Key facts at a glance
£45K salary, Plan 2
£133/mo
£1,593/year, 9% above £27,295
£45K salary, Plan 5
£150/mo
£1,800/year, lower £25,000 threshold
Plan 2 + Postgrad combined
£253/mo
Both loans repay simultaneously
Here is the answer before the mechanics: on a £45,000 salary, a Plan 2 borrower repays £133 a month, a Plan 5 borrower repays £150 a month, and a Plan 1 borrower repays £150 a month. All three use the same 9% rate; the difference comes entirely from where each plan's repayment threshold sits. If you also carry a Postgraduate Loan, that adds a further 6% above a separate £21,000 threshold, on top of whichever undergraduate plan applies to you.
Student loan repayments are not a tax and they are not means-tested the way benefits are, but they behave like a second layer of deduction stacked on top of Income Tax and National Insurance, with no tax relief attached. Because the plan you are on depends on when and where you studied rather than anything you can choose today, two graduates on identical £45,000 salaries can see genuinely different numbers land in their bank account, and neither one is wrong.
Select your plan (or plans) and see your exact take-home after tax, NI, and loan repayments.
Open the calculatorHow student loan repayments are actually calculated
Every UK undergraduate plan works the same way: you repay 9% of your income above a threshold, and nothing below it. The Postgraduate Loan uses a lower 6% rate above a £21,000 threshold. What changes between plans is only the threshold, which is set by when and where you started your course, not the rate.
Your employer deducts the repayment automatically through PAYE, calculated on your gross salary before pension contributions in most cases, and pays it to the Student Loans Company alongside your Income Tax and National Insurance. You do not need to tell your employer which plan you are on directly; HMRC sends a start notice that includes your plan type when you begin a new job, and it is applied via your tax code.
Crucially, repayments are calculated on gross income with no tax relief, unlike pension contributions. Compare this to how bonuses interact with your Personal Allowance in our bonus tax guide: the mechanics of PAYE annualisation apply to loan repayments the same way they do to a bonus month.
What each plan actually costs on a £45,000 salary
Same salary, five 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 | £1,801 | £150 | Started before Sept 2012 (England/Wales/NI) |
| Plan 2 | £27,295 | £1,593 | £133 | Sept 2012 to July 2023 (England/Wales) |
| Plan 4 | £31,395 | £1,224 | £102 | Scotland, applied after August 2021 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £1,800 | £150 | From August 2023 (England) |
| Postgrad | £21,000 | £1,440 | £120 | Masters or PhD loan |
All figures assume a £45,000 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
A graduate with an undergraduate Plan 2 loan and a Masters funded by a Postgraduate Loan repays both simultaneously. On a £45,000 salary: 9% above £27,295 (£1,593/year) plus 6% above £21,000 (£1,440/year), for a combined £3,033 a year, £253 a month. That is not a rare edge case: it is the standard outcome for anyone who did a Masters after an undergraduate degree in England or Wales since 2012, and it is roughly double what either loan costs alone.
Plan 2 alone
£133/mo
Plan 2 + Postgrad
£253/mo
Going self-employed or contracting? Your repayments change shape
Everything above assumes PAYE employment, where repayments are deducted monthly and automatically. If you move to self-employment or contract outside IR35 through your own limited company, none of that happens month to month. Instead, you declare your income via Self Assessment and repay any amount due as a single lump sum once a year, which can create a real cash-flow surprise in your first year of contracting if you have not budgeted for it.
If you are weighing contracting against a permanent role, build the annual student loan lump sum into your comparison alongside the other structural differences. Our inside vs outside IR35 guide covers the rest of that comparison in detail.
Run your own salary through the calculator
Select every plan that applies to you and see your exact combined repayment and true take-home pay.
Open the Student Loan CalculatorTax change alerts
UK tax rules change every April
IR35, dividend tax, National Insurance thresholds: each Spring Budget can shift what you actually take home. Get an alert the day new rates are confirmed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much student loan do I repay on a £45,000 salary in 2026/27?
It depends entirely on which plan you are on, because each plan has a different threshold. On Plan 2 (2012–2023 starters) you repay £1,593 a year, £133 a month. On Plan 5 (from August 2023) you repay £1,800 a year, £150 a month, because the threshold is lower at £25,000. On Plan 1 you repay £1,801 a year, £150 a month. On Plan 4 (Scotland) you repay £1,224 a year, £102 a month, because the threshold is highest at £31,395. All plans repay 9% of income above their threshold.
Why do Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers on the same salary repay different amounts?
Because the repayment threshold, not the rate, is what changes between plans. Every undergraduate plan repays 9% of income above its threshold, but Plan 5's threshold (£25,000) sits £2,295 lower than Plan 2's (£27,295). On a £45,000 salary that difference alone accounts for roughly £207 a year in extra repayment for Plan 5 borrowers, even though both plans use the identical 9% rate.
Can I have an undergraduate loan and a Postgraduate Loan repaying at the same time?
Yes, and this is the most common way people end up paying more than they expect. Repayments on each plan are calculated independently and then added together. A Plan 2 borrower with a Postgraduate Loan on top pays 9% above £27,295 plus 6% above £21,000, simultaneously. On a £45,000 salary that is £1,593 (Plan 2) plus £1,440 (Postgrad) — £3,033 a year, £253 a month combined, roughly double what either loan costs alone.
Does a student loan reduce my 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 £150/month student loan repayment costs you the full £150, whereas a £150/month pension contribution effectively costs a higher earner closer to £90–£100 after the tax relief is accounted for.
What is the Plan 5 threshold and why is it lower than Plan 2?
The Plan 5 threshold for 2026/27 is £25,000, compared to £27,295 for Plan 2. Plan 5 applies to English students who started their course from August 2023 onward, under reforms that extended the repayment term to 40 years (up from 30) and lowered the threshold, which means Plan 5 borrowers start repaying sooner and, for many, repay for longer, even though their monthly rate at any given salary is close to Plan 2's.
Do student loan repayments stop if my salary drops below the threshold?
Yes. Repayments are recalculated every pay period based on that period's income. If your salary drops below the threshold, whether from reduced hours, a career break, or a lower-paying role, repayments stop automatically via PAYE and resume the moment your income crosses the threshold again. Nothing needs to be requested; it is handled entirely through your tax code and payroll, the same as the deduction itself.
Why does my student loan repayment look different from what this calculator shows?
The most common reason is a workplace pension contribution taken before the loan calculation, an unusual bonus month that gets annualised by payroll software (the same effect that makes bonus tax look wrong for one month), or being on the wrong plan in HMRC's records, which does happen, particularly for people who studied in more than one part of the UK or who have both an undergraduate and Postgraduate Loan. If your payslip figure differs meaningfully from the numbers here, check your plan type first: it is the single biggest driver of the monthly figure.
Should I overpay my student loan to clear it faster?
For most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, no. The Student Loans Company's own projections show a majority of Plan 2 borrowers, and an even higher share of Plan 5 borrowers under the 40-year term, will have their remaining balance written off before they repay it in full. Voluntarily overpaying a loan that would otherwise be written off simply hands the government money you would never have owed. Plan 1 borrowers closer to their 25-year or age-65 write-off point are the group where the maths can occasionally favour overpayment, and only after checking your specific balance and projected write-off date with the Student Loans Company.
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