Student loan repayment calculator
Nine per cent of everything above the threshold, worked out on each pay period and rounded down to whole pounds. Simple in principle, and the source of more payslip confusion than almost anything else.
That is £30,112 a year after income tax, National Insurance and anything else coming off your pay.
- Income tax
- £5,086
- National Insurance
- £2,034
- Effective rate
- 18.7%
- Marginal rate
- 37.6%
| Year | Month | Week | Hour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £38,000.00 | £3,166.67 | £730.77 | £19.49 |
| Income tax | £-5,086.00 | £-423.83 | £-97.81 | £-2.61 |
| National Insurance | £-2,033.92 | £-169.49 | £-39.11 | £-1.04 |
| Student loan | £-768.00 | £-64.00 | £-14.77 | £-0.39 |
| Take-home pay | £30,112.08 | £2,509.34 | £579.08 | £15.44 |
What each plan takes
| Salary | Plan 1 | Plan 2 | Plan 4 (Scotland) | Plan 5 | Postgraduate Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | — | — | — | — | £228 |
| £30,000 | £276 | £48 | — | £444 | £540 |
| £38,000 | £996 | £768 | £372 | £1,164 | £1,008 |
| £46,000 | £1,716 | £1,488 | £1,092 | £1,884 | £1,488 |
| £60,000 | £2,976 | £2,748 | £2,352 | £3,144 | £2,340 |
| £85,000 | £5,220 | £5,004 | £4,608 | £5,400 | £3,828 |
Repayment is 9% of everything above the threshold, except a postgraduate loan which is 6%, and it is worked out on your National Insurance-able earnings in each pay period rather than on your annual salary. That distinction matters: a pension taken as net pay does not reduce it, but salary sacrifice does.
Plan 5 reached payslips for the first time on 6 April 2026. Its threshold is frozen at £25,000 until April 2027, and from 2026/27 it is also the default plan an employer applies when a new starter does not know which plan they are on.
The thresholds for 2026/27
| Plan | Annual threshold | A month | A week | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £2,241.66 | £517.30 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £2,448.75 | £565.09 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | £2,816.25 | £649.90 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £2,083.33 | £480.76 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | £1,750.00 | £403.84 | 6% |
Plan 5 appears in payroll for the first time in 2026/27. The first cohort of Plan 5 borrowers did not reach their statutory repayment due date until 6 April 2026, so any calculator showing you a Plan 5 deduction for 2024/25 or 2025/26 produced that number from nowhere. From 2026/27 Plan 5 is also the plan an employer applies by default when a new starter does not know which plan they are on.
What reduces the deduction and what does not
The deduction is worked out on your National Insurance-able earnings, not your taxable pay. That single fact decides everything else. A pension taken as net pay reduces your taxable pay but not your National Insurance-able pay, so it does not reduce your student loan by a penny. Salary sacrifice reduces both, so it does.
If you are close to the threshold and thinking about a pension, the method your employer uses is worth asking about before you set the percentage.
Questions people actually ask
Should I overpay my student loan?
For most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, no. The balance is written off after a set period and a large proportion of borrowers never repay it in full, so an overpayment is money you would not otherwise have paid. This guide sets out when the answer changes.
Does a pension contribution reduce my student loan?
Only if it is taken by salary sacrifice. A net pay arrangement reduces your income tax but not the earnings figure the student loan is worked out on.
Which plan am I on?
English and Welsh students who started before September 2012 are Plan 1; between 2012 and August 2023, Plan 2; from September 2023, Plan 5. Scottish students are Plan 4. A postgraduate loan is separate and stacks on top of whichever undergraduate plan you have.
Related
Figures on this page are for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) and were last checked on 29 August 2026. Every rate we use is listed on the sources page.