Student loan repayment calculator
What comes out of your pay each month, how long it lasts, and whether you clear the loan or it is written off first. For most graduates that last question matters more than the balance.
How this is calculated
Repayments are 9% of salary above the plan threshold, or 6% for a postgraduate loan. They stop when the balance reaches zero or the loan is written off, whichever comes first.
Each year interest is added at the plan rate and the year's repayments are taken off. Plan 2 interest slides from RPI at the repayment threshold up to the cap at £52,885 of income. The other plans use a single rate.
Loans are written off 25 years after the first repayment April for Plan 1, 30 years for Plan 2, Plan 4 and postgraduate loans, and 40 years for Plan 5. Older Plan 1 and Plan 4 loans can be written off at 65 instead, which this does not model.
Thresholds and interest rates normally change every year. This holds both at this year's level, so treat the long-range figures as a guide.
Rates used · 2026/27
| Plan 1 threshold | £26,900, 9% |
| Plan 2 threshold | £29,385, 9% |
| Plan 4 threshold | £33,795, 9% |
| Plan 5 threshold | £25,000, 9% |
| Postgraduate threshold | £21,000, 6% |
| Interest from September 2026 | 4.1% on Plans 1, 4 and 5; 4.1% to 6% on Plan 2; 6% postgraduate |
Last checked July 2026. Source: HMRC and gov.uk.
Worked example
On Plan 2 with a £45,000 balance and a £32,000 salary rising 3% a year, you repay £19.61 a month now. Over the 30 years until write-off you repay £57,678 in total and £113,947 is cancelled at the end, so on these figures overpaying would not save you money.
Common questions
Should I pay off my student loan early?
Only if you would clear it before it is written off anyway. If the calculator shows a balance being written off, overpaying just reduces the amount that would have been cancelled, so the money is usually better used elsewhere.
Does my student loan affect my credit score?
It does not appear on your credit file. Lenders do take the monthly repayment into account as an outgoing when working out what they will lend.
What happens if I earn under the threshold?
You repay nothing that year, interest still builds up, and the write-off clock keeps running.
I have Plan 2 and a postgraduate loan. Which applies?
Both. Each is repaid separately at its own threshold and rate, so run the calculator once for each.