Every UK student loan repayment threshold — annual, monthly and weekly — by plan and tax year since 2021-22, the 9% and 6% repayment rates, and today's interest rate per plan.
2026/27 thresholds by plan
New thresholds take effect from 6 April, the start of the UK tax year
— not 1 September, when interest rates reset. Monthly and weekly figures are the annual threshold divided and
cut (not rounded) to the penny, matching HMRC's own SL3 deduction tables.
Plan
Annual
Monthly
Weekly
Rate
Interest now
Plan 1
£26,900
£2,241.66
£517.30
9%
4.1%
Plan 2
£29,385
£2,448.75
£565.09
9%
4.1% to 6%
Plan 4 (Scotland)
£33,795
£2,816.25
£649.90
9%
4.1%
Plan 5
£25,000
£2,083.33
£480.76
9%
4.1%
Postgraduate Loan
£21,000
£1,750.00
£403.84
6%
6%
Annual thresholds by tax year since 2021-22
Plan 5 did not exist before the 2023 reform — the DfE created it for English undergraduates starting on or
after 1 August 2023, so earlier tax years show no Plan 5 figure. The repayment rate (9% for Plans 1, 2, 4 and
5; 6% for the Postgraduate Loan) has not changed across this whole span.
The first Plan 5 loans came into repayment from April 2026, so the Plan 5 column starts at
2026-27.
Tax year
Plan 1
Plan 2
Plan 4
Plan 5
Postgraduate
2026-27
£26,900
£29,385
£33,795
£25,000
£21,000
2025-26
£26,065
£28,470
£32,745
—
£21,000
2024-25
£24,990
£27,295
£31,395
—
£21,000
2023-24
£22,015
£27,295
£27,660
—
£21,000
2022-23
£20,195
£27,295
£25,375
—
£21,000
2021-22
£19,895
£27,295
£25,000
—
£21,000
Every figure is verified against HMRC's annual "Rates and thresholds for employers" guidance and GOV.UK's
"Repaying your student loan" pages. See Sources below.
Which plan am I on?
Your plan depends on which country funded your loan, when your course started, and the type of course:
Plan 1
England/Wales undergraduates who started before 1 September 2012, and every Northern Ireland borrower regardless of start date.
Plan 2
England undergraduates who started between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023, and Wales undergraduates who started on or after 1 September 2012 (Wales has no July 2023 end).
Plan 4
Scottish-funded (SAAS) undergraduates, any start year — this replaced "Plan 1 (Scotland)" from 6 April 2021.
Plan 5
England undergraduates and PGCE trainees who started on or after 1 August 2023.
Postgraduate (Master's or Doctoral) loans sit on top of whichever undergraduate plan you also hold, charged
separately at 6% above £21,000. If you are unsure which plan applies to you, sign in to your online account
with the Student Loans Company, which states it directly.
When does repayment start?
The earliest you start repaying is the April after you leave or finish your
course — and even then, only once your income for that pay period exceeds your plan's threshold.
Employees have repayments deducted automatically through PAYE once a single pay packet passes the weekly or
monthly equivalent of the annual threshold, so a large bonus month can trigger a deduction even if your annual
income is modest. Self-employed borrowers repay through Self Assessment instead.
Current interest rates
Interest is set once a year for 1 September — a
different date to the thresholds above, which move on 6 April. Since 1 September 2026: Plan 1 is
4.1%, Plan 4 is 4.1%, and Plan 5 is 4.1%. Plan 1 and
Plan 4 follow the lower of RPI or the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, so the rate can change during the year when the
base-rate cap binds; Plan 5 is RPI only. Plan 2 and the
Postgraduate Loan are both capped at 6% for this period. The cap only lowers a rate
that would exceed it: after you leave your course, Plan 2 interest depends on your income, from
4.1% (RPI) at or below £29,385, rising on a sliding
scale towards RPI + 3% at £52,885. These rates change again on
1 September next year — check GOV.UK's interest and charges page for the latest figure before relying on it.
Holding more than one plan
Two or more of Plan 1, 2, 4 and 5 do not stack: HMRC collects a
single 9% deduction over the lowest
threshold of the plans you hold, and applies that one payment to the balances behind the scenes. A
Postgraduate Loan is different — it is charged separately and concurrently on its own
£21,000 threshold, so a borrower with an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate
Loan can pay 9% + 6% = 15% across the band above
both thresholds at once.
Frequently asked questions
What is the student loan repayment threshold for 2026/27?
For 2026/27: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 (Scotland) £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000, and the Postgraduate Loan £21,000. You repay 9% of income above your threshold for Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5, or 6% above the Postgraduate Loan threshold — never on the loan balance itself.
Which student loan plan am I on?
It depends on which nation funded your loan, when you started your course, and the type of course. English and Welsh undergraduates who started before 1 September 2012 are Plan 1 (as are all Northern Irish borrowers, any year). English undergraduates from September 2012 to July 2023 are Plan 2, and so are Welsh-funded undergraduates who started on or after 1 September 2012, with no end date. English undergraduates from August 2023 onward are Plan 5. Scottish-funded (SAAS) undergraduates of any year are Plan 4. Master's and Doctoral loans are the separate Postgraduate Loan, charged on top of any undergraduate plan you also hold. If you are unsure, sign in to your online account with the Student Loans Company, which states your plan type directly.
When does student loan repayment start?
The earliest you start repaying is the April after you leave or finish your course — and only once your income for that period goes over your plan's threshold. Employees have it deducted automatically through PAYE once a pay packet passes the weekly or monthly equivalent of the threshold; the self-employed pay it through Self Assessment.
What is the current student loan interest rate?
Since 1 September 2026: Plan 1 4.1%, Plan 2 4.1% to 6% depending on income (the top capped), Plan 4 4.1%, Plan 5 4.1%, and the Postgraduate Loan 6% (capped). Plan 1, 4 and 5 rates are set once a year from the March RPI print and are announced for 1 September, not the tax-year boundary (Plan 1 and 4 can move during the year if the Bank of England base rate cap binds) — always check the date this page (or GOV.UK) was last updated before relying on the figure.
What if I have more than one student loan plan?
Two or more of Plan 1, 2, 4 and 5 do not stack — you make a single 9% repayment, taken over the lowest of the thresholds you hold, and HMRC splits that one payment between the balances. A Postgraduate Loan is different: it is charged separately and concurrently on its own £21,000 threshold, so someone with an undergraduate plan and a Postgraduate Loan can pay 9% + 6% = 15% across the income band above both thresholds at once.
Has the Postgraduate Loan threshold ever changed?
No — the £21,000 Postgraduate Loan threshold has been frozen since the loan launched in 2016 and is unindexed, unlike Plan 1, 2 and 4, which are reviewed each 6 April.
Each plan has its own page with worked examples at common salaries and eligibility detail — or use the
full calculator
to combine plans and compare years. See also our
student loan repayment thresholds guide
for worked examples and the write-off rules in full.
Reflects the 2026/27 student loan repayment thresholds (effective 6 April 2026) and
interest rates in force since 1 September 2026, verified against GOV.UK and HMRC's employer rates-and-thresholds guidance.
