Student loan repayment calculator
Student loan repayments are simpler than most people fear: a flat percentage of everything you earn above your plan's threshold, taken through payroll like tax. The complication is that there are five plans with five different thresholds, this calculator shows all of them side by side for 2026/27.
What you repay on £35,000, every plan
| Plan | Threshold | Rate | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% | £729.00 | £60.75 |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% | £505.35 | £42.11 |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% | £108.45 | £9.04 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% | £900.00 | £75.00 |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% | £840.00 | £70.00 |
Repayments are 9% (6% postgraduate) of everything above the threshold, not of your whole salary. Below the threshold you repay nothing.
See your full take-home with tax, NI and your plan combined →
Which plan am I on?
- Plan 1: undergraduate course started before September 2012 (England or Wales), or you studied in Northern Ireland.
- Plan 2: undergraduate course started September 2012 to July 2023 in England or Wales.
- Plan 4: you took your loan out in Scotland, whenever that was.
- Plan 5: undergraduate course started August 2023 or later in England.
- Postgraduate: a master's or doctoral loan, repaid at 6% on top of any undergraduate plan.
You can be on two at once: a Plan 2 undergraduate loan plus a postgraduate loan means 9% above £29,385 and 6% above £21,000, a combined 15% marginal deduction in the overlap.
Why Plan 5 costs more per month than Plan 2
Same 9% rate, much lower threshold: £25,000 against £29,385. A Plan 5 graduate starts repaying earlier and pays £395 a year more at any salary above both thresholds. Plan 5 loans also run for 40 years before being written off, against 30 for Plan 2.
Worth knowing
- Repayments are calculated per pay period, not annually, a bonus month can trigger a repayment even if your annual salary is below the threshold.
- They come out of gross pay after pension salary sacrifice, sacrificing salary reduces your student loan repayment too.
- Repaying nothing below the threshold is by design, not arrears. The balance is written off at the end of the loan term regardless of what is left.
2026/27 thresholds, checked 2026-08-28 against gov.uk. Method on the about page.