Finance & Money
Rates & guidance reviewed
UK student loans are usually repaid as a percentage of income above a plan-specific threshold — not like a fixed personal loan instalment. Knowing the monthly deduction helps when comparing salaries or budgeting after graduation.
This free calculator estimates repayments for Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 (Scotland), Plan 5 and postgraduate loans using illustrative 2026/27 tax year thresholds. You can also stack a postgraduate loan on top of an undergraduate plan.
It does not track your remaining balance, interest rate on the loan, or write-off date. Confirm your plan type and thresholds with the Student Loans Company and your payslip.
Illustrative thresholds for 2026/27 tax year
Salary / earnings used for repayment
England & Wales undergraduate loans from 2012 onwards (typical)
Guidance only. Interest, write-off periods, overseas rules and multiple overlapping plans can differ. This does not calculate remaining balance or payoff date — only the ongoing deduction style estimate from income.
Static sample calculations you can read without using the form. Figures match this tool's maths — always re-run with your own numbers for a personal estimate.
Common English/Welsh undergraduate plan — 9% above the Plan 2 threshold.
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9% × (£35,000 − £29,385).
Newer England undergraduate starters — lower threshold than Plan 2.
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Undergraduate 9% plus postgraduate 6% above their own thresholds.
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Shows how little is due when income is close to the threshold.
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£28,000 is below the illustrative Plan 2 threshold of £29,385 — no Plan 2 deduction in this model.
For most undergraduate plans you repay 9% of income above the annual threshold for your plan. Postgraduate loans typically repay 6% above a separate (usually lower) threshold. If you have both, both deductions can apply.
Illustrative 2026/27 thresholds used here: Plan 1 £26,900; Plan 2 £29,385; Plan 4 £33,795; Plan 5 £25,000; postgraduate £21,000. Thresholds are updated by government and can freeze or rise with inflation depending on policy.
Worked case: on £35,000 Plan 2, repayments are about £505 a year (£42 a month) in this tool — 9% of the £5,615 above the threshold. On £45,000 Plan 5 they rise to about £1,800 a year because more income sits above the lower Plan 5 threshold.
Employers deduct student loans through PAYE when notified. Self-employed borrowers usually settle via Self Assessment. Overseas rules and voluntary repayments differ — this tool is for a simple UK income-based estimate only.
The plan is set by where you applied for student finance and when the course started — you cannot choose it. Student Finance England undergraduates are typically Plan 1 (started before September 2012), Plan 2 (started September 2012–July 2023) or Plan 5 (started from August 2023). Wales still uses Plan 2 for most post-2012 undergraduates. Scotland is Plan 4. Northern Ireland is Plan 1. A Master’s or Doctoral loan is a separate postgraduate plan.
If you hold two undergraduate-style plans and no postgraduate loan, official guidance is that you repay 9% above the lowest of those thresholds — not 9% twice. This calculator models one undergraduate plan at a time, plus an optional postgraduate 6%. For the longer walk-through (two jobs, bonuses, write-off), see the student loan guide on this site.
It does not add interest to the balance, project a write-off date, or split a deduction across two undergraduate plans. PAYE tests each job against the weekly or monthly threshold on its own; Self Assessment uses combined annual income. Enter one income figure here for a planning estimate, then check your SLC account and payslip.
Student loan deductions are separate from Income Tax and National Insurance. Use the take-home calculator for tax and NI, then subtract this page’s result for a combined net figure. Salary sacrifice can change the income used for the loan — compare that on the salary sacrifice calculator.
Always confirm rates, bands and eligibility on official pages. Our tools are simplified estimators for guidance only.