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TOOLS · MONEY · 2026/27

Student loan repayments

Pick your plan and I'll work out what you repay a month, then follow the balance year by year to see whether you clear it or it's written off first. The assumptions are yours to change.

Your plan

Plan 2: England from September 2012 to July 2023, and Wales from September 2012. Your student loan account shows your plan and balance.

Before tax and other deductions, after any salary sacrifice.

The year of the April after you left (or leave) your course.

Assumptions, a year

Rates from September 2026 use an RPI of 4.1%. From February 2030 RPI is to be worked out the way CPIH is, which is expected to bring it down.

£79 a monthSee the years

YOU REPAY A MONTH NOW

£79

Written off in April 2050, after £47,550 repaid, with £67,127 left.

The hold from April 2027 is England's. In February 2026 the Welsh Government said it wouldn't hold Welsh borrowers' threshold; since the Senedd election, that's for the new government to confirm.

THE WORKING

  1. Plan 2: 9% of your pay over £29,385 a year, 2026/27
  2. £40,000 − £29,385 = £10,615; × 9% ÷ 12 = £79.61, rounded down to £79 a month
  3. Interest from September 2026: 5.46% a year on your balance
  4. Written off 30 years after April 2020: April 2050
  5. Repaid by then: £47,550; written off: £67,127
Year by year
What you repay and owe each tax year, with the interest rate and your pay
Tax yearRepaidOwed afterInterestPay
2026/276 months£474£45,7635.46%£40,000
2027/28£1,080£46,9954.53%£41,400
2028/29£1,200£48,0364.72%£42,849
2029/30£1,344£49,0734.91%£44,349
2030/31£1,404£50,1174.94%£45,901
2031/32£1,464£51,1624.96%£47,507
2032/33£1,524£52,2154.99%£49,170
2033/34£1,596£53,2645.02%£50,891
2034/35£1,668£54,3105.05%£52,672
2035/36£1,740£55,3485.07%£54,516
2036/37£1,812£56,3825.10%£56,424
2037/38£1,896£57,4035.13%£58,399
2038/39£1,980£58,4085.16%£60,443
2039/40£2,064£59,3995.19%£62,558
2040/41£2,160£60,3565.21%£64,748
2041/42£2,256£61,2855.24%£67,014
2042/43£2,352£62,1845.27%£69,359
2043/44£2,448£63,0535.30%£71,787
2044/45£2,556£63,8785.33%£74,300
2045/46£2,664£64,6565.36%£76,900
2046/47£2,784£65,3755.39%£79,592
2047/48£2,904£66,0305.42%£82,377
2048/49£3,024£66,6205.45%£85,260
2049/50£3,156£67,1275.48%£88,245

A projection on the assumptions above, not a forecast: the real rates follow RPI each March and can change with the law.

Each plan

2026/27 thresholds; interest from September 2026.

PlanYou repayInterestWritten off after
Plan 1England or Wales before September 2012, and Northern Ireland9% over £26,9004.1%25 years
Plan 2England from September 2012 to July 2023, and Wales from September 20129% over £29,3854.1% to 6%30 years
Plan 4Scotland9% over £33,7954.1%30 years
Plan 5England from August 20239% over £25,0004.1%40 years
Postgraduate Loanmaster's or doctoral loans in England or Wales6% over £21,0006%30 years

How the sums work

Your repayment depends only on your pay: 9% of what you earn over your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), worked out each payday and rounded down to the pound. The balance and the interest decide how long you keep paying, and whether anything is left to write off.

I follow the balance a month at a time from now: a twelfth of the year's interest goes on, then a month's repayment and any extra come off. Nothing is taken before the first April you're due to repay. Each April your pay rises by the figure you give. The thresholds that follow prices rise by RPI, rounded up to the next £5, as the regulations say: next April's by the 4.1% already published, later ones by your figure. Plan 2's threshold is held at £29,385 from April 2027, as the 2025 Budget announced. I take it to rise with RPI again from April 2030, and its upper limit for interest to be held and rise with it. The Postgraduate Loan's is fixed at £21,000.

This year's interest rates are the published ones, with the 6% cap. The cap is only announced to August 2027, so after that I use your RPI figure with no cap, and for Plan 1 and Plan 4 RPI rather than Bank Rate + 1%, which can't be known that far ahead.

It's a projection, not a forecast: RPI, Bank Rate, your pay and the rules will all turn out differently. Change the assumptions to see how much they matter. For your take-home pay with the loan taken off, try the take-home pay calculator.

Questions

How much do I repay on my student loan?

9% of your pay over your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), taken through your payslip, or through Self Assessment if you're self-employed. On Plan 2 in 2026/27 that's 9% over £29,385: on £35,000, £42 a month, as payroll rounds it down to the pound. What you owe and the interest don't change it.

When is my student loan written off?

Counted from the April you were first due to repay. Plan 1: 25 years. Plan 2, Plan 4 and Postgraduate Loan: 30 years. Plan 5: 40 years. On Plan 1, if the first loan for your course was paid before 1 September 2006, it's written off when you're 65 instead. On Plan 4, if the first loan for your course was paid before 1 August 2007, it's written off when you're 65 if that comes first. Whatever's left then is cancelled. A loan is also cancelled if you die, and may be if you can't work because of illness or disability. Student loans don't appear on credit reports.

What interest is charged on Plan 2?

RPI + 3% while you're studying, until the April after you leave. After that, RPI (4.1% from September 2026) while you earn up to £29,385, rising on a scale to RPI + 3% at £52,885. From 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027 it's capped at 6%.

Is Plan 5 different from Plan 2?

Plan 5 is for undergraduate courses in England starting from 1 August 2023. You repay 9% over £25,000 (lower than Plan 2's £29,385), interest is RPI only, and it's written off after 40 years rather than 30, so repayments can run 10 years longer.

Can I have more than one plan?

Yes, if you have more than one loan. With more than one of Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 or Plan 5, you still repay one 9%, over the lowest of their thresholds, taken once each payday. What's worked out on your pay up to the next threshold goes to the plan with the lowest one; the rest goes to your other loans. A Postgraduate Loan's 6% over £21,000 comes on top. This calculator follows one plan at a time; the take-home pay calculator takes them together.

Should I pay my student loan off early?

That depends on more than these sums, so I don't say. What the calculator does show is the total you'd repay with and without an extra monthly payment, on your assumptions. GOV.UK says there's no penalty for paying extra, and extra payments can't be refunded. MoneyHelper explains what else to weigh.

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