Plan thresholds to 2025/26
UK Student Loan Repayment Calculator
See when your student loan clears or gets written off, how much you'll repay in total, and whether overpaying actually saves you anything.
- Your balance
- With £0/month overpayment
The balance is written off in Apr 2049 with £112,452 still outstanding. Total repaid over the loan's life: £34,361.
| Year | Balance | Balance with overpayment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | £45,000 | £45,000 |
| 1 | £46,629 | £46,629 |
| 2 | £48,321 | £48,321 |
| 3 | £50,084 | £50,084 |
| 4 | £51,924 | £51,924 |
| 5 | £53,847 | £53,847 |
| 6 | £55,863 | £55,863 |
| 7 | £57,979 | £57,979 |
| 8 | £60,207 | £60,207 |
| 9 | £62,556 | £62,556 |
| 10 | £65,039 | £65,039 |
| 11 | £67,668 | £67,668 |
| 12 | £70,459 | £70,459 |
| 13 | £73,428 | £73,428 |
| 14 | £76,592 | £76,592 |
| 15 | £79,973 | £79,973 |
| 16 | £83,588 | £83,588 |
| 17 | £87,363 | £87,363 |
| 18 | £91,305 | £91,305 |
| 19 | £95,426 | £95,426 |
| 20 | £99,735 | £99,735 |
| 21 | £104,243 | £104,243 |
| 22 | £108,961 | £108,961 |
| 23 | £112,452 | £112,452 |
Information
UK student loans are income-contingent: you repay a percentage of what you earn above a threshold, not a fixed amount tied to the balance. This calculator projects your balance year by year to the day it clears or is written off, so you can see which of those two outcomes you're heading for and what the loan costs you in total along the way.
How repayments work. You repay 9% of everything you earn above your plan's annual threshold (6% on a postgraduate Plan 3 loan), taken automatically through PAYE. The current thresholds are £26,065 (Plan 1), £27,295 (Plan 2), £21,000 (postgraduate), £32,745 (Plan 4) and £25,000 (Plan 5). Earn below the threshold and you repay nothing that month, no matter how large the balance.
How interest works. Interest accrues daily on the whole balance. For English plans it's linked to RPI: Plan 2 charges RPI while studying and tapers from RPI to RPI plus 3% across income once you're repaying, capped at a prevailing market rate; Plan 5 charges plain RPI. Scotland and Northern Ireland charge the lower of base rate plus 1% or RPI. Wales uses an income-tapered RPI rate. Because interest is charged on the full balance while repayments are only a slice of income above the threshold, the balance can grow for years even as you pay.
Write-off, and whether overpaying is worth it. Any remaining balance is written off 25 years (Plan 1), 30 years (Plan 2, Plan 4, postgraduate) or 40 years (Plan 5) after repayments first became due. For many mid-income borrowers the loan is written off before it clears, which means voluntary overpayments save nothing: you'd be reducing a balance that was going to be cancelled anyway. Enter a monthly overpayment above and the calculator gives you a straight red or green verdict. If you're heading for write-off, that money almost always does more in an ISA, a pension, or paying down higher-interest debt. Open the full planner to weigh the overpayment against the rest of your finances over your whole life.
What's simplified. The projection assumes a single salary growing at a flat rate and holds RPI and the base rate constant across the whole term. It models one plan at a time and the PAYE repayment on your salary only (it doesn't add unearned income pulled in through Self Assessment). Real income paths, rate changes year by year, and multiple concurrent plans are out of scope here. The full planner models all of them.
FAQ
- Will I ever actually pay off my student loan?
For a lot of mid-income graduates, no, and that's not a failure, it's how the system is designed. Repayments are a fixed percentage of what you earn above the threshold, while interest accrues on the whole balance. If interest outruns repayments, the balance grows until it's written off (25, 30, or 40 years after repayments were first due, depending on your plan) and the rest is cancelled. This calculator tells you which case you're in: look at the "Written off" figure.
- Should I overpay my student loan to clear it faster?
Only if you'd otherwise clear it before the write-off date. If your loan is heading for write-off anyway, every extra pound you pay just reduces a balance that was going to be cancelled, so you save nothing. Enter a monthly overpayment above and the calculator shows a red verdict ("you'd save nothing") or a green one ("saves money and clears it earlier"). When in doubt, that money usually does more in an ISA, a pension, or paying down higher-interest debt.
- How much will I repay each month?
9% of everything you earn above your plan's threshold (6% for a postgraduate Plan 3 loan), taken automatically through your pay. On a £35,000 salary with a £27,295 Plan 2 threshold that's about £58 a month. Earn below the threshold and you repay nothing that month, regardless of how much you owe.
- When does my loan get written off?
It depends on your plan: Plan 1 after 25 years, Plan 2, Plan 4 and postgraduate after 30 years, and Plan 5 after 40 years, counted from the April after you finished your course, when repayments first became due. The "Write-off date" figure shows the exact month for your inputs.
- Why does the region matter if my plan is the same?
Your plan sets the threshold, the percentage, and the write-off term, and those are UK-wide. The region sets the interest formula: England's plans are RPI-linked with a market-rate cap, Scotland and Northern Ireland charge the lower of base rate plus 1% or RPI, and Wales uses an income-tapered RPI rate. Pick where you took the loan out so the interest matches.
- Is this calculator up to date with current rates?
It uses the published per-plan thresholds and the statutory interest rules from our legislative data, and pre-fills the latest RPI and Bank of England base rate (shown, and editable, under Advanced). RPI and the base rate are held flat across the whole projection, a simplification, so treat the long-run figures as an indication.
Sources
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay (GOV.UK)
- Interest rates on student loans (GOV.UK)
Disclaimer
Not financial advice. The figures above are a projection from the inputs and assumptions you provided; your real repayments depend on your actual income each year, future changes to RPI and the base rate, any unearned income, and the precise rules for your plan and region. Check your statement at the Student Loans Company and consult a qualified adviser before making a decision based on these numbers.
