Key facts at a glance
£30K salary, Plan 2
£20/mo
£243/year, 9% above £27,295
£30K salary, Plan 5
£38/mo
£450/year, lower £25,000 threshold
£30K salary, Plan 4 (Scotland)
£0/mo
Below the £31,395 threshold entirely
Here is the answer before the mechanics: on a £30,000 salary, a Plan 2 borrower repays just £20 a month, a Plan 5 or Plan 1 borrower repays £38 a month, and a Plan 4 (Scotland) borrower repays nothing at all. All plans use the same 9% rate; the entry-level salary just happens to sit close enough to several plan thresholds that small differences in where the line falls produce dramatically different outcomes.
This is the salary band where your plan type matters most. At higher incomes the gap between plans narrows in percentage terms because more of the salary sits above every threshold; at £30,000, the thresholds themselves are doing almost all the work.
Select your plan (or plans) and see your exact take-home after tax, NI, and loan repayments.
Open the calculatorWhy £30,000 is where plan differences bite hardest
Every UK undergraduate plan repays 9% of income above a threshold, and nothing below it. At £30,000, that threshold determines almost the entire outcome: Plan 4's £31,395 threshold sits above the salary entirely, producing zero repayment, while Plan 5's £25,000 threshold leaves £5,000 exposed to the 9% rate. Plan 2 sits in between at £27,295, leaving only £2,705 exposed.
Higher up the salary scale this effect fades, because a much larger share of any six-figure salary sits above every plan's threshold, so the percentage difference between plans narrows. At entry-level graduate salaries, the threshold itself is often the whole story.
What each plan actually costs on a £30,000 salary
Same salary, five very different outcomes. Figures below are 2026/27 rates, calculated live from the same engine behind our Student Loan Calculator.
| Plan | Threshold | Annual repayment | Monthly | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £24,990 | £451 | £38 | Started before Sept 2012 (England/Wales/NI) |
| Plan 2 | £27,295 | £243 | £20 | Sept 2012 to July 2023 (England/Wales) |
| Plan 4 | £31,395 | £0 | £0 | Scotland, applied after August 2021 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £450 | £38 | From August 2023 (England) |
| Postgrad | £21,000 | £540 | £45 | Masters or PhD loan |
All figures assume a £30,000 gross salary, single plan selected, no pension contribution. Run your own salary and plan combination on the calculator.
Worked example: Plan 2 plus a Postgraduate Loan, at graduate-level pay
A graduate with an undergraduate Plan 2 loan and a Masters funded by a Postgraduate Loan repays both simultaneously. On a £30,000 salary: 9% above £27,295 (£243/year) plus 6% above £21,000 (£540/year), for a combined £783 a year, £65 a month. Notice the Postgraduate Loan alone costs more than the Plan 2 repayment at this salary level, because its lower £21,000 threshold exposes a much bigger share of a £30,000 income to the rate.
Plan 2 alone
£20/mo
Plan 2 + Postgrad
£65/mo
A small pay rise can flip your Plan 4 status entirely
A Plan 4 (Scotland) graduate on £30,000 pays nothing this year. A pay rise to £32,000 crosses the £31,395 threshold and triggers 9% on the amount above it, roughly £54 a year, £4.50 a month, a small but real change worth budgeting for once a raise takes you past the line. Because Plan 4's threshold is the highest of any plan, Scottish graduates are the group most likely to move in and out of repayment status early in their career.
For the same mechanics at a more established salary, see our student loan take-home guide at £45,000, which covers the full plan-by-plan breakdown once income is comfortably above every threshold.
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Frequently asked questions
How much student loan do I repay on a £30,000 salary in 2026/27?
It depends almost entirely on which plan you are on, more so than at higher salaries, because £30,000 sits close to several plan thresholds. On Plan 2 you repay just £243 a year, £20 a month. On Plan 5 you repay £450 a year, £38 a month, because its threshold is £2,295 lower. On Plan 1 you repay £451 a year, £38 a month. On Plan 4 (Scotland) you repay nothing at all, because £30,000 sits below its £31,395 threshold. All plans use the same 9% rate; only the threshold changes.
Why does a Plan 4 (Scotland) graduate on £30,000 pay nothing while a Plan 2 graduate pays £243?
Because £30,000 falls below the Plan 4 threshold of £31,395, so there is simply no income to apply the 9% rate to. Plan 2's threshold is £27,295, meaning £2,705 of the same £30,000 salary is above the threshold and gets charged at 9%, producing £243 a year. A £1,395 pay rise would be enough to bring a Plan 4 borrower into repayment, at which point they would start owing 9% of everything above £31,395.
Is £30,000 a realistic starting salary for a UK graduate in tech?
It sits toward the lower end for graduate software and data roles at established employers, where entry-level offers more commonly land between £28,000 and £38,000 depending on location and sector, with London roles typically higher. It is a realistic figure for graduate schemes outside London, early-career roles at smaller companies, or the first year in a junior support or QA-adjacent position before moving into a more specialised track.
Does a student loan repayment reduce take-home pay the same way pension contributions do?
No, and this catches people out. Pension contributions reduce your taxable income before Income Tax and National Insurance are calculated, so part of the cost is offset by tax relief. Student loan repayments do the opposite: they are deducted via PAYE on top of your normal tax and NI, calculated on your gross salary with no tax relief at all. A £38/month student loan repayment costs you the full £38, with nothing offset.
How close is £30,000 to triggering repayment on Plan 2 versus Plan 5?
Not very close on either. Plan 2's threshold is £27,295, so a £30,000 salary is already £2,705 into repayment territory. Plan 5's threshold is £25,000, so the same salary is £5,000 into repayment, which is why Plan 5 and Plan 1 borrowers on £30,000 repay roughly double what a Plan 2 borrower does, even though the rate is identical. A graduate on Plan 2 earning below £27,295 would repay nothing at all.
What happens if I have a Postgraduate Loan on top of an undergraduate plan at £30,000?
Both loans repay simultaneously, calculated independently and added together. A Plan 2 borrower with a Postgraduate Loan on a £30,000 salary repays £243 (Plan 2) plus £540 (Postgrad), for a combined £783 a year, £65 a month. The Postgraduate Loan's lower £21,000 threshold means it actually costs more than the Plan 2 repayment at this salary level, since a larger portion of income sits above its threshold.