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.
Open the calculator →| Plan | Annual threshold | Rate above it |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,065 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £28,470 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £32,745 | 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.
| If you… | Plan |
|---|---|
| Started in England or Wales before September 2012 | Plan 1 |
| Studied in Northern Ireland | Plan 1 |
| Started in England or Wales between September 2012 and July 2023 | Plan 2 |
| Studied in Scotland | Plan 4 |
| Started in England from September 2023 | Plan 5 |
| Took a Master's or Doctoral loan | Postgraduate (in addition) |
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.
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 £28,470 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 − £28,470) × 9% | £1,487.70 |
| Postgraduate | (£45,000 − £21,000) × 6% | £1,440.00 |
| Combined | £2,927.70 |
That is roughly £244 a month — a figure that surprises a lot of people, because most calculators model only one loan.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary | £35,000.00 |
| Plan 2 threshold | −£28,470.00 |
| Income above threshold | £6,530.00 |
| Repayment at 9% | £587.70 |
| Per month | £48.98 |
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.
Usually not, and this is worth thinking about carefully rather than following instinct.
A UK student loan behaves less like a debt and more like a graduate contribution:
Overpaying only benefits you if you would otherwise clear the entire balance plus interest before write-off — which for many borrowers on Plan 2 and Plan 5 will never happen. Money put into a pension or an emergency fund often does more.
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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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.
Repayments stop automatically and restart if your income rises again. There is no arrears process.
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.
No. It is an estimate for planning. Your payslip and your SLC account are the authoritative record.
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