International Student Levy UK 2028/29 — £925 Higher Education Charge

The UK government has published draft legislation for an international student levy on registered higher education providers in England. The draft charge is £925 per relevant international student per academic year, with the intended first academic year beginning on 1 August 2028. The provider, not the individual student, is the party described as liable for the levy.

This is a planned charge in draft legislation, not a current 2026/27 or 2027/28 invoice. The Department for Education says the levy will be collected by the Office for Students and reinvested into higher education and skills. The detailed rules for the student count, allowance, exemptions, payment notices, interest, penalties and appeals still depend on regulations and final implementation guidance.

Who would pay the international student levy?

The draft measure charges the levy on a registered higher education provider for international students registered on a higher education course provided by that institution. The published material applies to England. It does not describe a separate bill sent directly to each student, and it should not be confused with tuition fees, student loans, visa fees or the Immigration Skills Charge.

The provider audience can include universities and other registered higher education providers within the statutory definition. Whether a particular institution or course is covered depends on the final legislation, registration status, course definitions and the information supplied under the higher education regulatory framework. A provider should not infer coverage from the word “international” alone.

How much is the proposed charge?

The draft Finance Bill states £925 for each relevant international student. The proposed levy is charged by academic year, defined in the draft as a period beginning on 1 August and ending on the following 31 July.

An illustrative planning calculation is:

This table is arithmetic, not a provider assessment. It assumes all 1,000 students are counted under the final rules, that no allowance or exemption applies and that the £925 amount has not been uprated. Finance teams should reconcile the number against the final reporting definition rather than multiply a broad international-enrolment figure.

The draft legislation gives the Secretary of State power to change the monetary amount by regulations to take account of inflation. A future academic year therefore may not use £925 even if the initial draft amount is unchanged for the first year.

Which students would be counted?

The draft says the levy applies to international students who are, for any period during the academic year, registered on a higher education course provided by the provider. It also links the student count to information required under an ongoing registration condition and the higher education information duties framework.

There is an important timing rule for the first levy year: where an international student first registered on the course during an earlier academic year, the student is not treated as registered for the levy year until the anniversary of the original registration date. The draft also says this particular anniversary rule does not apply when charging for the academic year beginning on 1 August 2028.

That means a simple year-end headcount may not reproduce the statutory count. Providers should map:

• the academic-year start and end dates;
• original registration dates and anniversary dates;
• course and provider identifiers used in required reporting;
• students who appear in more than one relevant record; and
• any final allowance or exemption categories.

Do not publish a provider's expected bill until the official data definition and regulations are confirmed.

Are there allowances and exemptions?

The draft creates powers for regulations to specify an allowance: a number of relevant international students for each provider for whom the levy would not be charged. It also creates powers to specify descriptions of international students who are exempt.

The July 2026 draft does not itself provide a complete operational list that a provider can safely use as a final exemption table. The allowance and exemption powers are a reason to keep the published £925 calculation labelled as draft and indicative. Wait for the regulations, Office for Students communications and provider-specific instructions before excluding a student category from a budget.

Potential categories discussed during consultation should not be treated as legally confirmed exclusions. A student’s nationality, immigration status, fee status, course, start date and reporting record may all matter, and the final rules can define those terms differently from an institution’s internal labels.

How would the levy be collected?

The Department for Education says the levy will be collected by the Office for Students. The draft legislation allows regulations to cover assessment, payment, collection and recovery. It also allows for a notice after the end of an academic year setting out the amount assessed for the provider.

The draft powers may also cover:

• payment times and methods;
• interest on unpaid amounts;
• review and tribunal appeal rights for specified decisions;
• civil penalties for failure to comply; and
• recovery of overpayments and treatment of insolvency situations.

Those are enabling provisions, not a final provider timetable or penalty schedule. Do not invent a payment deadline, penalty percentage or appeal form from the draft power alone.

What should a provider prepare now?

Preparation should focus on data quality and governance rather than charging students. A provider can review whether its student-record, finance and regulatory-reporting systems can produce an auditable academic-year count. It can also identify who owns the future process across admissions, registry, finance, compliance and tax.

Useful preparation questions include:

1. Which system is the authoritative source for registration and course dates?
2. Can the provider reproduce a student count at the academic-year and anniversary level?
3. How will corrections to regulatory data flow into the finance forecast?
4. Which records prove that a student was included, excluded or treated under an allowance?
5. Who will review an Office for Students assessment or notice?
6. How will the provider separate the levy from tuition fees and other education-related charges?

Keep a versioned assumptions log for budgets. Label any forecast as a planning estimate and show the student-count definition, draft rate, allowance assumption and expected commencement. Do not pass the charge through to students or alter published fee terms solely because draft legislation exists; that is a separate commercial, regulatory and consumer-law decision.

What is the policy status?

The measure was published on 13 July 2026 as draft Finance Bill material. The government’s technical consultation response was also updated on 13 July 2026 and says the Office for Students will run trial delivery calculations using 2026/27 and 2027/28 student data. The draft legislation says the levy would have effect for the academic year beginning on 1 August 2028 and later academic years, subject to parliamentary approval and final regulations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Evidence and decision checks

A reliable uk international student levy 2028 29 review starts by fixing the tax year and the date on which the relevant event happened. Record the person's or business's status, the income or transaction category, the amount before tax, tax already withheld, and any election or claim being relied on. Do not combine a headline figure with a final liability: the result can change when another income source, a payment date, an ownership interest or a qualifying condition is added.

Keep the source documents behind every important input. Depending on the subject, that may include payslips, invoices, bank statements, contracts, provider statements, travel records, HMRC notices, payroll submissions, valuations or correspondence. Where an amount is apportioned, write down the method and retain the underlying total. If a correction is made, preserve the original figure and explain the reason, date and evidence for the replacement.

Before relying on the result, check the current official guidance for the same tax year and jurisdiction. Distinguish enacted law from a consultation, draft measure, announcement or future proposal, and record the effective date. Reconcile the final estimate to the relevant return, payroll record or HMRC account. A calculator or explanatory guide can support a decision, but it cannot replace the eligibility test or the official filing and payment process.

Evidence and decision checks

A reliable uk international student levy 2028 29 review starts by fixing the tax year and the date on which the relevant event happened. Record the person's or business's status, the income or transaction category, the amount before tax, tax already withheld, and any election or claim being relied on. Do not combine a headline figure with a final liability: the result can change when another income source, a payment date, an ownership interest or a qualifying condition is added.

Keep the source documents behind every important input. Depending on the subject, that may include payslips, invoices, bank statements, contracts, provider statements, travel records, HMRC notices, payroll submissions, valuations or correspondence. Where an amount is apportioned, write down the method and retain the underlying total. If a correction is made, preserve the original figure and explain the reason, date and evidence for the replacement.

Before relying on the result, check the current official guidance for the same tax year and jurisdiction. Distinguish enacted law from a consultation, draft measure, announcement or future proposal, and record the effective date. Reconcile the final estimate to the relevant return, payroll record or HMRC account. A calculator or explanatory guide can support a decision, but it cannot replace the eligibility test or the official filing and payment process.

For related provider obligations, compare the UK VAT guide for alternative education providers, the further-education public funding VAT guide and the Apprenticeship Levy guide. This page explains draft policy and is not tax, regulatory or legal advice.

Official sources

• Department for Education — Introducing an international student levy on higher education providers
• Department for Education — International student levy: draft Finance Bill
• Department for Education — International student levy technical detail