Calculate Plan 4 (Scottish) student loan repayments at 9% above the £33,795 threshold for 2026/27. See monthly and annual deductions.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against UK lender and FCA 2026 guidance
Rates verified: 28 September 2026
Monthly Repayment (Plan 4 Scotland)
£9.04
£108.45/year · 9% above £33,795
At this salary the balance is written off after 30 years before it is cleared
Plan 4 (Scotland): 9% of income above £33,795. Interest is the lower of RPI or the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, currently 4.1%. Written off 30 years after first repayment due. If you also have a Plan 1 or Plan 2 loan, you repay 9% of income over the lowest of your plan thresholds, not 9% for each; a Postgraduate Loan is repaid separately at 6% over £21,000.
Disclaimer
This calculator is for guidance only. It is not financial or tax advice: check anything you rely on against the official source or a qualified adviser. Rates and figures come from SAAS, the Student Loans Company and GOV.UK and are reviewed for the 2026/27 tax year. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to our servers.
How It Works
Plan 4 applies to Scottish-domiciled students who took out loans from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). It was introduced in April 2021, when SAAS borrowers previously on Plan 1 were moved across to the higher Plan 4 threshold. Your plan is fixed by who lent you the money and when. Moving home from England or Wales to Scotland does not switch you to Plan 4, and the rule works in both directions, so Plan 4 follows you for life if you later move south. The repayment threshold for 2026/27 is £33,795, the highest of all UK plan types.
You repay 9% of everything you earn above £33,795. The interest rate on Plan 4 is the lower of RPI or the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, which puts it at 4.1% from 1 September 2026, below the capped 6% a high-earning Plan 2 borrower pays. Plan 4 loans taken from 1 August 2007 are written off 30 years after the April you were first eligible to repay; older loans clear at 65 or after 30 years, whichever comes first.
Enter your salary to see monthly and annual repayments. If you are on Plan 4 plus a Postgraduate Loan, both are deducted separately. On a £40,000 salary, income above the threshold is £40,000 − £33,795 = £6,205, so the annual repayment is £6,205 × 9% = £558.45 and the monthly deduction £46.54. The same salary on Plan 2 would produce £955.35 a year, or £79.61 a month.
The gap between plans is wider than most graduates realise. Plan 1, covering English borrowers before 2012, starts at £26,900. Plan 2, covering 2012-2023, starts at £29,385. Plan 5, from September 2023, starts at £25,000 and runs to a 40-year write-off. Plan 4 sits above all of them at £33,795 and carries the RPI interest cap as well, which is why a Plan 4 graduate earning over £33,795 repays £396.90 a year less than a Plan 2 graduate on the same salary (9% of the £4,410 gap between the thresholds), and somewhat less than that between the two thresholds.
The eligibility test is residence rather than nationality, so you must have been ordinarily resident in Scotland when the course started. Because Scottish-domiciled students pay £0 tuition in Scotland against £9,790 in England in 2026/27, most carry only maintenance loans rather than tuition loans, which is why the average Scottish graduate leaves with £15-£20k of debt against £45-£50k for an English graduate. Smaller balances and a higher threshold together explain why 73%+ of Plan 4 graduates never fully repay before write-off.
Deductions run automatically through PAYE once your income passes the threshold, and your payslip should show a Student Loan line taking 9% of pay above £33,795 a year, which works out at £2,816 a month or £649 a week. With more than one job, the deduction applies to each job that exceeds the threshold independently. If you are self-employed it comes through Self Assessment instead. Voluntary overpayments rarely pay off, given how few borrowers reach the end of the balance.
Example: £40,000 salary, Plan 4
- Income above threshold: £40,000 − £33,795 = £6,205
- Annual repayment: £6,205 × 9% = £558.45
- Monthly deduction: £46.54
- Compare to Plan 2 at same salary (threshold £29,385): £955.35/year (£79.61/month)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Am I on Plan 4 if I moved to Scotland after taking out my loan?
- No. Plan 4 covers Scottish-domiciled borrowers who took their loans from SAAS, and the plan is fixed by who lent the money and when you borrowed it. Moving from England or Wales to Scotland afterwards does not move you onto Plan 4. The rule works both ways, so a Plan 4 borrower who moves to England keeps the £33,795 threshold and the 9% rate for life.
- How much less do Plan 4 graduates repay than Plan 2?
- £396.90 a year on any salary above £33,795, because the Plan 4 threshold sits £4,410 above Plan 2's, and less between the two thresholds. On £40,000 a Plan 4 borrower repays 9% of the £6,205 above the threshold, which is £558.45 a year or £46.54 a month. The same salary on Plan 2, with its £29,385 threshold, produces £955.35 a year or £79.61 a month. Plan 4 also caps interest at the lower of RPI or the base rate plus 1%.
- When is a Plan 4 student loan written off?
- For loans paid on or after 1 August 2007, 30 years after the April you were first due to repay. Older Plan 4 loans are written off at 65 or after 30 years, whichever comes first. Because the £33,795 threshold is high and Scottish graduate balances are comparatively small, at £15-£20k against £45-£50k in England, 73%+ of Plan 4 borrowers never clear the balance before that date. Voluntary overpayments therefore rarely make sense unless you are confident of repaying in full.
- How does Plan 4 appear on my payslip?
- As a Student Loan deduction taking 9% of pay above the threshold, which is £33,795 a year, £2,816 a month or £649 a week. Employers apply it automatically through PAYE once your earnings pass that point. If you have two jobs, each one is assessed separately against the threshold, so a second job below it attracts nothing. Self-employed income is collected through Self Assessment instead.