You are on Plan 2 if you are an English or Welsh student who started an undergraduate course between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023. Use the calculator below, already set to Plan 2, to see what you repay each month and whether you will ever clear the balance before it is written off.
Loan Summary
Career Scenario
| Year | Loan Balance | Total Repaid |
|---|
What you repay on Plan 2
You repay 9% of everything you earn above £29,385 a year. Not 9% of your whole salary, only the slice above the threshold. Earn below it and you repay nothing at all, automatically. Repayments are taken straight from your payslip through PAYE, so there is nothing to set up.
| Annual salary | Income above threshold | Monthly repayment |
|---|---|---|
| £28,000 | £0 | £0.00 |
| £35,000 | £5,615 | £42.11 |
| £45,000 | £15,615 | £117.11 |
A worked example
On a salary of £35,000, you are £5,615 above the Plan 2 threshold of £29,385. 9% of £5,615 is £505.35 a year, which is £42.11 a month taken from your payslip. If you get a pay rise to £45,000, the monthly deduction rises to £117.11.
Interest on Plan 2
Plan 2 interest slides with income. At or below the repayment threshold you are charged RPI. It rises on a sliding scale to RPI plus 3% once you earn £52,885 or more. From 1 September 2026 the rate is capped at 6%.
Interest matters less than most people assume. Because repayments are fixed at 9% of income above the threshold, a higher interest rate does not change your monthly payment by a single penny. It only changes the balance, and for most borrowers that balance is written off before it is ever cleared. Model it with the full repayment calculator to see whether interest will actually cost you anything.
When Plan 2 is written off
Plan 2 loans are written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay. Most Plan 2 borrowers never clear the balance before then. At that point the remaining balance is wiped, with no tax charge and nothing to pay. Your loan is also written off if you die, or if you receive a disability-related benefit and are permanently unfit for work.
Other repayment plans
Not on Plan 2? The threshold and write-off period differ on every plan:
- Plan 1 student loan calculator — repayments start at £26,900
- Plan 5 student loan calculator — repayments start at £25,000
- Plan 4 student loan calculator — repayments start at £33,795
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I earn less than £29,385?
You repay nothing. Repayments stop automatically the moment your income drops below the threshold, and they restart when it rises again. You do not need to tell anyone, because it is handled through payroll.
Does my Plan 2 loan affect my credit score?
No. UK student loans do not appear on your credit file. They can affect a mortgage affordability assessment, because the lender sees the deduction on your payslip, but the balance itself is invisible to credit reference agencies.
Should I overpay my Plan 2 loan?
Usually not, and it is the most common expensive mistake. Overpaying only helps if you would otherwise clear the balance in full before the 30-year write-off. If the loan is going to be written off anyway, every extra pound you pay is a pound you never get back. Check your own position before you overpay anything.
What if I have more than one loan plan?
If you hold two undergraduate plans, 9% is deducted once, on income above the lowest of your thresholds. A Postgraduate Loan is different: its 6% is deducted on top of any undergraduate repayment, so you can pay both at once. Tick more than one plan in the calculator to see the combined figure.
Figures are the current published Plan 2 threshold and rules for the 2026/27 tax year. Thresholds are reviewed each April. This is an estimate, not financial advice.