Reviewed by Mustafa Bilgic
Founder, WebCalculator
Student loan thresholds and rates (9%, 6% for Postgraduate) and tax/NI are taken from HMRC and the Student Loans Company for 2026/27. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Your student loan comes straight off your payslip once you earn over the threshold. Enter your salary and loan plan to see your real take-home after Income Tax, National Insurance and the loan repayment.
After tax, NI & student loan
Student loan repayments aren't a tax — they're a fixed percentage of everything you earn above your plan's threshold, collected through PAYE alongside Income Tax and NI. Most plans take 9% of income over the threshold; the Postgraduate Loan takes 6%. Crucially, the deduction is based on your gross pay, not your taxable income, and it reduces your take-home pound for pound on top of tax and NI.
| Plan | 2026/27 threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,065 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £28,470 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £32,745 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% |
Student loans are written off after a set period — 25 years for Plan 1, 30 for Plan 2, and 40 years for Plan 5 — or earlier on reaching State Pension age, so many borrowers never repay in full. The repayment behaves like an extra marginal tax until then. See how a pay rise interacts with it on the student loan repayment calculator, or your overall pay on the salary calculator.
You repay 9% of everything you earn above your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), deducted from your pay through PAYE. On Plan 2, earning £35,000 means repaying 9% of the £6,530 above the £28,470 threshold — about £588 a year.
No. The student loan repayment is taken from your net pay, not from your taxable income, so it doesn't reduce your Income Tax or National Insurance. It simply lowers your take-home on top of tax and NI.
Yes. If you have both an undergraduate loan (Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5) and a Postgraduate Loan, the deductions stack — 9% plus 6% on income above each threshold — so you could lose 15% of pay above the thresholds to repayments.
Plan 1 is written off after 25 years, Plan 2 after 30 years, and Plan 5 after 40 years, or earlier when you reach State Pension age. Many borrowers never repay the full balance, so the repayment behaves like an extra marginal tax until write-off.