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How this works

UK student loans aren’t repaid like normal loans. You pay a set share of what you earn above your plan’s threshold, taken through payroll, and anything left at the end of the term is written off.

The calculator works out your repayment from your salary and plan, adds interest each month at the plan’s yearly rate divided by 12, and raises your salary each year by the pay rise you enter. It runs until the loan is cleared or written off. For Plan 2, interest is charged between 4.1% and 6%, depending on your income.

What it assumes

  • Thresholds and interest rates stay at today’s levels for the whole term.
  • No career breaks, extra payments or self-employment.
  • Rates are those for 2026/27, with interest rates from 1 September 2026.

Worked example

Plan 2, £45,000 owed, earning £30,000

  1. The Plan 2 threshold is £29,385, so you repay 9% of the £615 above it: £55.35 a year, about £4.61 a month.
  2. With 3% pay rises each year, the loan isn’t cleared. You repay £49,114 over 30 years, and £130,044 is written off.
  3. On Plan 5, with a £25,000 threshold, the same salary means £37.50 a month. Over its 40-year term you’d repay £113,583, with £19,751 written off.

Worked out with the same maths as the calculator above.

What to do next

Common questions

Should I pay my student loan off early?

Only if you’re likely to clear it before it’s written off. If the calculator shows a large amount written off, extra payments may just reduce what gets cancelled. You can overpay with no penalty, but you can’t get extra repayments back.

Does the balance affect my monthly repayment?

No. Repayments depend only on what you earn above the threshold. The balance and interest only affect how long you pay and whether anything is written off.

Which plan am I on?

Roughly: Plan 1 if you started before September 2012 in England or Wales, or studied in Northern Ireland; Plan 2 for England from September 2012 to July 2023, or Wales from September 2012; Plan 4 for Scotland; Plan 5 for England from August 2023. Your payslip or Student Loans Company account will confirm it.

Will a student loan affect a mortgage application?

It isn’t counted like other debt, but lenders do look at the monthly repayment because it reduces your take-home pay.

Sources

Guides on this topic