Student Loan Repayment Calculator (2026/27)

Estimate your repayments

Enter your annual salary and choose your repayment plan in the calculator above. It returns your estimated yearly and monthly deduction so you can see the real figure before it lands on your payslip.

How student loan repayments actually work

A student loan does not behave like a normal loan. There is no fixed monthly instalment and no set term you have to clear. Instead, repayments are income-contingent: you repay a percentage of the income you earn above a threshold, and nothing on the income below it.

For the undergraduate plans (Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 and Plan 5) the rate is 9% of income above your plan's threshold. For a Postgraduate Loan (PGL) the rate is 6%. The plain formula is:

Annual repayment = (income above your plan's threshold) × 9% (or × 6% for a Postgraduate Loan).

The threshold is the part that varies. Each plan has its own income level at which repayments start, and those figures are set by the government and reviewed each tax year. Because the exact threshold depends on which plan you hold, check the current 2026/27 figure for your plan on the official gov.uk student loan repayment guide before you rely on a number. The calculator above applies the correct threshold for the plan you select.

If you are employed, repayments are taken straight from your wages through PAYE, in the same way as National Insurance. That matters more than people expect: like NI, the deduction is worked out per pay period, not cumulatively across the year. A single large bonus or commission payment can push one month's pay above the monthly threshold and trigger a deduction, even if your normal salary sits below the annual threshold. If you are self-employed, repayments are calculated on your profits and collected through your Self Assessment tax return alongside your income tax and Class 4 NI.

Worked examples with the maths shown

These examples are framed around the income you earn above your plan's threshold, because that is the only part that is charged.

Example 1 - a Plan 2 graduate

Say your salary leaves you £6,000 above your Plan 2 threshold for the year. Your repayment is 9% of that excess:

• £6,000 × 9% = £540 a year
• £540 ÷ 12 = £45 a month

Notice you are not paying 9% of your whole salary — only 9% of the £6,000 that sits over the line.

Example 2 - a Postgraduate Loan

Now suppose you are repaying a Postgraduate Loan and earn £9,000 above the PGL threshold. The rate is 6%:

• £9,000 × 6% = £540 a year
• £540 ÷ 12 = £45 a month

Example 3 - an undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan together

If you hold both an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan, they run at the same time and stack. Imagine your income is £10,000 above your undergraduate threshold and £12,000 above the postgraduate threshold:

• Undergraduate: £10,000 × 9% = £900
• Postgraduate: £12,000 × 6% = £720
• Total = £1,620 a year, or £135 a month

Repaying two loans at once feels heavy, but each is still only charged on the income above its own threshold, never on your full pay.

2026/27 repayment rates

The repayment percentages for 2026/27 are below. The income thresholds differ by plan and change each tax year, so confirm yours on gov.uk rather than assuming last year's figure still applies.

Source: gov.uk — Repaying your student loan, checked for the 2026/27 tax year. Student loan rates apply UK-wide, including Scotland and Wales — unlike income tax, there is no separate Scottish student loan rate, although Scottish-domiciled students typically hold Plan 4. Your plan depends on where and when you studied, not where you work now.

Which plan am I on, and why it matters

The plan number controls your threshold, which in turn controls how much you repay, so getting it right is the single most important input. As a rough guide based on official gov.uk criteria: Plan 1 is generally for older loans and Northern Ireland students; Plan 2 for English and Welsh undergraduates who started from 2012 up to 2022; Plan 4 for Scottish students; and Plan 5 for English undergraduate courses starting from August 2023 onwards. Postgraduate Loans sit on top of any of these.

If you are not sure, sign in to your account with the Student Loans Company to see your plan type and balance. A quick way to sense-check your payslip is to compare the deduction shown against the figure from the calculator above; if they differ, your employer may be applying the wrong plan, which is one of the most common payroll errors.

Cutting the cost — and what to watch before you overpay

Voluntary overpayments are allowed, but they are not always the smart move. A student loan is written off after a set period regardless of how much is left, and any unpaid balance simply disappears at that point. If your projected repayments over the loan's life will never clear the balance anyway, overpaying just hands money to the Student Loans Company that would otherwise have been written off. Before paying extra, weigh it against clearing higher-cost borrowing — use a loan repayment calculator to compare what a personal loan or card is really costing you.

Interest is added to the balance and is linked to inflation, with the exact rate set by the government and updated through the year, so it is not a fixed figure you can pin down in advance. For most borrowers on income-contingent plans, the headline interest rate matters far less than how long you earn above the threshold, because the write-off date caps your total exposure.

A pension contribution through salary sacrifice lowers the pay your repayment is calculated on, which can reduce both your student loan deduction and your tax. You can see the knock-on effect on your wider take-home using our take-home pay calculator or a full salary calculator.

Common mistakes people make

• Thinking you pay a percentage of your whole salary. You only ever pay on the slice above the threshold, so someone just over the line pays very little.
• Selecting the wrong plan. Plan 1, 2, 4 and 5 thresholds differ. Pick the wrong one and your estimate — or your payslip — will be off.
• Forgetting bonuses are taxed per period. Because PAYE treats each pay run separately, a bonus can trigger a one-off deduction even in a month where your base salary alone would not.
• Assuming repayments stop when you leave a job. They pause if your income drops below the threshold, but resume automatically once you are earning over it again.
• Overpaying close to the write-off date. Money paid in shortly before a loan is written off is rarely recoverable.
• Ignoring self-employment. If you move to self-employment, repayments shift to your Self Assessment — budget for them with our self-employed tax calculator.

For independent, non-commercial guidance on student loans and budgeting, the government-backed MoneyHelper service is a reliable starting point.

These figures are estimates for guidance only and are not personal tax or financial advice. Check your plan and current thresholds on gov.uk or speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

Related calculators

Once you know your repayment, see how it fits with the rest of your deductions. Work out your full net pay with the income tax calculator, check your monthly figure with the net salary calculator, or model a raise using the pay rise calculator.