2025–26 Thresholds · Plans 1, 2, 4 & 5
Student Loan
Repayment Calculator
Enter your salary and loan details. See monthly repayments, projected payoff date, write-off year, and total paid.
Enter your salary and loan details. See monthly repayments, projected payoff date, write-off year, and total paid.
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Student loan repayments in the UK are not like a conventional loan. You only repay when you earn above a plan-specific threshold, the repayment rate is fixed at 9% of income above that threshold (6% for postgraduate loans), and any remaining balance is written off after a set number of years. The write-off period ranges from 25 years (Plan 1) to 40 years (Plan 5).
Plan 2 covers students who started undergraduate study in England or Wales between 2012 and 2022. You repay 9% of income above £27,295 per year. Interest accrues at RPI + up to 3% depending on your income — you pay RPI only if you earn below £27,295, rising to RPI + 3% at £49,130 and above. The loan is written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
A key fact about Plan 2: according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, only around 25% of Plan 2 borrowers are projected to repay their loan in full. The majority will make partial repayments and have the remainder written off. This means the effective cost of a degree is much lower than the headline balance — but also means paying down extra is rarely worthwhile.
Plan 5 applies to English students starting undergraduate study from September 2023. The repayment threshold is lower (£25,000 in 2025–26) and the write-off period is 40 years — meaning graduates on Plan 5 are likely to repay more in total. The interest rate is RPI + up to 3% (same sliding scale as Plan 2).
Plan 1 covers students who started before 2012 in England/Wales, and Northern Irish students. The threshold is £24,990 (2025–26) and the interest rate is capped at RPI or Bank of England base rate + 1%, whichever is lower. Plan 4 applies to Scottish students and has the highest repayment threshold (£31,395), with the same low interest cap as Plan 1.
Postgraduate Master's and Doctoral loans are repaid at 6% of income above £21,000, independently of any undergraduate loan. If you have both Plan 2 and a postgraduate loan, you repay both concurrently at a combined 15% on income above each threshold — though the postgraduate threshold (£21,000) applies first.
For most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, voluntary overpayments are not financially rational. Because the loan is likely to be written off before full repayment, any extra payments simply reduce the written-off amount rather than saving you money. The exception: high earners on Plan 1 or Plan 4 who are genuinely on track to repay in full within the write-off window may save interest by overpaying. Always model your own trajectory first.