Self Assessment Balancing Payment Calculator
Calculate your student loan balancing payment due via Self Assessment. Essential for self-employed individuals and those with multiple income sources.
Self Assessment vs PAYE
Self Assessment combines ALL income sources against one threshold, while PAYE gives each job its own. This can create unexpected bills.
England 2012-2023; Wales 2012 onwards
Key Rules
• Unearned income: all of it counts once the total passes £2,000
• PAYE vs SA: SA combines every income source against one threshold
• Due date: 31 January 2028
• No payments on account for student loans
Outcome: a balancing payment is due
£730 due on 31 January 2028
A £730.35 liability on £37,500 of counted income, less £0 already deducted through PAYE.
One payment, not two. Student loan repayments are not included in payments on account. They are collected once a year, with the balancing payment on 31 January. Your income tax and Class 4 NIC payments on account are worked out without them.
Your balancing payment, tax year 2026-27
Total liability
£730.35
On £37,500 of counted income
Already paid through PAYE
£0
Credited in full on the return
Due 31 January 2028
£730
About £61 a month to set aside
How this is worked out
£33,000 + £4,500 = £37,500
Earned income plus every pound of unearned income, because the unearned total of £4,500 is over £2,000.
How this is worked out
(£37,500 − £29,385) × 9% = £730.35
Plan 2, 2026-27 annual threshold.
How this is worked out
£730.35 − £0 = £730.35
The balancing payment, due 31 January 2028. Never negative: PAYE over-deductions are reclaimed from the SLC, not through the return.
Income Summary
Income Breakdown
Threshold Comparison, 2026-27
Important Warnings
- No PAYE deductions entered, but your counted income of £37,500 is above the Plan 2 threshold of £29,385 — expect the whole year's repayment in one bill
- All £4,500 of unearned income is counted, because the total is over £2,000. Property income is part of that total
Recommendations
- Budget £61 per month for the balancing payment
- Consider making voluntary payments to SLC throughout the year to reduce the January bill
- Check your payslips: if your employer holds no student loan plan for you, ask HMRC to issue an SL1 notice
- File early: you get the figure months before the money is due, and the deadline does not move
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
- Unearned income allowance
- £2,000, all-or-nothing on the total
- Property income
- Treated as unearned, inside the £2,000 test
- PAYE deductions
- Credited in full against the matching loan
- Payments on account
- None for student loans
- Balancing payment due
- 31 January 2028
Growth, inflation and long-run interest figures are assumptions, not published rates. Change them and the projection changes.
Understanding Self Assessment Student Loan Payments
PAYE vs Self Assessment
- • PAYE: each job assessed separately against its own threshold
- • Self Assessment: all income combined against one threshold
- • Multiple small jobs can escape PAYE but trigger SA liability
- • Self-employment income always triggers the SA calculation
- • The balancing payment collects the difference, and only ever in that direction
Key Rules
- • Unearned income: all of it counts once the total passes £2,000
- • Payment due: 31 January following the end of the tax year
- • Late payment penalty: 5% after 30 days, 5% after 6 months
- • No payments on account for student loans
- • Voluntary SLC payments can reduce the SA bill
Common Scenarios
Two part-time PAYE jobs below threshold:
Each job deducts nothing through payroll, but the combined income triggers a full SA liability
PAYE job plus self-employment:
The PAYE job may collect some repayments; the trading profit lifts the total, and SA charges the rest
High unearned income:
Over £2,000 of dividends, interest and rental profit combined means every pound of it counts, not just the excess
Student loan repayments are not included in payments on account. They are collected once a year, with the balancing payment on 31 January. Your income tax and Class 4 NIC payments on account are worked out without them.
Facing a Large Student Loan Balancing Payment?
Unexpected student loan bills through Self Assessment can be substantial. Consider making voluntary payments throughout the year or adjusting your tax arrangements.
Related student loan calculators
The Self Assessment balancing payment 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.
- self-employed student loan calculator: what you owe through Self Assessment rather than PAYE
Next step
- repayment thresholds for every plan - A plan-by-plan table of the income above which you start repaying.
- self-employed repayment calculator - Estimates the repayment due on your tax return rather than through payroll.
- compare the student loan plans - Your plan sets your threshold, interest and write-off date.
- Check your write-off date - Enter your plan and course end year to get the month your balance is cancelled.