you must do so before the end of April 2022. If the overpaid study grant is not returned in time, it will be recovered at an interest rate of 7.5%. A student whose income in 2021 exceeds a certain annual limit may voluntarily reimburse the overpaid tuition and student housing allowance dues. The annual income limit and the voluntary repayment clause do not apply general housing allowance. The overpaid aid must be repaid by Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Recipients of the study grant can access Kela’s online service at www.kela.fi/omakela (Finland) or www.fpa.fi/mittfpa (Swedish) to check the preliminary data on their annual income and its impact on financial support. You need an online banking ID or a mobile ID to log in to OmaKela. The information on annual income can be found in My benefits> Student support> Support months> Income control> Annual income.
If, according to preliminary information, you have exceeded the student’s annual income limit, Kela will notify you of this and give you a deadline for repayment. Kela notifies all those study grant recipients who have given permission to Kela to send messages. You can allow Kela to send messages in the OmaKela online service.
Support payments can be refunded online. Students will have access to the OmaKela online service to see for which month they can repay the support and how much his or her annual income limit will increase if he or she returns the support voluntarily for those months. Voluntary repayments can be made online directly through the student bank. Another option is to print the necessary information and make a refund by the end of April.
Check your income limit online
Students who have received a nine-month student grant can earn up to € 12,498 in other income. The limit for a student with 10 months of support is € 11,116. Students can check their income limit at OmaKela or call 020 634 2550 Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The income limits given above apply to 2021. The income limits for 2022 have been increased by 25%.
With the exception of tuition fees, all taxable earnings and investment income are calculated as gross income (before deductions). Income received from abroad is also taken into account as income. It is up to the student to check how much other income they have that is counted towards the grant. You can check the amount of your annual income in OmaKela, with your pre-filled tax return or income register, www.tulorekisteri.fi.
Students who have received less support in a given month may choose to refund the support fee for that month. Eligibility of university students is restored for each month for which they repay the grant.
A student whose income exceeds the annual limit and who does not return the additional support is obliged to repay the support to Kela. In that case, the amount to be reimbursed will be 7.5% higher than if the aid had been reimbursed voluntarily.
Last year, 26,150 students voluntarily returned a total of € 19.9 million. Most voluntary refunds are paid online.
Kela notifies the tax office of the amounts of aid repaid
The tax office sends a pre-filled tax return form to taxpayers. Repayments received by the end of February will be taken into account in the tax return. Kela will notify the tax office of the amounts of aid voluntarily reimbursed during March-April. This means that students do not have to check their tax return in that regard. The tax office takes all refunds into account when calculating a student’s final tax liability.
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Source: Kela