CJ Isherwood/Flickr
Tax is a tricky subject- even the adults don't get it correct all the time.
As a student, every penny is precious, and paying tax doesn't seem like it's a whole lot of fun. Fortunately, students don't have to fill out tax returns, but there are still way the government can claim a few pennies from you. After May 7 though, this all may change. But how?
Taxes
Yes, students do have to pay tax(01 of09)
Are you a student with a job? Then contrary to the popular myth, you do have to pay tax. National Insurance is taken if you earn more than £155 a week, and Income Tax if you earn more than £204 a week. Happily though, if you think you've been overcharged or you stop working part-way through the year, you can claim a tax refund. (credit:Tax Credits/Flickr)
But what if I go travelling?(02 of09)
If you go abroad and get a job while you're away, you could still be taxed on anything you earn over your Personal Allowance (£10,600 usually). On top of that, if your employer is baed in the UK, you may also have to pay National Insurance. Even if that's not the case, you may find that you have to pay contributions to the country you're working in. (credit:kevin dooley/Flickr)
If you're an international student looking to work in the UK while you study(03 of09)
Some double-taxation agreements ensure that students from certain countries don't need to pay tax on anything they earn. However, if your home country doesn't have an agreement like this with the UK, you'll have to pay tax in the same way as those who have immigrated over here. (credit:AIIAS/Flickr)
The tricky question of council tax(04 of09)
Do you need to pay council tax? Generally, no. However, if you're a part-time student rather than full-time, or one of your housemates leaves their course, you might be liable to pay. (credit:roger4336/Flickr)
What will change under Labour?(05 of09)
Well, according to the Labour manifesto, not much really. However, Ed Miliband pledged in February that Labour would cut the top rate of tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000, and maintenance loans will increase to families with an income of up £42,000 a year. The SNP have also pledged to reduce tuition fees, so if the rumours of a deal between the two parties are true, students could well see a reduction in this area after all. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Under the Conservatives(06 of09)
Again, not much will change under another Tory government. However, if you study Maths or Physics at university AND commit to teaching for at least three years after you graduate, David Cameron might give you £15,000 towards your studies. (credit:Chris Radburn/PA Wire)
And now for the Lib Dems(07 of09)
While many students may be, well, a bit apprehensive of voting for the Lib Dems this time round, the party does have some clear ideas on tax. They've pledged to raise personal allowance to £12,500. Still probably won't affect most students however. What may affect students (with terrible jobs) though, is the promise that you won't have to pay tax if you're only being paid the minimum wage. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
And here goes the Greens(08 of09)
Fitting in with their pro-student image, the Green Party are the only contender in the General Election who has promised to scrap tuition fees in the UK altogether. On top of this, the Greens also support increasing the minimum wage to £10 per hour by 2020 (£2 more than Labour reckon they can do) as well as creating more than one million jobs. Useful, if that student loan is running out. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
We read the UKIP manifesto so you don't have to!(09 of09)
Apart from the standard 'raise personal allowance' stuff we've seen in many of the manifestos so far, Farage and UKIP have some quite clear ideas on their vision for higher education in the UK.For one, UKIP would remove tuition fees for students studying science, medicine, technology, engineering, or maths on the condition that they live, work and pay tax in the UK for five years after the completion of their degrees, and additionally students from the EU would be made to pay the same rates as International students. Not hugely beneficial to the vast majority of students, Nigel. (credit:Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)