Postgraduate loan on £40,000
Updated 12 November 2026 · Tax year 2026/27 · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · No pension · Postgraduate loan only
Scope: Postgraduate Master’s and Doctoral loans only; they are repaid on top of any undergraduate plan.
A postgraduate loan (master’s, and in some cases a doctoral loan collected the same way) is not a 9% undergraduate plan. In this model the 2026/27 threshold is £21,000 and the rate is 6% of earnings above it. The lower threshold does not mean a larger deduction than Plan 5 at every salary, because 6% is a third smaller than 9%.
Many people repay a postgraduate loan and an undergraduate plan in the same month. This calculator still models one plan. The figures below are the postgraduate line on its own.
Worked example — £40,000 in England
Amira earns £40,000, standard allowance, no pension, postgraduate loan only. Taxable pay £27,430 is still inside the 20% band (the rest-of-UK higher rate starts at £50,270).
- Income tax: 20% × £27,430 = £5,486.00
- Employee National Insurance: 8% × (£40,000 − £12,570) = £2,194.40
- Postgraduate loan: 6% × (£40,000 − £21,000) = 6% × £19,000 = £1,140.00
- Take-home: £31,179.60 a year (£2,598.30 a month)
Without the loan, take-home comes to £32,319.60. If the same £19,000 slice were charged at the undergraduate 9% rate, the deduction would be £1,710, not £1,140. The 6% rate is why a postgraduate loan on £40,000 (£1,140) is larger than Plan 2 on £35,000 (£505.35) but not twice as large as the extra earnings might suggest.
For a sense of the undergraduate plan alone at this salary, Plan 2 on £40,000 with no pension deducts £955.35 (9% of £40,000 − £29,385) and take-home comes to £31,364.25. Adding that to the postgraduate figure would be a second deduction this page refuses to invent as a combined payslip.
Monthly repayments by plan — 2026/27
Approximate monthly deduction at each salary, worked on the year and divided by 12. Thresholds: Plan 1 £26,900, Plan 2 £29,385, Plan 4 £33,795, Plan 5 £25,000 (all 9%); Postgraduate £21,000 (6%). A postgraduate loan is taken on top of any undergraduate plan.
| Salary | Plan 1 | Plan 2 | Plan 4 | Plan 5 | Postgrad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £20.00 |
| £30,000 | £23.25 | £4.61 | £0.00 | £37.50 | £45.00 |
| £35,000 | £60.75 | £42.11 | £9.04 | £75.00 | £70.00 |
| £40,000 | £98.25 | £79.61 | £46.54 | £112.50 | £95.00 |
| £45,000 | £135.75 | £117.11 | £84.04 | £150.00 | £120.00 |
| £50,000 | £173.25 | £154.61 | £121.54 | £187.50 | £145.00 |
| £60,000 | £248.25 | £229.61 | £196.54 | £262.50 | £195.00 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
Plan guides: Plan 1 · Plan 2 · Plan 4 · Plan 5 · Postgraduate loan
At lower pay, the postgraduate loan starts just after the £21,000 threshold: on £22,000 it takes £60 a year.
Postgraduate loan repayments by salary
Postgraduate loan takes 6% of pay above £21,000. This table shows the annual and monthly deduction and the take-home that remains.
| Salary | Repaid a year | A month | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| £21,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £18,639.60 |
| £23,000 | £120.00 | £10.00 | £19,959.60 |
| £26,000 | £300.00 | £25.00 | £21,939.60 |
| £31,000 | £600.00 | £50.00 | £25,239.60 |
| £41,000 | £1,200.00 | £100.00 | £31,839.60 |
| £51,000 | £1,800.00 | £150.00 | £38,337.40 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
Frequently asked questions
When do I start repaying Postgraduate loan?
When pay is above £21,000 a year (£1,750.00 a month). Employers deduct it through PAYE each pay period.
How much is Postgraduate loan on £31,000?
6% × £10,000 = £600.00 a year, £50.00 a month.
Is anything taken if I earn below the postgraduate loan threshold?
Not on a steady salary. Repayments are 6% of pay above £21,000 a year, worked out each pay period, so in a normal month below the monthly threshold nothing is deducted. A single month with a bonus or overtime can go above the monthly threshold and trigger a deduction for that month, even if your yearly pay stays below £21,000.
Why does my payslip differ from this calculator?
The calculator models a whole tax year on a standard 1257L tax code. Your payslip is worked out pay period by pay period, so a different or emergency tax code, a bonus month, overtime, benefits in kind or a different pension arrangement will move the figure. National Insurance and student loan repayments are also assessed each pay period rather than across the year. If the two disagree, trust the payslip and check your tax code in your HMRC personal tax account.
Run £40,000 with a postgraduate loan
Second example — postgraduate loan on £30,000, month by month
Assumptions: 2026/27 · £30,000 gross, paid in 12 equal monthly amounts · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · no pension · postgraduate loan only · NI modelled on the year.
£30,000 is £9,000 above the postgraduate threshold and £5,000 above the Plan 5 threshold. That makes it a useful salary for comparing a 6% rate with a 9% one.
- Income tax: 20% × £17,430 = £3,486.00 (£290.50 a month)
- Employee NI: 8% × £17,430 = £1,394.40 (£116.20 a month)
- Postgraduate loan: 6% × (£30,000 − £21,000) = 6% × £9,000 = £540.00 (£45.00 a month)
- Take-home: £24,579.60 a year (£2,048.30 a month)
Compared with Plan 5 alone at the same salary: Plan 5 takes 9% × £5,000 = £450.00 (£37.50 a month), leaving £24,669.60. At £30,000 the postgraduate loan takes £90.00 a year more (£7.50 a month). The lower threshold outweighs the lower rate here. At £40,000, the first example, it is the other way round: £1,140 for the postgraduate loan against £1,350 for Plan 5. The two deductions are equal at £33,000, where each is £720.
What this means: below about £33,000 a postgraduate loan takes more than Plan 5 alone, and above it it takes less. If you have both, both are deducted from the same pay: on £40,000, Plan 5 £1,350.00 plus the Postgraduate Loan £1,140.00 is £2,490.00 a year. Tick the Postgraduate Loan box in the calculator to see the combined take-home. Try your salary in the calculator, or see the Plan 5 guide.
What this page does not decide
It does not say you have a postgraduate loan, and it does not decide whether you also repay an undergraduate plan; the calculator can add one alongside. Interest on the balance is outside the illustration. For how both loans change the value of a pay rise, see what a pay rise is worth with a student loan.
Sources (checked 12 November 2026): HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. Figures from js/tax.js. National Insurance is modelled on the year, not each pay period.