What are the student loan thresholds for 2026/27?
If you are employed, repayments come out of your pay through PAYE, just like tax. Your employer takes a fixed share of whatever you earn above the threshold for your plan:
| Plan | A year | A month | Rate | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £2,241.66 | 9% | £26,065 |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £2,448.75 | 9% | £28,470 |
| Plan 4 | £33,795 | £2,816.25 | 9% | £32,745 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £2,083.33 | 9% | £25,000 |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | £1,750.00 | 6% | £21,000 |
The thresholds change each April. For 2026/27, Plans 1, 2 and 4 went up; Plan 5 and the Postgraduate Loan did not.
Which plan are you on?
- Plan 1: you borrowed from Student Finance England or Wales and started before 1 September 2012.
- Plan 2: you borrowed from Student Finance England or Wales and started on or after 1 September 2012 (in England, before 1 August 2023).
- Plan 4: you borrowed from the Student Awards Agency Scotland.
- Plan 5: you borrowed from Student Finance England for a course starting on or after 1 August 2023.
- Postgraduate Loan: a master’s or doctoral loan from England or Wales.
Not sure? Your payslip may show the plan, and GOV.UK’s “Repaying your student loan” pages list every case, including Northern Ireland.
How much do I repay on £35,000?
Plan 2 on £35,000. The pay above £29,385 is £5,615. 9% of that is £505.35 a year, about £42.11 a month. On the same pay in 2025/26, with the lower threshold, it was £587.70, so you keep £82.35 more this year.
Plan 5 on £40,000. 9% of £15,000 is £1,350.00 a year. Plan 5 has the lowest undergraduate threshold, so new graduates start repaying sooner.
Plan 2 and a Postgraduate Loan on £40,000. 9% over £29,385 is £955.35, and 6% over £21,000 is £1,140.00. Together £2,095.35 a year.
Plan 4 in Scotland on £42,000. Plan 4 has the highest threshold, so 9% applies only to the £8,205 above £33,795: £738.45 a year, about £61.54 a month.
What if I have two undergraduate plans?
Some people have both a Plan 1 and a Plan 2 loan, for example after a second degree. You do not pay 9% twice. You pay one 9% repayment on pay above the lower threshold, and it is shared between the loans. On £32,000 with Plan 1 and Plan 2, that is 9% of £5,100: £459.00 a year.
How does payroll work out my repayment?
Each payday is worked out on its own, not over the year. For monthly pay your employer uses the monthly threshold (for Plan 1, £2,241.66), takes 9% of anything above it, and rounds the result down to the whole pound. GOV.UK’s own example: on £3,200 a month with Plan 1 and Plan 2, the repayment is 9% of the pay over the Plan 1 threshold, which comes to £86.
Because each month stands alone, a month with overtime or a bonus can trigger a repayment even if your pay for the whole year stays under the threshold. If that happens, the Student Loans Company can refund it after the year ends.
Repayments use the same pay as National Insurance. So salary sacrifice lowers them, but pension contributions through net pay or relief at source do not.
If you start a new job, give your employer your P45 or answer the starter questions about student loans. Without that, payroll may not take repayments, and you can end up owing more later.
What does a repayment do to my take-home pay?
For a basic-rate taxpayer above their threshold, each extra pound of pay loses 20p in tax, 8p in NI and 9p to the loan: 37p in total. The calculator shows your marginal rate with your plans ticked, and every salary page has a table for each plan.