Your plan depends on where and when you started studying. Each plan repays 9% of income above a different threshold, so the plan changes what you take home.
Which plan you are on is decided by where you studied and when your course started, not by what you earn now. It matters because the repayment threshold differs by plan: £26,900 on Plan 1, £29,385 on Plan 2, £33,795 on Plan 4 and £25,000 on Plan 5. All four take 9% of income above their threshold.
On £35,000 a year with a standard 2026/27 tax code, no pension, no student loan, the figures work out like this. Open a calculator to put your own numbers in.
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| Calculator setting | The answer is more useful when matched to the same tax year, region, tax code, pension and loan settings used in the calculator. |
|---|---|
| Records to compare | Payslips, HMRC records, student-loan notices and pension scheme documents can explain differences. |
| Tax code | HMRC tax-code changes, K codes, BR/D codes, or emergency markers can change PAYE deductions. |
|---|---|
| Cumulative basis | Week 1, Month 1 or non-cumulative payroll can differ from a smooth annual calculator estimate. |
| Pension method | Relief at source, net pay and salary sacrifice can affect taxable pay and take-home pay differently. |
| Payroll timing | Bonus, overtime, arrears, refunds, cut-off dates and corrections can all move a single payslip. |
| Open the salary calculator with editable assumptions | calculator next step |
|---|---|
| Review calculation sources and methodology | source context |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
|---|
The figures on this page are worked from which student loan plan, using the values below. Open the calculator if your example salary differs.
The rate is the same across the four undergraduate plans. Only the threshold moves, and that is what changes your monthly deduction.
On a £40,000 salary the plan you are on changes the annual deduction by hundreds of pounds, because 9% is charged on everything above the threshold.
Guessing from your start year is usually right but not always, particularly if you studied in more than one nation or returned to study later.
This is educational guidance on how UK pay and tax work. It does not decide payroll correctness, HMRC treatment, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employment rights, and it is not regulated financial advice. Where a figure matters, check it against your payslip, your HMRC account, or the official guidance linked above.
Sign in to your student loan repayment account, which states the plan type. Your payslip shows the deduction but does not always name the plan, and your start year alone is not conclusive if you studied in more than one UK nation.
The threshold. Plan 1 repays 9% of income above £26,900 and Plan 2 above £29,385. On a £40,000 salary that is £1,179 a year on Plan 1 against £955 on Plan 2.
Plan 4 has the highest threshold at £33,795, so it deducts the least at any given salary. Plan 5 has the lowest at £25,000 and so deducts the most.
Yes. Studying twice under different systems can leave you repaying two undergraduate plans, and a postgraduate loan is always separate and charged on top.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.