Student loan repayment calculator
Works out repayments on all five UK plans — including Plan 5 and Postgraduate, which most calculators still leave out. Shows the threshold being used, so you can check you are on the right plan.
Quick answer. In 2026/27 you repay 9% of income above £26,900 (Plan 1), £29,385 (Plan 2), £33,795 (Plan 4) or £25,000 (Plan 5), and 6% above £21,000 on a Postgraduate Loan. On £40,000 with Plan 2 that is £955.35 a year, about £79.61 a month.
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| A month | — |
|---|---|
| A year | — |
| Threshold for your plan | — |
| Income above it | — |
| Postgraduate loan | — |
The five plans
| Plan | Annual threshold | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate | £21,000 | 6% |
Using the wrong plan is the most common mistake. The gap between the Plan 4 and Plan 5 thresholds is £7,745. On a £40,000 salary that is a difference of £697 a year in deductions. Many calculators only offer Plan 1 and Plan 2, which have not been the right answer for a new English graduate since 2023.
Which plan are you on?
Your plan depends on who funded your loan and when your course started — not where you live now, and not where the university was. A student from England who studied in Scotland was funded by Student Finance England, so is on an English plan.
| Loan from… | Course started | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Student Finance England | Before 1 September 2012 | Plan 1 |
| Student Finance England | 1 September 2012 to 31 July 2023 | Plan 2 |
| Student Finance England | From 1 August 2023 | Plan 5 |
| Student Finance Wales | Before 1 September 2012 | Plan 1 |
| Student Finance Wales | From 1 September 2012 (including after 2023 — Wales has no Plan 5) | Plan 2 |
| Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) | Any date | Plan 4 |
| Student Finance Northern Ireland | Any date | Plan 1 |
| Postgraduate Master's or Doctoral loan — England or Wales | From 2016 | Postgraduate loan (repaid alongside any other plan) |
| Postgraduate loan — Scotland or Northern Ireland | Any date | Plan 4 (Scotland) or Plan 1 (NI) — not the Postgraduate plan |
If you have loans from more than one period — say an undergraduate Plan 2 loan and a Postgraduate loan — you repay on each at the same time. The official guide to working out your plan is on GOV.UK: which repayment plan you are on, and your Student Loans Company online account shows it for certain.
Your payslip shows which plan is being applied. If it does not match the table above, that is worth querying with your employer or the Student Loans Company — deductions on the wrong plan can run for years before anyone notices.
Two loans at once
Undergraduate and postgraduate loans are separate deductions that stack. They are not combined into one repayment.
Someone with a Plan 2 loan and a Postgraduate loan pays 9% above £29,385 and 6% above £21,000 simultaneously — a combined marginal rate of 15% on income above both thresholds, on top of income tax and National Insurance.
At £45,000 that combination looks like this:
| Deduction | Calculation | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 2 | (£45,000 − £29,385) × 9% | £1,405.35 |
| Postgraduate | (£45,000 − £21,000) × 6% | £1,440.00 |
| Combined | £2,845.35 |
That is roughly £237 a month — a figure that surprises a lot of people, because most calculators model only one loan.
Worked example: £35,000 on Plan 2
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary | £35,000.00 |
| Plan 2 threshold | −£29,385.00 |
| Income above threshold | £5,615.00 |
| Repayment at 9% | £505.35 |
| Per month | £42.11 |
Note the repayment is based only on the income above the threshold — not on your whole salary. This is the second most common misunderstanding after the wrong plan.
When does overpaying change the outcome?
Only in some scenarios, which is why it is worth comparing numbers rather than following a rule of thumb.
A UK student loan works differently from most borrowing:
- Repayments are a percentage of income above a threshold, not a fixed monthly amount.
- They stop automatically if your income falls below the threshold — no arrears, nothing to arrange.
- The balance is written off after a set period, which varies by plan.
- It does not appear on your credit file in the way ordinary borrowing does.
Overpaying reduces what you pay in total only if you would otherwise clear the whole balance and interest before the write-off date. If your expected repayments before write-off are less than the balance, an overpayment adds to what you pay overall. To compare, estimate your total repayments before write-off (from your expected earnings and the plan's threshold and rate) and set that against your current balance and interest rate.
This is not financial advice. Whether overpaying makes sense depends on your plan, balance, expected earnings and write-off date. For a decision this size, free impartial guidance is available from MoneyHelper.
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Common questions
Does the repayment come out of gross or net pay?
It is calculated on gross pay above the threshold, but deducted after income tax and National Insurance. It does not reduce your taxable income, so unlike a pension contribution it gives no tax relief.
What happens if my income drops below the threshold?
Repayments stop automatically and restart if your income rises again. There is no arrears process.
Do repayments change if I get a bonus?
Yes. Deductions are usually taken per pay period, so a large one-off bonus can trigger a bigger deduction that month even if your annual income stays modest.
Is this an official Student Loans Company calculation?
No. It is an estimate for planning. Your payslip and your SLC account are the authoritative record.
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