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Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

Excess repayments

122: Exception to general rule if repayment obligations for prior tax years reassessed

You could also call this:

“Special rule for fixing past student loan payment mistakes”

If you have a student loan, sometimes the government needs to check your repayment obligations for past years. This is called an investigation. During this investigation, the government might find two things:

First, they might discover that you owe money for a year they hadn’t looked at before, or that you owe more money than they originally thought for a year they had already checked.

Second, they might also find out that you’ve paid too much in one of the years they’re investigating.

If both of these things happen, the government can do something special. They can use the extra money you paid to cover what you owe for any of the years they’re looking at. They’ll try to do this in a way that’s fair to you.

If there’s any extra money left after doing this, they’ll follow the normal rules about what to do with overpayments. These rules are explained in other parts of the law.

This special way of handling things can be done even if other parts of the law say something different.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3180276.

Topics:
Education and learning > Higher education Money and consumer rights > Banking and loans
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121: Options that apply to excess repayments, or

"What you can do if you pay too much on your student loan"

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123: Borrower's entitlement to 10% bonus for excess repayment of $500 or more, or

"Old bonus rule for extra student loan payments no longer exists"

Part 3 Excess repayments

122Exception to general rule if repayment obligations for prior tax years reassessed

  1. Subsection (2) applies if, upon investigation by the Commissioner of a borrower's repayment obligations for 2 or more prior tax years (the investigated years),—

  2. the Commissioner assesses the borrower as having a repayment obligation for an investigated year for which no assessment has been made previously, or alters an assessment for an investigated year so as to increase the repayment obligation; and
    1. the Commissioner also identifies that an excess repayment has been made for an investigated year.

      1. If this subsection applies,—

      2. the Commissioner may, to the extent that he or she considers equitable, offset the excess repayment against any repayment obligation due for any of the investigated years; and
        1. sections 120 and 121 apply only to so much of the excess repayment (if any) as is not offset against a repayment obligation in accordance with paragraph (a).

          1. Subsection (2) applies despite anything to the contrary in this Act.

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