Contact the Inland Revenue for a repayment claim form.Insurance is another oft-overlooked pitfall. The insurer More Than this week launched a policy allowing parents to make 15 per cent of their own household insurance cover available to their offspring, free, while they are studying at college or university. If you have earned less than the annual personal allowance of £4,615, you can reclaim any tax you have paid during the year. Beyond this amount, you will be taxed at 10 per cent up to £6,575, and at 22 per cent between £6,575 and £35,115.If you work during holidays and do not expect to earn more than £4,615, your employer should complete form P38(S), which allows your wages to be paid gross. Again, ask your son or daughter what contribution they want from you. Your local education authority should have advised you of your contribution, the student loan that may be applied for and the annual tuition fee payable.State what help you can reasonably afford then jointly look at the overall budget.

You may have to explore how your son or daughter could supplement their income while studying. Chas Roy-Chowdbury, of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, also warns that students must be aware of their tax obligations.If you have worked before or claimed jobseekers’ allowance, you should provide your new employer with a P45 form immediately, or you will be taxed at 22 per cent on all your income If you do not have a P45, ask your new employer for a P46 You can earn up to £4,615 a year without being taxed. This also applies if college/ university accommodation is not available to first-years: details of typical private sector rents can also be supplied.Once the core expenses have been established, you can begin work on the overall financial picture: food, books, travel, socialising, clothes and the like. Sharing reduces the cost, but en-suite facilities and the inclusion of meals increase it. A deposit will also be payable, varying from an average of £80 in the North-east to £160 in London.If details of rents at your offspring’s chosen place of learning have not yet been received, get your son or daughter to phone the accommodation officer. In the capital, rents varied considerably between institutions, reflecting different types of accommodation.The average unit rent at London Guildhall was £64.50, but that rose to £86.15 at the London School of Economics.

The latest NUS survey, in 2001, shows the average weekly institutional rent for a single self-catering room varied from £42.46 in Wales to £73.38 in central London. On average, those graduating this year outside London owe £12,000; in London it is £15,000. And the interest rate on student loans rises next month from 1.3 per cent to 3.1 per cent, increasing debt.So students must find what the costs are going to be Accommodation will be the largest outgoing. Parents will be concerned at the newspaper coverage of student debt, though not as much as they should be.A survey this week shows that one in four parents expect their children to graduate owing only £4,000. If you do, you will encounter a rolling of eyes and a defence that you will probably never penetrate. Utility companies are reluctant to issue bills in multiple names, so each took responsibility for paying one bill and split the cost with the others.But the worst move parents can make is to lecture on the need to budget carefully.

Like many parents, he felt a card in a student’s name was too big a temptation to spend.In the second and third years, Ms Colledge shared a house with three others. “We agreed that any additional expenditure over the allowance was to be funded by student loans,” says Mr Colledge. The course was intensive so a part-time job was not an option.Ms Colledge’s financial lifeline was a secondary credit card on her father’s account. He paid her rent and tuition fee direct to the university and gave her a weekly allowance that arrived in her account each Monday, to cover food and a reasonable level of socialising. He also paid an allowance for books/ materials and clothing.”Make clear how much you are prepared to commit,” he said.