Plan 1 £26,900 · Plan 2 £29,385 · Plan 4 £33,795 · Plan 5 £25,000 · Postgraduate £21,000
ESTIMATE
Illustrative estimates for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027) as of 3 November 2026 — not financial advice. Thresholds from GOV.UK; interest rates for 1 September 2026 – 31 August 2027 from the Student Loans Company. Your payslip may differ by a pound or two because payroll rounds each pay period.
For the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) the student loan repayment thresholds are £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4, £25,000 for Plan 5 and £21,000 for the Postgraduate Loan. You repay 9% of income above the threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), and nothing at all if you earn less.
Repayment thresholds 2026/27
Plan
Per year
Per month
Per week
Rate above threshold
Plan 1
£26,900
£2,241
£517
9%
Plan 2
£29,385
£2,448
£565
9%
Plan 4
£33,795
£2,816
£649
9%
Plan 5
£25,000
£2,083
£480
9%
Postgraduate Loan
£21,000
£1,750
£403
6%
Source: GOV.UK, “Repaying your student loan – what you pay”, read 3 November 2026.
Annual thresholds for 6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027 (GOV.UK).
What the student loan threshold actually means
The threshold is the amount of income you can earn before any student loan repayment is taken. It is not a tax-free allowance in the usual sense, and it has nothing to do with how much you borrowed. If you earn £1 over the threshold, you repay 9p; if you earn £10,000 over it, you repay £900 a year. Two graduates on the same salary and plan pay exactly the same each month, even if one owes £20,000 and the other £70,000.
Employers apply the threshold per pay period, not per year. That is why GOV.UK publishes monthly and weekly figures: someone paid monthly on Plan 2 has nothing deducted in any month where pay is £2,448 or less, and 9% of the excess in any month where it is more. A month with overtime or a bonus can therefore trigger a deduction even if your annual salary is under the yearly threshold — something you can reclaim later (see how to get a student loan refund).
How the thresholds changed from 2025/26
Three thresholds went up on 6 April 2026 and two stayed put. Plan 1 and Plan 4 are linked to RPI each year, Plan 2 received its second rise after a three-year freeze, while Plan 5 and the Postgraduate Loan stayed at their original levels.
Plan
2025/26
2026/27
Change
2027/28
Plan 1
£26,065
£26,900
+£835
£28,005 (confirmed)
Plan 2
£28,470
£29,385
+£915
£29,385 (frozen to April 2030)
Plan 4
£32,745
£33,795
+£1,050
not yet published
Plan 5
£25,000
£25,000
frozen
not yet published
Postgraduate Loan
£21,000
£21,000
frozen
£21,000 (unchanged since 2016)
A higher threshold means a slightly smaller deduction for the same pay. Plan 2’s rise from £28,470 to £29,385 is worth £82 a year (about £7 a month) to anyone earning above both figures. Plan 1’s rise of £835 is worth £75 a year.
See your full payslip
Add your student loan plan to the UK take-home pay calculator to see income tax, National Insurance, pension and loan repayments together for 2026/27.
Plan 1 rises to £28,005 from 6 April 2027, confirmed in the Student Loans Company announcement of 10 August 2026.
Plan 2 is frozen at £29,385 for the 2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30 tax years, following the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025. It is due to rise with inflation again from April 2030. A freeze while wages grow means more of a typical graduate’s salary becomes repayable each year.
Plan 5 stays at £25,000 until April 2027 under the 2022 reforms, after which the rules provide for annual RPI uprating. No 2027/28 figure had been published by 3 November 2026.
Plan 4 (Scotland) is normally uprated each April; the 2027/28 figure has not yet been announced.
Postgraduate Loan: £21,000 has not changed since the loan was introduced in 2016.
We found no change to student loan thresholds or interest in the Budget of 28 October 2026. If anything is announced later, this page and every salary article will be updated.
Thresholds in practice: £35,000 salary
The same salary produces five different deductions because of the thresholds alone. On £35,000, Plan 5 takes the most among undergraduate plans and Plan 4 the least:
If you complete a Self Assessment tax return, the same annual threshold applies to your total income, including self-employed profits. Unearned income such as savings interest, dividends or rent is included only if it is over £2,000 — and then all of it counts, not just the excess. See student loan repayments if you are self-employed.
FAQ
What is the Plan 2 threshold for 2026/27?
The Plan 2 repayment threshold is £29,385 a year (£2,448 a month, £565 a week) from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. It is frozen at that level for the following three tax years.
What is the Plan 5 student loan threshold?
Plan 5 has a threshold of £25,000 a year (£2,083 a month, £480 a week) in 2026/27. Plan 5 applies to students who started an undergraduate course in England from 1 August 2023.
What is the Plan 1 threshold in 2026/27 and 2027/28?
Plan 1 is £26,900 a year in 2026/27 and rises to £28,005 from 6 April 2027.
Is the student loan threshold based on gross or net pay?
Gross pay — income before income tax and National Insurance. Pension contributions made through salary sacrifice reduce the pay used, but most other pension arrangements do not.
What is the Postgraduate Loan threshold?
The Postgraduate Loan threshold is £21,000 a year (£1,750 a month, £403 a week), and repayments are 6% of income above it.
GOV.UK, Repaying your student loan – what you pay: 2026/27 thresholds Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, Postgraduate Loan £21,000; 9% (6% for PGL) of income above the threshold; rules for more than one plan (read 3 November 2026).
Student Loans Company / Department for Education, Student loans interest rates and repayment threshold announcement, 10 August 2026: RPI 4.1%; Plan 1 4.1%; Plan 2 4.1%–7.1% capped at 6%; Plan 3 (Postgraduate) capped at 6%; Plan 5 4.1% (1 Sep 2026 – 31 Aug 2027); Plan 1 threshold £28,005 from 6 April 2027.
Department for Education press release, Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, 7 April 2026, and written ministerial statement of 13 April 2026: 6% cap for 2026/27; Plan 2 upper interest threshold £52,885 from 6 April 2026.
Autumn Budget 2025 (26 November 2025): Plan 2 repayment threshold frozen at £29,385 for 2027/28 to 2029/30 (reported by Which?, 5 December 2025).
Take-home pay: HMRC 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (personal allowance £12,570, 8%/2% employee NI), as used on our UK salary after tax pages.