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Roughly 35,000 students in Finland earned more than permitted under the 2024 income limits for student financial aid, according to Kela. Those affected have until 30 April 2025 to voluntarily return the excess support and avoid a recovery penalty.
Students who exceed the annual income threshold and fail to repay the excess aid in time will face a 7.5 percent surcharge in February 2026, when Kela will begin recovery procedures.
The voluntary repayment option allows students to return the aid now and retain the right to use those repaid months in the future.
“Last year, more than 22,000 students returned a total of €17.7 million voluntarily. We expect similar figures this year as the income limits remained unchanged from 2023,” said Ilpo Lahtinen, Senior Coordinator at Kela’s Student Financial Aid Section.
The income limit applies only to student financial aid, not to general housing allowance. From August 2025, however, students will be moved to a new housing supplement scheme. After that, repaying student financial aid will also require returning housing benefits.
“This year marks the final time students need only return the study grant,” said Lahtinen. “From next year on, the scope of repayments will widen, and students must monitor their income more closely.”
Students can check their income threshold using the OmaKela online service or on Kela’s website. Kela uses income data from the Tax Administration’s pre-filled tax returns to assess if a student has exceeded their limit.
Students who have authorised Kela to send messages will receive notifications in early April if they are affected. OmaKela provides a personal summary showing how much income was earned in 2024 and which months of financial aid can be repaid. The service also calculates the impact of the repayment on the annual income limit and enables immediate online payment.
Students in higher education who return excess aid now will retain those months for later use. Those who do not repay by the deadline will lose the right to reclaim the aid months.
The voluntary repayment system applies only to income earned in 2024 and must be completed by 30 April 2025.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
