How much are student loan repayments?
You repay 9% of income above your plan's threshold, or 6% for a Postgraduate Loan, whatever you owe. The yearly thresholds shown on GOV.UK in October 2026 were £26,900 for Plan 1, £29,385 for Plan 2, £33,795 for Plan 4, £25,000 for Plan 5 and £21,000 for Postgraduate Loans.
Repayments are usually taken through PAYE by your employer, or through Self Assessment if you are self-employed. Interest is added even when income is below the threshold.
The Student Loans Company reports that higher education borrowers in England repaid £5.3 billion in 2025-26, and that 51.1% of those liable to repay made a repayment that year. Thresholds and interest rates change, so check the date of any figure you quote.
When is the next figure out?
HESA publishes its main student statistics early in the calendar year after the academic year ends, with finance data later. The Student Loans Company publishes its England release in June and separate releases for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. DfE releases on Explore Education Statistics go live at 9:30am and are pre-announced on the GOV.UK statistics calendar; student loan forecasts appear in the summer and apprenticeship figures several times a year. Home Office study visa figures are quarterly.
Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.
Where the figures come from
- Higher education and student finance statistics (HESA, Student Loans Company, Office for Students and DfE)Official figures on UK student numbers, international students, student loan debt, graduate earnings, university finances and apprenticeships.
- Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)Find Home Office figures on small boat arrivals, asylum, hotels, visas, returns, detention, police numbers and stop and search, and how to read them.
Related questions
- When are student loans written off?
- How much student loan debt is there in the UK?
- How many international students are in the UK?
This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about universities and student finance: all Universities and student finance questions.