🎓 Repayments are 9% of income above your threshold (6% for Postgraduate Loans). If you have both, the two rates apply together above their own separate thresholds.
Student Loan Thresholds 2026/27
Plan
Threshold
Rate
Plan 1
£26,900/year
9%
Plan 2
£29,385/year
9%
Plan 4 (Scotland)
£33,795/year
9%
Plan 5
£25,000/year
9%
Postgraduate Loan
£21,000/year
6%
2026/27 is the first year Plan 5 repayments have ever applied — it covers students in England and Wales who started their course from August 2023 onwards. The Plan 2 threshold rose to £29,385 this year, but the November 2025 Budget confirmed it will then be frozen at that level from April 2027 until April 2030.
Worked Example
On a £35,000 salary with a Plan 2 loan: £35,000 − £29,385 = £5,615 over the threshold. Repayment = £5,615 × 9% = £505.35/year, or about £42.11/month.
Which Plan Am I On?
Plan 1 applies to students who started before September 2012 in England and Wales, or to Scottish and Northern Irish students under the equivalent system. Plan 2 covers English and Welsh students who started between September 2012 and July 2023. Plan 4 is for Scottish students funded through SAAS. Plan 5 replaced Plan 2 for new English and Welsh students starting from August 2023 onwards.
Holding More Than One Loan
If you have two undergraduate-type loans (rare, following a plan change), only the lower threshold applies with a single 9% rate. If you have an undergraduate loan plus a Postgraduate Loan, both rates apply simultaneously against their own separate thresholds — up to 15% combined on income above both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 (Scotland) £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, and Postgraduate Loan £21,000. You only repay on income above your plan's threshold.
Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 take 9% of income above the threshold. Postgraduate Loans take 6% above their own £21,000 threshold. Below the threshold, you repay nothing.
It depends on where and when you studied — Plan 1 (pre-2012, or Scotland/NI), Plan 2 (England/Wales, 2012–2023), Plan 4 (Scotland, SAAS), or Plan 5 (England/Wales, since August 2023).
An undergraduate loan and a Postgraduate Loan are repaid together — 9% above your undergraduate threshold plus 6% above the £21,000 postgraduate threshold, up to 15% combined.
Yes, after a set number of years (typically 25–40 depending on your plan), regardless of the remaining balance. Because repayments are income-based, many borrowers never fully repay before write-off.