Calculate total amount you'll actually repay over the loan lifetime with salary growth projections.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against SLC, SAAS and GOV.UK 2026/27 figures
Rates verified: 28 September 2026
Total You'll Actually Pay
£25,885.86
Written off after 30 years
Original Debt
£50,000.00
Total Repaid
£25,885.86
Written Off
£116,486.38
Interest added over the term: £92,372.24. Rate in year 1: 4.10%.
£116,486.38 is written off, so you pay back only 52% of what you borrowed. Think of it as a graduate tax, not a traditional loan.
Assumptions: repayments start in 2026/27. Interest uses RPI of 4.1% for 2026/27 and your RPI assumption after that. Plan 2 interest runs from RPI at £29,385.00 to the 6% cap at £52,885.00; the cap is confirmed only to August 2027 and is assumed to continue. The Plan 2 threshold stays at £29,385.00 until April 2030 and then rises with RPI; Plan 1, 4 and 5 thresholds rise with RPI from April 2027. Figures are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.
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 Student Finance England, SAAS 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
Many graduates do not repay their student loan in full. Department for Education forecasts from July 2026 expect 55% of full-time undergraduates who started in 2025/26 to repay in full, which leaves 45% with a balance written off. Under Plan 5, which covers English students starting from August 2023, that happens after 40 years, and under Plan 2, for 2012 to 2022 starters, after 30 years. That makes the true cost entirely dependent on your earnings trajectory rather than on the headline balance.
Repayments are 9% of income above the threshold, which is £25,000 for Plan 5 and £29,385 for Plan 2 in 2026/27. Interest accrues at RPI only on Plan 5. On Plan 2 it is RPI (4.1% from 1 September 2026) on income up to £29,385, rising in step with income to a 6% cap at £52,885; the cap is confirmed only to August 2027 and the projection assumes it continues. Thresholds move too: Plan 5 rises with RPI from April 2027, while Plan 2 stays at £29,385 until April 2030 and rises with RPI after that. On median-salary careers the interest often runs ahead of the repayments in the early years, so the balance grows for a while before it is eventually written off. Enter your loan, your starting salary, a realistic rate of pay growth and an RPI assumption, and the projection returns total repayments across the term rather than the sticker figure.
For many graduates the loan behaves like a time-limited graduate tax rather than a conventional debt. High earners repay in full and pay substantial interest along the way, while those on lower or median earnings have part or all of the balance cancelled at the end of the term. On this calculator's default assumptions (pay rising 4% a year, RPI 3%), a Plan 5 borrower with £45,800 of debt, the DfE forecast average for 2025/26 starters, who starts on £30,000 repays about £86,900 over 40 years and still has about £20,400 written off. Starting on £40,000 clears the loan in 26 years for about £72,600, and starting on £60,000 clears it in 14 years for about £57,500, so the highest earners pay the least interest. A Plan 2 borrower owing £50,000 who starts on £35,000 repays about £61,100 before the 30-year write-off.
Interest starts from the day the money is drawn down, not from graduation. On Plan 5 that is RPI alone, 4.1% from 1 September 2026, during study and in work alike, so £50,000 drawn down over four years picks up roughly £4,000 to £5,000 of interest before the first payslip, because only about half the balance is outstanding on average. Plan 2 charged RPI plus 3% during study, now capped at 6%, which put £6,000 to £7,000 on the same balance. The compounding matters most to high earners, who will actually pay that interest, and least to low earners, whose interest is written off with the loan at 30 or 40 years.
Overpaying rarely pays. On Plan 2 most borrowers will never clear the balance before the 30-year write-off, so a voluntary payment is effectively a gift to the government. The exception is high earners above £75k, who are going to repay in full regardless and save interest by finishing sooner. Plan 5 is more likely to be repaid in full, given the 40-year term and RPI-only interest, and a Plan 5 borrower on £60k and above can save £5k to £15k of interest by clearing it early. For most people the same cash works harder in an ISA or a pension, at returns of 5 to 7% against RPI on the loan.
If your income never passes the threshold you make no repayments at all. The balance carries on accruing interest at RPI, which is also the Plan 2 rate for anyone earning £29,385 or less, and grows until it is written off at the end of the term. UK student loans do not appear on your credit file, so they do not affect your credit score, and most mortgage lenders disregard the balance itself. Repayments pause automatically when income drops during maternity leave, a career break or redundancy, and permanent disability can trigger a write-off. All of which is why the student loan belongs at the bottom of any list of debts, behind credit cards at 18 to 30% APR, store cards, payday loans and mortgage arrears, and behind car finance and personal loans too.
Example: Plan 5, £60,000 loan, starting salary £30,000, pay rising 4% a year, RPI 3%
- Year 1 repayment: (£30,000 − £25,000) × 9% = £450/year
- Year 1 interest at 4.1% RPI, added monthly: £2,498, so the balance rises to £62,048
- From April 2027 the £25,000 threshold rises with RPI at 3% while pay rises 4%, so repayments grow only slowly
- Over 40 years: £86,916 repaid against £94,882 of interest added
- Written off at 40 years: £60,000 + £94,882 − £86,916 = £67,966
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will I repay my student loan in full?
- Roughly half will. Department for Education forecasts from July 2026 expect 55% of full-time undergraduates who started in 2025/26, on Plan 5, to repay in full before the 40-year write-off, so 45% will not; Plan 2 graduates from 2012 to 2022 face a 30-year one. Whether you clear the balance depends on lifetime earnings rather than on the amount borrowed. High earners repay everything plus interest, while those on median earnings often have a substantial balance written off at the end of the term.
- How much interest is charged on a Plan 5 student loan?
- Plan 5 loans accrue interest at the rate of RPI inflation only, whatever your income, and that interest runs from the day the money is drawn down rather than from graduation. It is more favourable than Plan 2, which adds up to 3% above RPI on higher incomes, subject to a 6% cap from 1 September 2026. The RPI rate is set annually and published by the Student Loans Company, and it is 4.1% for the year from 1 September 2026.
- Is it worth making voluntary student loan overpayments?
- For most Plan 2 and Plan 5 borrowers, no, unless you expect to clear the full balance before the write-off date. Where the loan will never be repaid in full, an overpayment reduces the amount eventually cancelled rather than your lifetime cost. The exception is higher earners, above £75k on Plan 2 or £60k and above on Plan 5, who can save £5k to £15k in interest. Run the projection before committing.
- What happens if I never earn above the repayment threshold?
- Nothing is deducted. Below £25,000 on Plan 5, or £29,385 on Plan 2, you pay nothing at all, while interest keeps building and the balance grows until it is written off at 40 or 30 years. The loan stays off your credit file, so it does not affect your credit score, and most mortgage lenders ignore the outstanding balance. Repayments also pause on their own if your income falls during a career break or redundancy.