Monthly Student Loan Repayment Calculator by Salary
You repay 9% of what you earn above your plan's threshold, and nothing below it. In 2026-27 the thresholds are £25,000 (Plan 5), £26,900 (Plan 1), £29,385 (Plan 2) and £33,795 (Plan 4); a Postgraduate Loan takes 6% above £21,000. On £30,000 your payslip shows £37 a month on Plan 5, £23 on Plan 1 and £4 on Plan 2.
Enter your salary below to see the figure on your payslip: monthly, weekly or yearly, for one plan or for an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan together.
For your payoff date, write-off date and total cost, use the main student loan calculator. Every other tool is in the full directory of student loan calculators.
Your monthly deduction
£4per month
£55 a year in total across Plan 2.
How this is worked out
(£2,500.00 − £2,448) × 9% = £4
Plan 2: HMRC's monthly threshold of £2,448 for 2026-27, and the deduction rounded down to a whole pound the way payroll does. Spread evenly instead, the annual figure is £4.61 a month.
On your next raise: your loan adds 9 points to a 28% income tax and National Insurance rate, so your effective marginal rate is 37%. Of the next £1,000 of salary, £90 goes to the loan and you keep £630.
2026-27 bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus employee National Insurance at 8%[source].
Every plan at £30,000
On £30,000 a year, the biggest single deduction is Postgraduate Loan at £45 per month.
Plan 1
Threshold: £2,241 a month (£26,900 a year)
£23
per month
£23.25 spread evenly
Plan 2
Threshold: £2,448 a month (£29,385 a year)
£4
per month
£4.61 spread evenly
Plan 4
Threshold: £2,816 a month (£33,795 a year)
£0
per month
£0.00 spread evenly
Plan 5
Threshold: £2,083 a month (£25,000 a year)
£37
per month
£37.50 spread evenly
Postgraduate Loan
Threshold: £1,750 a month (£21,000 a year)
£45
per month
£45.00 spread evenly
Headline figures are the PAYE deduction: HMRC's published monthly threshold, with the deduction rounded down to a whole pound. The “spread evenly” figure is the annual liability divided by 12, which is what an annual reconciliation or a lifetime projection uses — it is not what your payslip shows. Thresholds and rates for the 2026-27 tax year, from HMRC.
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 1 | £26,900[source] | 9% | 4.1%[source] | 25 years[source] | Uprated annually — no freeze announced |
| 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 |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795[source] | 9% | 4.1%[source] | 30 years[source] | Uprated annually — no freeze announced |
| Plan 5 | £25,000[source] | 9% | 4.1%[source] | 40 years[source] | Frozen at £25,000 until April 2027 |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000[source] | 6% | 7.1%, capped at 6% for 2026-27[source] | 30 years[source] | Uprated annually — no freeze announced |
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
- Figure shown
- PAYE deduction, rounded down to a whole pound
- Pay frequency
- monthly (12 periods a year)
- Assumed pay pattern
- Even pay each period, no bonus or overtime
Growth, inflation and long-run interest figures are assumptions, not published rates. Change them and the projection changes.
How much student loan should I be paying?
You should be paying 9% of the gross pay above your plan's monthly threshold in each pay period, before tax (6% on a Postgraduate Loan). For 2026-27 the monthly thresholds are £2,083 on Plan 5, £2,241 on Plan 1, £2,448 on Plan 2, £2,816 on Plan 4 and £1,750 on a Postgraduate Loan. Below that figure, nothing should be deducted. HMRC floors each of those thresholds to a whole pound, and floors the deduction itself, which is why the payslip figure is a little lower than the annual amount divided by twelve.
The table shows the monthly PAYE deduction at four salaries on 2026-27 thresholds, assuming a single plan and even monthly pay.
| Salary | Plan 1 | Plan 2 | Plan 4 | Plan 5 | Postgraduate Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £20 |
| £30,000 | £23 | £4 | £0 | £37 | £45 |
| £40,000 | £98 | £79 | £46 | £112 | £95 |
| £50,000 | £173 | £154 | £121 | £187 | £145 |
If your payslip shows something different, the usual causes are a bonus or overtime in that pay period, or the wrong plan type on your employer's records. Our guides to payslip student loan deductions and an employer deducting the wrong plan cover how to check and fix both. If deductions carried on after you cleared the balance, you can claim a student loan refund. To see when the balance is cancelled regardless of what you have repaid, check when your student loan gets written off.
Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 and Plan 5 calculators in one tool
Looking for a Plan 2 calculator, or one for Plan 1, Plan 4, Plan 5 or a Postgraduate Loan? Pick that plan above; the figure uses that plan's own 2026-27 threshold. Each plan's threshold history, interest rule and write-off period is on its own page: Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and the Postgraduate Loan. Not sure which applies to you? Start with what student loan plan am I on.
Related Calculators
Understanding Monthly Student Loan Repayments
Student loan repayments in the UK are automatically deducted from your salary once you earn above the repayment threshold. This calculator helps you compare monthly repayment amounts across different loan plans. If you are not sure which plan you are on, or want the full rules behind each one, see our guide to every UK student loan plan.
Monthly repayment calculator: common questions
How much will I repay on my UK student loan?
You repay 9% of the income you earn above your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan). On 2026-27 thresholds that is 9% above £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4 and £25,000 for Plan 5, and 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan. Earn below your threshold and you pay nothing that month.
How much student loan will I pay a month?
Take your gross annual salary, subtract your plan threshold, multiply by 9% (6% for a Postgraduate Loan) and divide by 12. On a £35,000 salary in 2026-27 that is £75 a month on Plan 5, £42 on Plan 2, £61 on Plan 1 and £9 on Plan 4. The deduction is taken through PAYE and appears on your payslip as a Student Loan deduction.
How much do you pay back on a student loan?
You pay back 9% of what you earn above your plan's threshold, or 6% above £21,000 on a Postgraduate Loan, until the balance is cleared or written off. The total depends on your salary over the term, not on what you borrowed. A Plan 2 graduate on £30,000 pays back about £55 a year at 2026-27 thresholds, and whatever is left after 30 years is cancelled.
What's the Plan 2 monthly repayment on £30,000?
On a £30,000 salary with Plan 2 in 2026-27 you repay (£30,000 minus £29,385) times 9%, divided by 12, which is £4.61 a month or about £55 a year. The Plan 2 threshold rose to £29,385 in April 2026, so a £30,000 salary now sits only just above it. The amount is taken automatically through PAYE by your employer alongside Income Tax and National Insurance.
Does my Plan 5 repayment differ from Plan 2?
The monthly formula is the same (9% above threshold), but in 2026-27 Plan 5's threshold is lower (£25,000 against £29,385 for Plan 2), so you start repaying sooner and pay more each month at the same salary. Plan 5 also charges RPI-only interest with a 40-year write-off, against Plan 2's income-linked interest (RPI to RPI plus 3%, capped at 6% since 1 September 2026) and 30-year write-off.
How is student loan deducted from my payslip?
HMRC tells your employer which plan you are on by sending a start notice, or you tell them on the starter checklist when you join. Each pay period your employer compares your pay with the weekly or monthly threshold and deducts 9% (6% for a Postgraduate Loan) of anything above it through PAYE. It appears on your payslip as a Student Loan deduction.
What if I'm self-employed?
If you are self-employed, your student loan repayment is worked out through Self Assessment after your annual tax return rather than monthly through PAYE. HMRC adds it to your Income Tax bill, due by 31 January after the end of the tax year. Our self-employed student loan calculator gives the annual figure.
Does my repayment go up with a bonus?
Yes. PAYE works out student loan per pay period, so a bonus paid in a single month pushes that month's earnings above your monthly threshold and you see a higher 9% deduction on the bonus portion. It is not re-averaged across the year unless you ask HMRC for a refund, and a refund is only due if your total income for the year was below the annual threshold.
Is salary sacrifice deducted before the calculation?
Yes. Salary sacrifice (pension, cycle to work, an electric car scheme) lowers your gross pay before student loan is assessed, so sacrificing into a workplace pension reduces your monthly student loan deduction at the same time as your tax. Bonus sacrifice works the same way.
When does the deduction start after graduation?
Repayments start the April after you finish or leave your course, but only once you earn above your plan's threshold. If your starting salary is below the threshold in your first job, no deduction is taken; repayment is entirely income-contingent. Our repayment start date calculator gives the exact month.
Want the lifetime picture?
This page gives you the payslip figure. The main calculator projects the whole loan: total repaid, total interest and your write-off date, with the announced threshold freezes modelled.
Open the UK student loan calculator