Student Loan Calculator UK 2026/27

If you’ve just checked your payslip and seen a chunk missing under “Student Loan,” you’re probably trying to work out one thing: is that the right amount? This student loan calculator uk tool above answers that in seconds — but the number it gives you only makes sense once you understand the mechanics behind it. That’s what this guide is for.

Unlike a mortgage or a credit card, a UK student loan doesn’t work like a normal debt. You don’t pay a fixed monthly amount. You don’t get chased for missed payments below the threshold. And for most graduates, the loan is eventually written off, partly repaid, decades from now. It’s a strange kind of debt — more like an extra income tax band than a loan — and that’s exactly why so many people get confused trying to estimate it by hand.

What This UK Student Loan Calculator Shows You

Enter your region, your loan plan, and your salary, and the calculator does three things at once: it works out your monthly and annual repayment, it shows you the effective repayment rate on your income, and it projects roughly when your loan would be written off if nothing changes. That last part is genuinely useful and something most basic calculators skip — for a lot of Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, the interest added each year outpaces what they repay, so the loan balance can actually grow even while they’re making regular payments. Seeing the write-off date puts that in context instead of leaving you staring at a balance that never seems to shrink.

Current UK Student Loan Repayment Thresholds (2026/27)

Repayment thresholds change most years, and using an outdated figure is the single biggest reason people misjudge their own repayments. Here’s exactly where things stand right now, taken directly from the official Student Loans Company thresholds:

Worth noting: the Plan 2 threshold moved for the first time since 2021, and the government has confirmed it will then stay frozen at this level until 2030. If you’re on Plan 2, that means your repayments will gradually rise every time you get a pay increase, since the threshold itself won’t move to keep pace with your salary.

How Your Repayment Is Actually Calculated

The formula is the same for every plan — only the threshold and the rate change:

(Your income − Plan threshold) × Repayment rate = Amount you repay

Notice the repayment only applies to the slice of income above the threshold — not your whole salary. That trips a lot of people up when they first see the deduction and assume it’s 9% of everything they earn.

Which Student Loan Plan Am I On?

This is one of the most common points of confusion, and it depends almost entirely on when and where you started your course:

• Plan 1 — English or Welsh students who started before September 2012, and most Northern Irish students regardless of start date.
• Plan 2 — English or Welsh undergraduates who started between September 2012 and July 2023.
• Plan 4 — Scottish students (any undergraduate start date under the current system).
• Plan 5 — English or Welsh undergraduates starting from August 2023 onwards.
• Postgraduate Loan — Master’s or doctoral loans, which run alongside any undergraduate plan you also have.

If you’re still not sure, your online Student Loans Company account states your plan type explicitly — it’s the most reliable way to check, since guessing based on graduation year alone can catch out anyone who started a course late or took a break between years.

How Interest Is Calculated on UK Student Loans

Interest keeps accruing on your balance even in months you don’t repay anything — including while you’re unemployed, between jobs, or earning below the threshold. The current rates are:

• Plan 1, 4 and 5: a flat 3.2%.
• Postgraduate Loan: a flat 6.2%, regardless of income.
• Plan 2: a variable rate depending on income — 3.2% if you earn up to £29,385, sliding up to 6.2% once you’re earning £52,885 or more, with a proportional rate in between.

This is why Plan 2 borrowers on middle incomes sometimes feel like they’re “never catching up” — the interest rate rises alongside their salary, partially offsetting the extra repayments a pay rise would otherwise bring.

When Do You Start Repaying?

Repayments begin automatically the April after you leave or complete your course, but only once your income crosses the threshold — there’s no separate application or opt-in required. If you’re employed, this happens through PAYE exactly like tax and National Insurance; if you’re self-employed, it’s calculated annually through Self Assessment based on your full year’s income.

How Much Student Loan Can You Get?

This is a different question from repayment, but it’s one a lot of people searching this topic actually want answered too: your maximum loan entitlement (tuition fee loan plus maintenance loan) depends on your household income, where you live during term time, and which UK nation you’re studying in. Maintenance loan amounts are means-tested and reassessed yearly, so the figure quoted when you first apply isn’t necessarily what you’ll get in your final year if your household circumstances change. The official Student Finance calculator is the right tool for this specific question, since entitlement amounts are recalculated by the government each academic year.

Multiple Loans or a Postgraduate Loan on Top

If you have both an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan, both are repaid simultaneously, calculated independently against their own thresholds.

If you have two undergraduate plans without a Postgraduate Loan (rare, but it happens if you studied in more than one part of the UK), only the lowest threshold applies, with a cap that splits your repayment across both loans once your income clears the higher threshold too.

Should You Overpay Your Student Loan?

For most graduates, the honest answer is no. Because the loan is written off after 25–40 years depending on your plan, and because interest is charged regardless of what you owe, a large share of Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers will never clear the full balance before it’s cancelled — meaning any voluntary overpayment effectively vanishes rather than saving future interest. Overpaying tends to make sense only if you’re close to your natural payoff point already, or if you’re on a plan with high interest and a healthy income comfortably above the threshold. If you’re unsure where you stand, running a few salary scenarios through the calculator above, alongside your projected write-off date, is a better guide than a blanket rule.

Common Mistakes People Make

• Assuming the deduction is 9% of your whole salary — it’s only 9% of the amount above your threshold.
• Using last year’s threshold — thresholds change most Aprils, so a figure that was correct last year may already be wrong.
• Forgetting bonus months — a one-off bonus can push a single month’s pay above the threshold even if your average salary sits below it, triggering a repayment that month.
• Not checking for a refund — if your annual income ends up below the yearly threshold despite one high-earning month, you may be able to claim that repayment back at year-end.

Frequently Asked Questions