Free calculator · 2026/27 rates

Student loan repayment calculator

You repay 9% of income above your plan’s threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), and anything left is written off after 25 to 40 years. On £35,000 a Plan 2 borrower repays £42 a month in 2026/27. This calculator shows your monthly repayment, years to clear, total repaid and whether the loan is written off first.

Your loan

Repayment plan

Gross salary

Repayments start above £29,385 a year on this plan.

Loan balance

Check your balance in your Student Loans Company online account.

Salary growth

Interest rate

Blank uses 3.9%: rPI to RPI plus 3%, scaled by income between the threshold and the upper interest threshold.

Extra monthly overpayment

Years already repaying

Tax year thresholds

Plan 2 · 2026/27

Monthly repayment

£42

Per year

£504

Years to clear: Not cleared
Written off after: 30 years
Total repaid: £23,868
Interest charged: £152,418

On these assumptions the loan is written off before you clear it, with £173,550 still outstanding after 30 more years. You would repay £23,868 in total.

Year by year projection
Year	Salary	Repaid	Interest	Balance
1	£35,000	£504	£1,754	£46,250
2	£36,050	£516	£1,864	£47,598
3	£37,132	£528	£1,984	£49,053
4	£38,245	£552	£2,114	£50,615
5	£39,393	£564	£2,255	£52,306
6	£40,575	£576	£2,409	£54,139
7	£41,792	£600	£2,577	£56,116
8	£43,046	£612	£2,761	£58,264
9	£44,337	£636	£2,962	£60,590
10	£45,667	£648	£3,183	£63,125
15	£52,941	£756	£4,674	£79,647
20	£61,373	£876	£6,029	£102,794
25	£71,148	£1,020	£7,813	£133,270
30	£82,480	£1,188	£10,170	£173,550

How are student loan repayments calculated?

Repayments come out of your pay through PAYE alongside tax and National Insurance. Each month your employer takes 9% of the amount by which your pay exceeds one twelfth of the annual threshold, rounded down to the pound. If you earn under the threshold in a month, nothing is taken. Interest is added to the balance daily, but it does not change what you pay: repayments depend only on income.

Student loan repayment thresholds 2026/27
Plan	Annual threshold	Monthly	Rate above threshold	Written off after
Plan 1	£26,900	£2,242	9%	25 years
Plan 2	£29,385	£2,449	9%	30 years
Plan 4	£33,795	£2,816	9%	30 years
Plan 5	£25,000	£2,083	9%	40 years
Postgraduate Loan	£21,000	£1,750	6%	30 years

Plan 1, 2 and 4 thresholds rise each April; the Plan 5 threshold is frozen at £25,000 until April 2027 and the Postgraduate threshold at £21,000. The Plan 2 threshold will be frozen at £29,385 from April 2027 to April 2030.

Worked example: £45,000 Plan 2 balance on £35,000

Income above the £29,385 threshold is £5,615, so the annual repayment is 9% of that: £504 a year or £42 a month. With 3% salary growth (and the threshold rising with it), the projection repays £23,868 over 30 years while interest of £152,418 is added. The balance never reaches zero: £173,550 is written off at the end.

This is why the interest rate matters far less than most borrowers think. For a typical Plan 2 graduate the loan works like a 9% graduate tax for 30 years, and overpaying only helps if you would otherwise clear the balance before write-off.

What do people get wrong about student loans?

Choosing the wrong plan. The plan depends on where you lived and when you started, not where you work now. Your SLC statement says which you are on.
Overpaying a loan that will be written off. If the projection shows a write-off, every voluntary pound is money you would never have had to repay.
Forgetting Postgraduate Loans stack. If you have Plan 2 and a Postgraduate Loan you repay 9% and 6% at the same time, 15% of income above the thresholds.
Using gross salary that includes pension sacrifice. Repayments are based on pay after salary sacrifice, so sacrificing into a pension lowers them.

See the full effect on your payslip in the take-home pay calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What are the student loan repayment thresholds for 2026/27?

Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000 and Postgraduate Loan £21,000. You repay 9% of income above the threshold on Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, and 6% on a Postgraduate Loan.

Which student loan plan am I on?

Plan 1 is for English or Welsh students who started before September 2012 and all Northern Irish students. Plan 2 covers English and Welsh students from September 2012 to July 2023. Plan 4 is for Scottish students. Plan 5 is for English students starting from August 2023. Your annual statement from the Student Loans Company states the plan.

When is a student loan written off?

Plan 1 loans are written off 25 years after the April you first became due to repay (or at 65 for older loans). Plan 2 and Plan 4 loans are written off after 30 years, Plan 5 after 40 years and Postgraduate Loans after 30 years. Nothing is owed after that date.

Should I overpay my student loan?

Only if you are likely to clear the loan before it is written off. Most Plan 2 borrowers on average salaries never repay in full, so voluntary overpayments just reduce the amount that would have been written off. Higher earners who will clear the balance can save interest by overpaying, but compare this with other uses of the money first.

Is student loan interest the same on every plan?

No. Plan 1 and Plan 4 charge the lower of RPI or Bank of England base rate plus 1%. Plan 5 charges RPI. Plan 2 charges RPI to RPI plus 3% depending on income. Postgraduate Loans charge RPI plus 3%. The rates in this calculator are those set from 2025-09-01 and you can override them.