UK Student Loan Repayment Calculator
What comes off each payslip, and whether the loan is repaid before it is written off.
Tax Year 2026-27 England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland · thresholds from GOV.UK and HMRC · Sources
| Plan | Threshold a month | You repay |
|---|
Repaid in full, or written off?
Enter what you owe on each plan (your online repayment account shows it). The interest rates are today’s GOV.UK rates and the projection keeps your pay, the thresholds and the rates as they are unless you change them below.
Enter a balance and the year you were first due to repay to see when each loan ends.
Year by year
| Tax year | Pay | Repaid | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Which plan am I on?
You cannot choose your plan: it depends on where you applied for student finance and when your course started. Your online repayment account and your employer’s payslips show it.
| You applied to | Your course | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Student Finance England | Started before 1 September 2012 | Plan 1 |
| Student Finance England | Undergraduate or PGCE started between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023 | Plan 2 |
| Student Finance England | Undergraduate or PGCE started on or after 1 August 2023 | Plan 5 |
| Student Finance Wales | Started before 1 September 2012 | Plan 1 |
| Student Finance Wales | Undergraduate or PGCE started on or after 1 September 2012 | Plan 2 |
| England or Wales | Master’s or Doctoral Loan | Postgraduate Loan |
| Student Awards Agency Scotland | Undergraduate or postgraduate | Plan 4 |
| Student Finance Northern Ireland | Undergraduate or postgraduate | Plan 1 |
Rules used and official sources
- GOV.UK: how much you repay on a student loan
- HMRC SL3: Student and Postgraduate Loan deduction tables
- HMRC: student and postgraduate loans in your tax return
- GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers
- GOV.UK: how Plan 2 interest is calculated
- GOV.UK: when your student loan gets written off
- GOV.UK: which repayment plan you are on
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the UK Student Loan Repayment Calculator
UK student loans are repaid through tax, not by a fixed bill: you repay 9% of your pay above your plan’s threshold (6% above the threshold for a Postgraduate Loan), and nothing in a pay period when you earn less. This calculator works out the deduction for any pay period the way HMRC’s payroll tables do — weekly, every 2 or 4 weeks, monthly, or for the year through Self Assessment — for Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and the Postgraduate Loan, alone or together.
Add your balance and it projects each loan month by month with interest, to show whether you repay it in full or whether the rest is written off 25, 30 or 40 years after the April you were first due to repay. Thresholds, interest rates and write-off rules come from GOV.UK and HMRC, and every rate stays editable.
How to use it
- Tick every repayment plan you have. Not sure? The table under the calculator shows the plan for each student finance body and course start date; your online repayment account confirms it.
- Choose how often you are paid and enter your gross pay for that period — after salary sacrifice, before tax. Self-employed or filing a tax return? Choose Self Assessment and enter your total income for the year.
- Read the deduction for one payday, the yearly total and how it is split between your plans.
- For the projection, enter each plan’s balance and the year whose April you were first due to repay. Open Assumptions to add yearly pay or threshold rises, or to change the Plan 2 interest figures.
- Copy the summary, or download the year-by-year projection as a CSV file.
Examples
£2,750 − £2,241.66 monthly threshold = £508.34
9% = £45.75, rounded down: £45 a month
9% above the lower Plan 1 threshold: (£3,200 − £2,241.66) × 9% = £86.25
£86 a month: £18 to Plan 1 (its cap) and £68 to Plan 2
6% of (£2,500 − £1,750) and 9% of (£2,500 − £2,448.75)
£45 + £4 = £49 a month
Combined income £42,000 · 9% × (£42,000 − £26,900)
£1,359, paid with the Self Assessment bill
Thresholds and rates
- Plan 1: 9% above £26,900 a year (£2,241.66 a month, £517.30 a week in payroll)
- Plan 2: 9% above £29,385 a year (£2,448.75 a month, £565.09 a week in payroll)
- Plan 4: 9% above £33,795 a year (£2,816.25 a month, £649.90 a week in payroll)
- Plan 5: 9% above £25,000 a year (£2,083.33 a month, £480.76 a week in payroll)
- Postgraduate Loan: 6% above £21,000 a year (£1,750 a month, £403.84 a week in payroll)
Thresholds change every 6 April. Payroll rounds each deduction down to whole pounds. Figures: HMRC rates and thresholds for employers and the SL3 deduction tables.
Interest
Interest is added every month from the first payment of the loan until it is repaid or written off — also while you earn below the threshold. GOV.UK’s current rates: Plan 1 4.1%, Plan 4 4.1%, Plan 5 4.1% and Postgraduate Loan 6%.
Plan 2 interest depends on income once you have left your course: RPI (4.1%) on income up to £29,385, rising in a straight line to RPI + 3% at £52,885, with a cap that currently holds it at 6%. GOV.UK’s worked example: £40,000 of income is £10,615 into the £23,500 gap, so RPI + 1.35%. Rates are set each September from the previous March’s RPI and can change during the year, so the projection lets you edit them. How Plan 2 interest is calculated.
When the loan is written off
- Plan 1: 25 years after the April you were first due to repay — or at 65 if the first loan for the course was paid before 1 September 2006.
- Plan 2: 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Plan 4: 30 years after the April you were first due to repay — or at 65, or after 30 years if sooner, if the first loan was paid before 1 August 2007.
- Plan 5: 40 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Postgraduate Loan (England and Wales): 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
A loan is also cancelled if the borrower dies, and may be if they can no longer work because of illness or disability. GOV.UK: when your student loan gets written off.
More than one plan
With two or more undergraduate plans you make one repayment: 9% of pay above the lowest threshold among your plans. The plan with the lowest threshold receives at most 9% of the gap up to the next threshold each payday — for Plan 1 and Plan 2, 9% of (£2,448.75 − £2,241.66) = £18 a month — and the rest goes to the other plan. A Postgraduate Loan is repaid separately, at 6% on top.
Limitations
- Payroll looks at each pay period on its own; the yearly figure assumes the same pay every period. A bonus month repays more, and if your income for the whole year ends below the yearly threshold the Student Loans Company refunds what was taken.
- The projection adds interest monthly at the yearly rate ÷ 12 and repays from your pay as entered. The Student Loans Company works interest out daily, and real pay, thresholds and rates change every year: use Assumptions to test other figures.
- Thresholds are different if you live abroad; this calculator uses the UK thresholds.
- The age-65 rule for older Plan 1 and Plan 4 loans is placed in whole years from your age today, so its month is approximate.
- Not financial advice: GOV.UK suggests speaking to a financial adviser if you are unsure whether to make extra repayments.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How much will I repay a month on Plan 2?
9% of your monthly pay above £2,448.75, rounded down to whole pounds. On £3,000 a month that is 9% of £551.25 = £49.61, so £49 is deducted.
Does what I owe change how much I repay?
No. Repayments depend only on your income. The balance (what you borrowed plus interest) only decides how long you keep repaying, and whether anything is left to write off.
I have Plan 1 and Plan 2. Do I pay twice?
No. You make one repayment of 9% above the lower of your thresholds, and it is shared between the plans: the Plan 1 share is capped at 9% of the gap between the two thresholds, the rest goes to Plan 2.
Money was taken in a bonus month, but I earn less than the yearly threshold. Can I get it back?
Yes. Payroll checks each pay period on its own. If your income for the whole tax year was below your plan’s yearly threshold, ask the Student Loans Company for a refund after the tax year ends.
Should I make extra repayments?
There is no penalty for paying early, but extra repayments cannot be refunded, and if the loan would be written off before you clear it, paying extra mostly reduces what is written off. The projection shows which case you are likely in; GOV.UK suggests speaking to a financial adviser if you are unsure.
How do I repay if I am self-employed?
Through Self Assessment: HMRC works out the repayment from your total income for the year and adds it to your tax bill, minus anything an employer already deducted. Choose “Yearly income (Self Assessment)”. The UK Self-Employed Tax Calculator adds it to your whole bill.
Do student loans affect my credit score?
GOV.UK says student loans do not appear on credit reports and do not affect your credit score, but lenders may take them into account when they check affordability, for example for a mortgage.