Repay · Calculator 16
UK student loan calculator: repayments, payoff and write-off
Calculate monthly and annual repayments, projected interest and balances, payoff or write-off across UK plans, then compare voluntary overpayments with keeping or investing the cash.
1 Enter your figures2 Review assumptions3 Explore the result
Your figures
Your entries stay in this tab and are not sent to Money Considered. A shareable link includes only the assumptions shown in its URL.
Estimated balance reaching write-off
£53,982£67,530 paid before the remaining balance is assumed written off.Current monthly repayment£1179% above £29,385
Current annual repayment£1,405Monthly estimate × 12 before payroll rounding
Interest added in next 12 months£2,5255.0% held constant
Projected balance
Balance and outcome milestones
Should I voluntarily overpay?
Enter a voluntary overpayment to compare it.Compulsory repayments depend on income, not the outstanding balance. A smaller balance does not reduce payroll deductions unless it helps the loan reach zero earlier.- Total paid
- £67,530
- Compulsory paid
- £67,530
- Interest added
- £71,512
- Total paid
- £67,530
- Voluntary paid
- £0
- Interest added
- £71,512
Pay off early or invest?
Add an overpayment to compare paying early with keeping or investing the cash.
Future student-loan payments will be discounted at the entered 5.0% alternative return once an overpayment is entered. Investment returns are not guaranteed and may be reduced by fees and tax; voluntary student-loan payments generally cannot be refunded.- Compulsory-only payments, today’s money
- £34,963
- Overpayment path, today’s money
- £34,963
- Break-even alternative return
- Add an overpayment
Balance path
Projected balance under compulsory repayments
Compulsory only
Salary sensitivity
Write-off in 3 of 3 earnings paths
These are deterministic sensitivities, not probabilities. Salary, thresholds and interest rates can all change.
Starting salary that just repays the loan
£53,940Under the central salary-growth, threshold and interest assumptions, with no voluntary overpayment. This is a mathematical crossover, not a salary forecast.For a likely write-off borrower, the balance can be psychologically large but financially secondary.
Compulsory deductions are driven by income. Paying down a balance that would otherwise be written off usually does not reduce those deductions, so voluntary payments can simply increase the total cash surrendered.
Assumptions used
- Uses the selected 2026/27 UK repayment threshold and statutory repayment percentage as the starting point.
- Annual salary is smoothed across 12 months; payroll thresholds and whole-pound rounding can produce different deductions.
- The entered interest rate is held constant for the full model despite real rates changing over time.
- The threshold grows annually after the selected freeze period; future government policy may differ.
- The write-off period is entered as years remaining. Check it against when you first became due to repay.
- Voluntary overpayments are assumed to reach the selected loan immediately and have no penalty.
- The alternative return discounts future payments to today’s money. It is not an investment forecast and does not include fees or tax.
- Combined mode calculates one 9% undergraduate deduction and a separate 6% Postgraduate Loan deduction, with independent balances and write-off periods. It does not create multiple 9% deductions for multiple undergraduate balances.
- Periods outside UK payroll, self-assessment adjustments, bonuses, refunds and end-of-loan Direct Debit arrangements are excluded.
A student loan is income-contingent, not a normal fixed-payment debt. Do not use its headline balance or interest rate alone to decide whether to overpay.
Repayments explained
How UK student loan repayments are calculated
For Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, the annual repayment is 9% of earnings above the relevant threshold. A Postgraduate Loan uses 6% above its own threshold. The outstanding balance does not determine an ordinary payroll deduction: it matters only when the loan is close to being cleared.
| Plan | Annual threshold | Rate above threshold | Typical write-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% | Usually 25 years* |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% | 30 years |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | 9% | Usually 30 years* |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% | 40 years |
| Postgraduate Loan (Plan 3) | £21,000 | 6% | 30 years |
*Older Plan 1 and Plan 4 loans can use age-based rules. Check when your loan became due for repayment and enter the actual years remaining.
Worked example
Plan 2 repayment on a £45,000 salary
£45,000 minus the £29,385 threshold leaves £15,615. At 9%, that is £1,405.35 a year, or £117.11 a month when annual pay is smoothed across 12 months. A real payslip can differ slightly because payroll works by pay period and rounds deductions.
Decision support
Pay off your student loan early or invest?
Early repayment is most likely to help when you would otherwise clear the balance in full. If the loan is likely to reach write-off, an overpayment may reduce only the amount cancelled rather than your compulsory repayments. Use the alternative-return input above to compare the two payment paths in today’s-money terms, while remembering that market returns are uncertain and cash paid to the Student Loans Company is generally not refundable.
Read the detailed guide to repaying a UK student loan earlyCommon questions
UK student loan repayment calculator FAQs
How are UK student loan repayments calculated?
For Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, compulsory repayments are 9% of earnings above the plan threshold. Postgraduate Loan repayments are 6% above their threshold. Payroll applies this by pay period and rounds deductions, while this calculator smooths annual salary across 12 months.
What are the student loan repayment thresholds for 2026/27?
The annual 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 Postgraduate Loans. Future thresholds can change, so the calculator lets you edit both the starting amount and its growth.
When will my student loan be paid off?
The calculator projects your balance month by month and gives an approximate payoff month and year when compulsory repayments are expected to clear it. If the balance does not reach zero first, it instead shows the likely write-off date and amount remaining under your assumptions.
Should I pay off my student loan early or invest the money?
Test a one-off or monthly overpayment and enter an alternative return. The calculator discounts both payment paths to compare their value today. Investment returns are uncertain and can be reduced by fees and tax, while a voluntary student-loan payment generally cannot be refunded.
Does a smaller student loan balance reduce monthly repayments?
No. Compulsory repayments depend on income above the relevant threshold, not on the balance. A smaller balance changes deductions only when it allows the loan to be cleared sooner.
When are student loans written off?
Typical post-2006 Plan 1 loans are written off 25 years after the April first due, Plan 2 and many Plan 4 loans after 30 years, Plan 5 after 40 years and English or Welsh Postgraduate Loans after 30 years. Older Plan 1 and Plan 4 loans can follow age-based rules, so enter your actual remaining period.
How much interest will my student loan accumulate?
The calculator shows interest added in the next 12 months and over the full projection using your constant long-term rate assumption. Actual rates can change, and interest increases cash repayments only when you repay enough of the balance for it to matter; otherwise it may increase the amount eventually written off.
Why does the calculator show three salary paths?
Earnings growth can change whether a borrower repays in full. The slower, central and faster paths vary salary growth while holding the other assumptions constant. They are sensitivities, not probabilities.
Can I model more than one student loan plan?
Yes. Select Undergraduate + Postgraduate Loan to calculate the 9% undergraduate deduction and separate 6% postgraduate deduction together, while projecting each balance and write-off date independently. Multiple undergraduate plans are not modelled because payroll ordinarily applies one 9% deduction.
Will the calculator match my payslip exactly?
Not necessarily. Real deductions use weekly or monthly pay-period thresholds, whole-pound rounding and actual bonus timing. Self Assessment, overseas repayment schedules, refunds and end-of-loan Direct Debit arrangements are also outside this annualised model.