Approximately 34,500 students exceeded their annual income limit last year – pay back student financial aid by the end of April to avoid recovery

Kela estimates that approximately 34,500 students exceeded their income limit for student financial aid in 2025. These students can pay back student financial aid they received in 2025 on their own volition. The last day to do this is Thursday, 30 April 2026. Students enrolled in higher education who pay back student financial aid on their own volition will gain back the months of financial aid they have repaid and can use them again at a later date.

“Last year, over 22,000 students returned a total of EUR 18.3 million on their own volition. We estimate that the latter figure will be slightly higher this year as students were transferred under the student housing supplement scheme in August 2025. This means that students were paid more student financial aid in 2025 than in previous years, and some of them will also have to pay back their student housing supplement,” says Else Turtiainen, Coordinator in Kela’s Student Financial Aid Section.

Students whose income exceeds the annual limit and who do not return excess aid by the end of April 2026 at the latest will be required to pay back the aid to Kela in February 2027. At that point, an increase of 7.5% will be added to the amount that Kela will recover from these students, and the students will not be able to reuse the recovered months of financial aid.

Students can check their annual income limit in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) or by visiting Kela’s website.

Students free to choose the months for which they pay back student financial aid

The housing benefits available for students changed on 1 August 2025 when students were transferred under the student housing supplement scheme and no longer qualified for general housing allowance. As this change came into effect mid-year, we recommend that students pay back student financial aid they received in early 2025 on their own volition because they will only have to pay back their study grant in that case.

“Students who have exceeded their annual income limit can save a significant amount of money if they pay back financial aid they got in the first half of 2025 on their own volition. If you have exceeded your income limit and you do not pay back financial aid on your own volition, Kela will recover overpaid student financial aid from you in February 2027 starting from financial aid paid to you in the last months of 2025. This means that not only will you have to pay back both your study grant and your student housing supplement, you will also have to pay the 7.5% increase we add if your student financial aid goes to recovery,” says Turtiainen.

Student financial aid can be paid back quickly and easily

The Tax Administration provides Kela with the income data recorded in students’ pre-completed tax returns. If the preliminary tax information indicates that the student has exceeded the annual income limit, Kela will notify the student of this via text message or email at the beginning of April. Kela sends notifications to all students who have received student financial aid and given Kela permission to send them messages.

Kela compiles a summary of the preliminary tax information for each student. This summary is available in OmaKela. Students can check the summary to see how much income they received in 2025 and pay back excess student financial aid directly.

OmaKela will tell each student which months of financial aid they can return and how much their annual income limit will increase if they return aid for those months. Repayment can be made online immediately or by the end of April at the latest.