Bureau of Wealth

Student Loan Repayment Calculator: Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5

By the Bureau of Wealth team Updated

This calculator is general information, not financial advice. Check your own figures with the provider or a qualified adviser before acting on them.

Enter your plan, balance and salary to see what you repay each month, how interest builds, and whether the loan is likely to be repaid in full or written off.

Using 2026/27 rates rates checked 14 September 2026

In England, Plan 5 is for courses from August 2023, Plan 2 for September 2012 to July 2023, Plan 1 before that.

Check the highlighted fields to see your results.

What this calculator assumes

  • Repayment thresholds and interest rates stay at their 2026/27 levels for every year of the projection. In reality thresholds can change each tax year and interest rates are set each September, so treat anything beyond a few years as a rough guide.
  • Your salary rises by the same percentage every year and you have no gaps in work. Time out of work or earning below the threshold adds interest without repayments.
  • Interest is added monthly at your plan's rate. For Plan 2 the rate is set from your income each year. If you are employed, the Student Loans Company charges the RPI rate during the tax year and adjusts your balance once HMRC confirms your income.
  • The calculator models one plan at a time. If you have two plans, or a Postgraduate Loan alongside another plan, your repayments are split between them.
  • You live and work in the UK and repay through PAYE. Thresholds are different if you live overseas, and self-employed repayments are collected through Self Assessment.

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How repayments are worked out

UK student loan repayments depend on your income, not on what you owe. You repay 9% of your income above your plan's threshold, or 6% for a Postgraduate Loan. For 2026/27 the yearly thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4, £25,000 for Plan 5 and £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan.

The calculator starts from your balance, adds interest each month and takes off your monthly repayment. Each year it raises your salary by the pay rise you enter and works out the new repayment. It stops when the balance reaches zero or when the loan reaches its write-off date, counting the years since you were first due to repay.

Interest, and the Plan 2 formula

Plans 1, 4 and 5 are currently charged 4.1% and Postgraduate Loans 6%. Plan 2 interest after you leave your course depends on income: RPI (currently 4.1%) if you earn £29,385 or less, RPI plus 3% at £52,885 or more, and a sliding extra between the two. GOV.UK's example takes an income of £40,000, subtracts the £29,385 lower threshold to get £10,615, and divides that by the £23,500 gap between the thresholds. That gives 0.451, and 0.451 multiplied by 3 adds 1.35%, for a total of 5.46%. A cap of 6% applies between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2027, so anyone earning more than about £44,270 pays 6%.

A worked example

Take a Plan 2 balance of £45,000 and pay rises of 3% a year. On a salary of £60,000 you repay £229.61 a month, the balance clears after 18 years and 3 months, and you repay £80,071 in total. On £40,000 you repay £79.61 a month at first, repay £91,932 over 30 years and still have £69,151 written off. The lower earner pays more overall, because interest runs for longer.

A Plan 5 graduate on £30,000 with the same balance repays £37.50 a month. In the first year, interest of £1,871.52 is far more than the £450 repaid, so the balance grows. Over 40 years they repay £113,583 and £19,751 is written off.

When loans are written off

Plan 1 loans are written off 25 years after the April you were first due to repay, or at 65 if your first loan was paid before 1 September 2006. Plan 2 loans are written off after 30 years and Plan 5 loans after 40. Plan 4 loans are written off after 30 years, or at 65 if that comes first when your first loan was paid before 1 August 2007. Postgraduate Loans for students from England or Wales are written off after 30 years.

Should you pay extra?

If the projection shows your loan being written off, voluntary repayments may only reduce the amount written off rather than what you pay in total. If it shows the loan clearing, extra payments cut the interest. Check the result with a few different pay rises before deciding. The take-home pay calculator shows your repayment alongside tax and National Insurance, and the debt repayment calculator can help you decide whether other debts should come first.

Frequently asked questions

Which repayment plan am I on?

In England, courses starting on or after 1 August 2023 are Plan 5, courses from 1 September 2012 to 31 July 2023 are Plan 2, and earlier courses are Plan 1. Students from Scotland are on Plan 4 and students from Northern Ireland on Plan 1.

Does a bigger balance mean bigger repayments?

No. GOV.UK says the amount you owe has no effect on how much you repay each year. A bigger balance only changes how long you repay and whether anything is left to write off.

Is interest added if I earn below the threshold?

Yes. Interest is still added when you are not working or earning below the threshold. That is why the balance can grow even while you make repayments.

What happens if I have Plan 1 and Plan 2 loans?

You repay 9% of your income over the lower of the two thresholds, in a single deduction. The Student Loans Company splits it between the loans, so run each plan separately here as a rough guide.

Why do my repayments not match my payslip exactly?

Employers use weekly or monthly thresholds, so pay that varies month to month, such as overtime or a bonus, changes each deduction. If your yearly income ends up below the threshold, you can ask for a refund after the tax year ends.

Sources

Figures come from institutions millions of people rely on. How we keep calculators accurate.