Student Loan Repayment Calculator UK 2026/27 – Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 & Postgraduate

UK student loans don’t behave like normal debt. What you pay each month depends on your salary, not on how much you owe, and many people never clear the balance before it’s written off. This calculator shows your monthly repayment, then projects your balance year by year with interest and pay rises, so you can see whether you’re likely to repay it in full.

You’ll need your plan type, your current balance (it’s on your Student Loans Company account) and your gross salary before tax. The interest rate and salary growth are your own estimates; it’s worth trying a couple of different figures to see how much the outcome changes.

Repayment thresholds 2026/27

These are from GOV.UK. You repay a percentage of income above the threshold for your plan.

Plan	Yearly threshold	Monthly threshold	Rate	Written off after
Plan 1	£26,900	£2,241	9%	25 years (or age 65 for loans before Sept 2006)
Plan 2	£29,385	£2,448	9%	30 years
Plan 4 (Scotland)	£33,795	£2,816	9%	30 years
Plan 5	£25,000	£2,083	9%	40 years
Postgraduate Loan	£21,000	£1,750	6%	30 years

If you see the old Plan 2 figures of £27,295 or £28,470 quoted elsewhere, they’re out of date.

Which plan are you on?

Roughly: Plan 1 if you started in England or Wales before 1 September 2012, or studied with a Northern Ireland loan. Plan 2 if you started in England or Wales on or after 1 September 2012 (and before August 2023 for England). Plan 4 if your loan came from the Student Awards Agency Scotland. Plan 5 if you started an undergraduate course in England on or after 1 August 2023. Master’s and doctoral loans are Postgraduate Loans. If in doubt, your SLC account shows it.

What you’d actually pay

The formula is the same for every plan: take your salary, subtract the threshold, multiply by 9% (6% for a Postgraduate Loan) and divide by 12.

Salary	Plan	Per year	Per month
£35,000	Plan 1	£729.00	£60.75
£35,000	Plan 2	£505.35	£42.11
£40,000	Plan 2	£955.35	£79.61
£30,000	Plan 5	£450.00	£37.50
£22,000	Plan 2	£0	£0

Earn below the threshold and you pay nothing, though interest still gets added. Repayments come out through PAYE, like tax, and they’re worked out on gross pay, before tax.

If you have more than one plan

You still make one deduction: 9% of income above the lowest of your thresholds, split between the plans. GOV.UK’s example is someone on £30,000 (£2,500 a month) with Plan 2 and Plan 5. They repay 9% of £417 (£2,500 − £2,083), which is £37.53 a month. About £32 goes to Plan 5 and the rest, around £5, to Plan 2. A Postgraduate Loan is separate, so you’d pay 6% above £21,000 on top.

When do Plan 5 repayments start?

The April after you leave your course. Most people who started a three-year degree in September 2023 will make their first repayments in April 2027. If you left your course early, you may already be repaying.

Why the balance often goes up

Run the calculator with the default figures (£45,000 on Plan 2, earning £35,000) and the balance climbs every year for 30 years before it’s written off. In the first month, interest is about £180 while the repayment is about £42. That looks alarming, but it isn’t a reason to panic: on Plan 2 and Plan 5, many graduates are expected never to repay in full, and whatever’s left is cancelled at the end of the term. For a lot of people it works more like a graduate tax than a loan.

Interest rates are set by the government and linked to RPI. Plan 2 interest ranges from RPI up to RPI plus 3% depending on your income, and it’s capped if it would go above market rates. Rates usually change each September, so check the Student Loans Company website for the current figure rather than relying on an old one.

Should you overpay?

It depends almost entirely on whether you’d clear the loan anyway. If you’re a high earner and the projection shows you paying it off before write-off, overpaying cuts the interest you’ll pay overall. If the projection says the loan will be written off, every pound you overpay just reduces the amount that would have been cancelled, and you’d usually be better off saving or investing it.

Try the “Extra Monthly Repayment” box. If adding £100 a month doesn’t change the result from “Not repaid”, overpaying probably isn’t worth it for you.

Thresholds for 2027/28 haven’t been confirmed yet. They’re usually published before the tax year starts on 6 April 2027, and we’ll update the calculator when they are.

Questions people ask

What is the Plan 2 threshold for 2026/27?

£29,385 a year (£2,448 a month). You repay 9% of income above it.

How much is the Plan 2 repayment on £40,000?

About £955.35 a year, or £79.61 a month, in 2026/27.

How much is the Plan 5 repayment on £30,000?

£450 a year, or £37.50 a month: 9% of income above £25,000.

Does a student loan affect my credit score?

It doesn’t appear on your credit file, but mortgage lenders do count the monthly repayment when they assess affordability.

Are student loan repayments taken before or after tax?

They’re calculated on your gross pay, before tax, and deducted alongside Income Tax and National Insurance.

Can I pay off my student loan early?

Yes, with no penalty. Whether it’s worth it depends on whether you’d repay the loan before it’s written off.

Related: UK Income Tax Calculator · Take Home Pay Calculator · Budget Planner

Figures are estimates. Your Student Loans Company statement is the definitive record of your balance and interest.