Student Finance Calculator 2026/27: How Much Can You Get?
This student finance calculator shows how much you can get for university in 2026-27. There are two parts. The tuition fee loan covers your course fees, up to £9,790 a year, and is paid straight to your university. The maintenance loan is for living costs and is paid to you. It is up to £14,135 a year, depending on your household income and where you live. It uses Student Finance England rates, so it works as an SFE calculator for English students. Studying elsewhere in the UK? The tuition fee vs maintenance loan calculator carries the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland fee caps.
Already repaying? For your payoff date, write-off date and total cost, use the main student loan calculator. For the maintenance loan on its own, with the full income table, use the maintenance loan calculator.
Courses starting on or after 1 August 2023 in England are Plan 5.
About Plan 5
You repay 9% of income above £25,000 a year in 2026-27. Anything left is written off 40 years after you enter repayment[source].
Repayments start the April after your course ends — April 2030. It grows by 2.5% a year in this projection.
The write-off clock starts the April after this year, so for a 2029 finisher it runs to April 2070. Clear the balance before then and there is nothing left to write off[source].
The 2026-27 cap in England and Wales is £9,790 a year[source]. It was £9,535 in 2025/26; if you started earlier, enter the fee you were actually charged.
Means-tested. Between £4,013 and £14,135 a year in 2026-27, depending on where you live and your household income.
I don't know how much I'll borrow — estimate it for me
Your maintenance loan is worked out from your household income and where you live in term time, using the published 2026-27 entitlement table[source].
Course starting 2026, ending 2029, 3 years long, at £9,790 of fees a year.
On £35,000 of household income, living away from home, outside london, you would be assessed for £9,284 of maintenance loan a year, plus £9,790 of tuition fee loan — £57,222 over 3 years.Outcome: written off
Written off
£146,974 cancelled in April 2070
You would repay £34,880 first — 19% of everything that ever falls due, and 0.61× what you borrowed.
Your repayment summary
Total borrowed
£57,222
£29,370 tuition + £27,852 maintenance
Balance when repayments start
£61,231
£4,009 of interest while studying
Monthly repayment, 2030-31
£22
9% of income above £27,061
Annual repayment
£265
2030-31 tax year
Total you would repay
£34,880
£15,149 in today's money
Interest charged
£124,632
£4,009 of it before you graduate
How this is worked out
(£30,000 − £27,061) × 9% ÷ 12 = £22.04
Plan 5, 2030-31. Interest that year: 3.0%.
How this is worked out
(£9,790 + £9,284) × 3 = £57,222
What you draw down over the course, before any interest. Interest while studying adds £4,009 by April 2030.
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 5 | £25,000[source] | 9% | 4.1%[source] | 40 years[source] | Frozen at £25,000 until April 2027 |
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
- Salary growth
- 2.5% a year (assumption)
- Threshold uprating after a freeze ends
- 2.0% a year (assumption)
- RPI after the published rate period
- 3.0% (assumption)
- Interest while studying
- RPI only
- Repayments start
- April 2030
- Maintenance figures
- 2026-27 England, full-time
Growth, inflation and long-run interest figures are assumptions, not published rates. Change them and the projection changes.
How much student finance you can get in 2026-27
England, full-time. The tuition fee loan is the same whatever your household income. The maintenance loan is at its maximum when household income is £25,000 or less, and never falls below the guaranteed minimum.
| Where you live | Tuition fee loan | Maintenance loan, maximum | Maintenance loan, minimum | Most you can get a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away from home, outside London | £9,790 | £10,830 | £5,048 | £20,620 |
| Away from home, in London | £9,790 | £14,135 | £7,039 | £23,925 |
| Living with your parents | £9,790 | £9,118 | £4,013 | £18,908 |
Students not entitled to benefits, full year. Extra help such as Disabled Students' Allowance is not included. Your entitlement letter from SFE is the authoritative figure[source].
How You Repay Student Finance
Repayment Basics
You only start repaying your student loan when you earn above the repayment threshold for your plan. Repayments are automatically deducted from your salary through PAYE if you're employed, or paid through Self Assessment if you're self-employed. For the monthly figure at your own salary, use the monthly repayment calculator.
- ✓Repayments are income-contingent - tied to what you earn, not what you owe
- ✓9% of everything you earn above the threshold on an undergraduate plan, 6% on a Postgraduate Loan
- ✓No repayments if you earn below the threshold
- ✓Outstanding balance written off 25–40 years after you enter repayment, depending on plan
Example Calculation
If you're on Plan 2 and earn £35,000 a year in 2026-27. Every figure below is computed from the constants, so it cannot drift from the calculator above:
Which Plan Am I On?
Plan 1
Started studying before September 2012 in England or Wales, or studied in Northern Ireland
Plan 2
Started studying between September 2012 and July 2023 in England or Wales
Plan 4
Studied in Scotland
Plan 5
Started a course in England on or after 1 August 2023
Need More Help with Student Finance?
See the maintenance loan on its own with the full income table, or the payslip figure once you start repaying.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much student finance can I get?▼
A full-time student from England can get a tuition fee loan of up to £9,790 a year in 2026-27, paid straight to the university, plus a maintenance loan for living costs, paid to you. The maintenance loan is up to £9,118 living with your parents, £10,830 living away from home outside London and £14,135 in London. You get the maximum if your household income is £25,000 or less.
How is maintenance loan entitlement calculated?▼
It depends on your household income and where you live in term time. Households earning £25,000 or less get the maximum. Above that, the loan falls in a straight line until it reaches a guaranteed minimum: £4,013 living with your parents, £5,048 away from home outside London and £7,039 in London. Nobody who is eligible gets less than that minimum.
Is the tuition fee loan means-tested?▼
No. Household income does not change your tuition fee loan. It covers the fee your university charges, up to £9,790 a year for most full-time courses in England in 2026-27, and is paid straight to the university. Only the maintenance loan is means-tested.
What's the difference between a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan?▼
A tuition fee loan covers your course fees (up to £9,790 a year for most full-time courses in 2026-27) and is paid to your university. A maintenance loan helps with living costs such as rent, food and books, and is paid to you in instalments during the year. Both go into one student loan balance that you repay after you leave your course.
Do I have to pay back student finance?▼
Yes, but only when you earn enough. If Student Finance England funds a course that started on or after 1 August 2023, you are on Plan 5. You repay 9% of your income above £25,000 a year (the 2026-27 threshold), and anything left 40 years after you enter repayment is written off. For your own payoff date and total cost, use the main student loan calculator.