WagePlan 5 Student Loan Repayment 2026-27
Plan 5 is the newest student loan repayment plan, covering undergraduate courses in England that started from August 2023. If you are on Plan 5 you repay 9% of everything you earn above the £25,000 threshold, taken automatically through PAYE. The first Plan 5 repayments begin in the 2026-27 tax year, and the table on this page shows what the deduction looks like at different salaries.
| Plan | Who | Rate | 2026-27 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | Pre-2012 England/Wales; Northern Ireland | 9% | £26,900 | £26,065 |
| Plan 2 | 2012-2023 England/Wales | 9% | £29,385 | £28,470 |
| Plan 4 | Scotland (SAAS) | 9% | £33,795 | £32,745 |
| Plan 5 | England, courses from Aug 2023 | 9% | £25,000 | £25,000 |
| Postgraduate | Master's / doctoral | 6% | £21,000 | £21,000 |
Student loan repayment calculator
You repay a percentage of income over the plan threshold, collected through PAYE. The balance owed never changes the deduction. A postgraduate loan is charged additionally on top of any undergraduate plan. Estimates, not advice.
Who is on Plan 5
Plan 5 applies to students in England who started an undergraduate or further education course from August 2023 onwards. It sits alongside Plan 2, which continues to cover earlier English courses, so which of the two you are on depends on when your course began.
Only one undergraduate plan applies at a time, so a Plan 5 borrower is not also on Plan 2. A Postgraduate Loan can still be repaid on top of Plan 5, with a separate deduction.
How much you repay
The Plan 5 threshold is £25,000. You repay 9% of income above it and nothing below, in the same income-contingent way as the other plans.
Because Plan 5 is new, its earliest borrowers only reach repayment in the 2026-27 tax year. The deduction is collected through PAYE, and the table on this page sets out the annual and monthly figure at a range of salaries against the £25,000 threshold.
Frequently asked questions
How is Plan 5 different from Plan 2?
The rate is the same 9%, but Plan 5 covers newer English courses and uses the £25,000 threshold, while Plan 2 covers earlier courses with the £29,385 threshold.
When do Plan 5 repayments start?
The earliest Plan 5 borrowers reach repayment in the 2026-27 tax year, once they are earning above the £25,000 threshold.
General information, not advice. Estimates assume the standard 1257L tax code and typical circumstances; your payslip may differ by a pound or two because HMRC payroll software truncates at each step. Verify with HMRC or an accountant for any decision. WageReckon stores no salary data - the calculators run in your browser.
Rates for the 2026-27 tax year, current as of 24 July 2026. Source: HMRC (gov.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: HMRC / gov.uk. See how we calculate.