Estimate repayments, interest, and write-off risk using separate tax-year thresholds and
academic-year interest rules.
Estimated repayment
£42 / month
£505 per year · based on £35,000 salary under Plan 2
Likely to be partly written off
Total repaid
£48,450
Yearly repayment
£505
Interest added
£43,604
Written off
£20,154
Loan balance over time
Yearly projection breakdown
Year
Salary
Repaid
Interest
Closing balance
Year 1
£35,000
£505
£988
£25,482
Year 2
£35,700
£568
£1,029
£25,943
Year 3
£36,414
£633
£1,071
£26,382
Year 4
£37,142
£698
£1,113
£26,797
Year 5
£37,885
£765
£1,156
£27,188
Year 6
£38,643
£833
£1,199
£27,553
Year 7
£39,416
£903
£1,241
£27,892
Year 8
£40,204
£974
£1,284
£28,203
Year 9
£41,008
£1,046
£1,327
£28,484
Year 10
£41,828
£1,120
£1,369
£28,733
Year 11
£42,665
£1,195
£1,411
£28,949
Year 12
£43,518
£1,272
£1,453
£29,130
Year 13
£44,388
£1,350
£1,493
£29,273
Year 14
£45,276
£1,430
£1,533
£29,376
Year 15
£46,182
£1,512
£1,571
£29,436
Year 16
£47,105
£1,595
£1,608
£29,449
Year 17
£48,047
£1,680
£1,643
£29,412
Year 18
£49,008
£1,766
£1,676
£29,322
Year 19
£49,989
£1,854
£1,706
£29,173
Year 20
£50,988
£1,944
£1,732
£28,961
Year 21
£52,008
£2,036
£1,755
£28,681
Year 22
£53,048
£2,130
£1,768
£28,319
Year 23
£54,109
£2,225
£1,742
£27,836
Year 24
£55,191
£2,323
£1,709
£27,222
Year 25
£56,295
£2,422
£1,667
£26,467
Year 26
£57,421
£2,523
£1,615
£25,559
Year 27
£58,570
£2,627
£1,555
£24,487
Year 28
£59,741
£2,732
£1,483
£23,238
Year 29
£60,936
£2,840
£1,400
£21,798
Year 30
£62,155
£2,949
£1,305
£0
What this means for you
On a salary of £35,000, your estimated student loan repayment is £42 per month under Plan 2. Based on your current balance and salary growth assumptions, you are estimated to repay £48,450 in total over 30 years (write-off horizon).
At these assumptions, part of the balance is likely to be written off before full repayment. The current estimate is £20,154 written off.
Current repayment uses 2026/27 tax-year thresholds. Interest in the long-term projection uses 2025/26 academic-year interest rules.
How student loan repayments work in the UK
Student loan deductions are based on your earnings above a plan threshold, not your total salary.
Repayments are usually collected through payroll, and the percentage rate depends on your loan
plan.
Tax year thresholds vs academic year interest
Repayment thresholds normally change each tax year from April, while student loan interest rates are
usually set for an academic-year period running from 1 September to 31 August. This calculator
separates those two rule sets so you can see which one affects current deductions and which one
affects projected interest.
Plan 1 vs Plan 2 vs Plan 4 vs Plan 5
The plans differ by repayment threshold, write-off term, and interest method. This calculator lets
you compare outcomes under each undergraduate plan using the same salary and balance assumptions.
How postgraduate loan repayments work
Postgraduate repayments are separate from undergraduate repayments. If you have both, deductions
stack together, so total monthly repayments are higher than either loan alone.
This calculator models one undergraduate plan plus an optional postgraduate loan. If you hold more
than one undergraduate plan, official repayment caps and split rules apply — these are more complex
and not yet fully covered here.
How interest is added
Interest is modelled monthly for projection purposes. Plan 2 uses an income-linked rate, while
other plans use flat rates in this ruleset. The model is data-driven by academic year.
What the 2026/27 6% cap means
For 2026/27, this calculator applies the announced 6% interest cap to Plan 2 and Postgraduate
interest. This is handled as a year-specific cap, not a permanent flat rate for future years.
When student loans are written off
Any remaining balance is cancelled at the write-off point. The default write-off term in this
calculator is 25 years (Plan 1), 30 years (Plan 2), 30 years (Plan 4), 40 years (Plan 5), and
30 years (Postgraduate).
What this calculator assumes
Projections use the selected tax-year repayment thresholds and academic-year interest rates. Salary
growth is applied once per year at the rate you enter, and interest is compounded monthly on the
outstanding balance.
The calculator does not account for periods of non-employment, overseas income rules, voluntary
overpayments, or changes to government policy after the selected year. If you hold multiple
undergraduate plans, the official split and cap rules are not yet modelled — results assume a single
undergraduate plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
It provides an estimate using the selected tax-year repayment thresholds and academic-year
interest rules. Real outcomes can differ if your income pattern, loan terms, or government
policy changes.
Repayment thresholds normally update in April, while interest rates are usually set from
September to August. Splitting these helps show which rules control your current deduction and
which rules control projected interest.
Yes. Salary growth is applied once per projection year using the rate you enter.
Not yet. This calculator currently supports one undergraduate plan plus an optional
postgraduate loan. If you hold multiple undergraduate plans, your real repayment can be split
between loans using lowest-threshold and cap rules that are not yet fully modelled here.
No. Totals for repaid amount, interest, and write-off are estimates based on assumptions and
current rules.
More UK Financial Calculators
See how student loan repayments fit alongside your other finances with the calculators below.