Part-Year Employment & Career Break Calculator
Understand how career breaks, part-year employment, and gaps in income affect your student loan repayments, interest accumulation, and potential refund eligibility.
Career Break Impact
Career breaks pause repayments but interest continues to accrue. You may be eligible for refunds if annual income falls below the threshold.
Monthly salary: £2,917
9 months employed
England 2012-2023; Wales 2012 onwards
Default for Plan 2: 6.0%
Plan Details
Annual threshold: £29,385
Monthly threshold: £2,448
Rate: 9.0% above threshold
Write-off: 30 years
Outcome: no repayments due
Refund due: £378
You earn £26,250 across the tax year, below the £29,385 Plan 2 annual threshold — so the £378 PAYE took in your working months was not due and can be claimed back.
Claim after 5 April, once your P60 confirms the year's pay. A refund is added back to your balance and carries on accruing interest.
Your 2026-27 tax year, month by month
Pay for the tax year
£26,250
9 months worked, 3 on a break
Deducted this year
£378
£126 less than a full year at work
Interest added
£1,531
£383 of it while not earning
Balance at year end
£26,153
£129 higher than an unbroken year
How this is worked out
(£2,916.67 − £2,448) × 9% = £42
A month you are working, on Plan 2, 2026-27. HMRC's published monthly threshold is £2,448 — not £29,385 ÷ 12 — and payroll rounds each month's deduction down to a whole pound.
How this is worked out
£29,385 − £26,250 = £3,135
Your pay for the whole tax year is £3,135 under the Plan 2 annual threshold. That annual test, not the monthly one your employer applies, is what decides a refund.
Monthly employment and repayment pattern
Interest impact of the break
Interest while not earning
£383
3 months at 6.0%
Extra interest vs an unbroken year
£3
Same model, twelve full-salary months
Ending balance
£26,153
After deductions and interest
Scenario comparison
| Scenario | Pay | Deducted | Interest | Final balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full year of workTwelve months at £35,000 | £35,000 | £504 | £1,528 | £26,024 |
| Your pattern9 months employed, 3 months break | £26,250 | £378 | £1,531 | £26,153+£129 |
Detailed monthly breakdown
| Month | Status | Pay | Deduction | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £125 | £25,083 |
| February | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £125 | £25,166 |
| March | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £126 | £25,250 |
| April | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £126 | £25,334 |
| May | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £127 | £25,419 |
| June | BBreak | £0 | £0 | £127 | £25,546 |
| July | BBreak | £0 | £0 | £128 | £25,674 |
| August | BBreak | £0 | £0 | £128 | £25,802 |
| September | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £129 | £25,889 |
| October | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £129 | £25,977 |
| November | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £130 | £26,065 |
| December | EEmployed | £2,917 | £42 | £130 | £26,153 |
| Year | 9 / 12 | £26,250 | £378 | £1,531 | £26,153 |
Key insights and recommendations
Automatic pause: deductions stop on their own in any month your pay is below £2,448. Nothing to apply for.
Interest continues: 6.0% keeps accruing through the break, adding £383 to your balance in the months you are not earning.
Refund opportunity: your pay for the year is £3,135 below the annual threshold, so £378 is reclaimable from the Student Loans Company after 5 April.
Long-term impact: the break leaves your balance £129 higher at the end of the year. Anything still outstanding 30 years after your repayments began is written off, so for most borrowers that never becomes an extra payment.
Rates, assumptions and sources
Every figure below is the 2026-27 published figure, read from this site's single source of truth at page-render time[source]. The 6% Plan 2 and Postgraduate interest cap covers the 2026/27 year only and is not assumed to continue[source].
| Plan | Threshold | Rate | Interest | Written off | Threshold freeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 2 | £29,385[source] | 9% | 4.1% to 7.1% by income, capped at 6% for 2026-27[source] | 30 years[source] | Frozen at £29,385 until April 2030 |
Write-off is counted from the April after the course ends, not from the course-end date itself, and the Plan 2 interest bands (£29,385 lower, £52,885 upper) are frozen alongside the Plan 2 repayment threshold.
This calculator also assumes
- Tax year modelled
- 2026-27
- Salary when employed
- £35,000 a year
- Interest rate used
- 6.0% (Plan 2 published rate)
- Monthly threshold applied
- £2,448 (HMRC published figure, not £29,385 ÷ 12)
- Salary growth
- None — one tax year is modelled
- Deduction rounding
- Rounded down to a whole pound each month, as payroll does
Growth, inflation and long-run interest figures are assumptions, not published rates. Change them and the projection changes.
Understanding Part-Year Employment & Career Breaks
How It Works
- • Repayments automatically pause when unemployed
- • Monthly repayments based on monthly income vs monthly threshold
- • Annual reconciliation can trigger refunds
- • Interest continues accruing during breaks
- • No penalties for career breaks or job changes
Refund Eligibility
- • Eligible when your pay for the whole tax year is below £29,385 (2026-27)
- • You can reclaim every PAYE deduction made during that year
- • Claim from the Student Loans Company after 5 April, once your P60 is out
- • The refund goes back onto your balance and carries on accruing interest
- • The monthly threshold your employer applies is separate: a single month above £2,448 still triggers a deduction
Strategic Considerations
Career breaks can actually be financially beneficial for student loan borrowers. While interest continues to accrue, the pause in repayments means more money stays in your pocket during potentially difficult financial periods.
For borrowers unlikely to repay their full loan before write-off (30 years for Plan 2), the interest accrued during breaks may ultimately be written off, making the effective cost lower than it appears.
Remember to notify the Student Loans Company about employment changes to ensure smooth transitions and avoid unnecessary payment reminders during unemployment periods.
Questions About Career Breaks & Refunds?
If you're planning a career break or think you might be eligible for a refund, contact the Student Loans Company or HMRC for personalized guidance.
Related student loan calculators
The career break calculator answers one specific question. For the full picture, start with our UK student loan calculator on the homepage, work out what leaves your payslip each month with the monthly repayment calculator, or check what you can borrow with the student finance calculator. Every tool on the site is listed in the UK student loan calculator directory.
- maternity and paternity leave calculator: what happens to deductions while you are on statutory leave
- repayment start date calculator: the April your deductions actually begin
- part-time earnings calculator: what part-time or irregular pay means for your deductions