Will you pay off your loan or have it written off? Enter your plan, balance, and salary to see your monthly repayment, total cost, and when it ends.
| Plan | Who | Threshold | Rate | Write-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | England/Wales pre-Sept 2012 · NI | £24,990 | 9% | 25 yrs / age 65 |
| Plan 2 | England/Wales Sept 2012 – July 2023 | £27,295 | 9% | 30 years |
| Plan 3 | Postgraduate loan (Master's / Doctoral) | £21,000 | 6% | 30 years |
| Plan 4 | Scotland | £31,395 | 9% | 30 yrs / age 65 |
| Plan 5 | England, started Aug 2023 onwards | £25,000 | 9% | 40 years |
Student loans in the UK are income-contingent — you only repay when you earn above a certain threshold, and repayments are automatically deducted via PAYE (or Self Assessment if self-employed). The key point most borrowers miss: the loan is not like a commercial debt. Missing repayments doesn't damage your credit file, and the balance is written off after a set number of years regardless of how much remains.
You repay 9% of earnings above the threshold (6% for Postgraduate loans). If you earn £35,000 on Plan 2, you repay 9% of (£35,000 − £27,295) = 9% × £7,705 = £693 per year, or about £58 per month. Your monthly repayment never changes based on your balance — only on your salary. The balance and interest rate affect whether the loan is cleared before write-off, not the monthly amount.
For most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, voluntary overpayments are poor value. If your loan is likely to be written off before you clear it — which is the case for the majority of Plan 2 borrowers — you would simply be paying more than you would ever have been required to. The write-off date is fixed; paying extra doesn't shorten it.
The exception: if your salary trajectory means you are certain to clear the balance before the write-off date anyway, overpaying saves interest. Use this calculator's verdict to check which scenario applies to you. Green means you'll pay it off — consider whether overpaying makes sense. Gold means it'll be written off — voluntary payments are almost certainly wasteful.
Interest is applied to your balance daily but doesn't affect your monthly repayment — it only affects whether the loan grows or shrinks over time. On Plan 2, interest is RPI + up to 3% (the extra 3% phases in as income rises above £28,470). Because the interest rate can exceed the repayment rate for lower earners, some borrowers see their balance grow despite making repayments — this is normal and not a problem for those whose loans will be written off.