Undergraduate vs Postgraduate Loans: How They Compare and Combine
An undergraduate loan is repaid at 9% above your plan's threshold, a postgraduate loan at 6% above a separate £21,000. Hold both and your employer deducts both at once. Here is how the two differ and what that costs you each month.
Key Takeaways
- You repay undergraduate loans at 9% above your plan threshold (£25,000 for Plan 5, £29,385 for Plan 2 in 2026-27) and postgraduate loans at 6% above a separate £21,000. Both deductions run at the same time.
- A Master's Loan is one sum of up to £13,206 for 2026/27, paid to you for fees or living costs, while undergraduate support is a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £9,790 paid to the university plus a Maintenance Loan of up to £14,135 in London each year. There is no separate maintenance loan for a master's.
- On £35,000 with a Plan 2 loan and a Master's Loan you pay £42.11 a month on the undergraduate loan and £70.00 on the postgraduate loan, £112.11 in total.
- The Master's Loan is not means-tested: every eligible student can borrow the full amount whatever their household income, unlike the undergraduate Maintenance Loan, which is income-assessed.
- Write-off differs too: a postgraduate loan is cancelled 30 years after you enter repayment, a Plan 2 loan after 30 years and a Plan 5 loan after 40 years. Each loan runs on its own clock.
Undergraduate loans in the UK fall under several plans depending on where and when you studied: Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 or Plan 5. Master's and Doctoral Loans sit on their own plan with their own threshold, rate, interest and write-off. The rules for postgraduate loan repayments are covered in full on the Postgraduate Loan page; this page puts the two side by side.
Both are income-contingent, so nothing is deducted in a month your pay sits below the relevant threshold. Having both changes how much leaves your payslip, and the combined repayment calculator gives an exact figure for your salary.
Key Differences at a Glance
| Feature | Undergraduate | Postgraduate (PGL) |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment threshold (2026-27) | Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000 | £21,000, unchanged since 2016 |
| Repayment rate | 9% of income over the plan's threshold | 6% of income over the PGL threshold |
| Interest | Varies by plan: RPI only on Plan 5, RPI to RPI + 3% on Plan 2 (capped at 6% since 1 September 2026), lower of RPI or base rate + 1% on Plans 1 and 4 | RPI + 3% at every income, capped at 6% since 1 September 2026 |
| Write-off | Plan 1 25 years, Plans 2 and 4 30 years, Plan 5 40 years | 30 years after entering repayment |
| How the money arrives | Tuition Fee Loan paid to the university; means-tested Maintenance Loan paid to you each year | One non-means-tested sum for the whole course, paid to you |
| If you have both | Calculated separately and taken at the same time through PAYE or Self Assessment | 9% (undergraduate) plus 6% (postgraduate) on the portions of income above each threshold |
How Combined Repayments Work
If your income exceeds both thresholds, HMRC collects undergraduate and postgraduate repayments together. The postgraduate deduction is taken in addition to the undergraduate one, not instead of it. Each loan's repayment is calculated independently using its own threshold and rate, then both are deducted on your payslip, shown against separate SL and PGL markers.
Because the thresholds differ, you can be repaying only the postgraduate loan for a while, then both once your income rises. On £35,000 with a Plan 2 loan and a Master's Loan in 2026-27:
- Plan 2: 9% of (£35,000 minus £29,385) = £505.35 a year, £42.11 a month
- Postgraduate Loan: 6% of (£35,000 minus £21,000) = £840.00 a year, £70.00 a month
- Total: £1,345.35 a year, £112.11 a month
This page is the side-by-side comparison. For the debt itself, how big a postgraduate student loan debt gets and when it stops growing, what the combined deduction costs month by month across salaries on both Plan 2 and Plan 5, how the two lines appear on a payslip, when each loan is written off, and whether to overpay or use salary sacrifice, read the full guide. If you are unsure whether “Plan 3” applies to you, read Plan 3 student loan explained.
Calculate Your Repayments
See your monthly amounts for an undergraduate loan only, a postgraduate loan only, or both together