Plan 2 on £35,000
Updated 12 November 2026 · Tax year 2026/27 · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · No pension · Plan 2 alone unless stated
Scope: Plan 2 only (England and Wales courses started September 2012 to July 2023).
The calculator models one student loan plan at a time. A real payslip can show more than one. The threshold and rate below are the 2026/27 HMRC collection figures used on this site.
Who Plan 2 is for
Plan 2 is the undergraduate plan for most English and Welsh courses that started from September 2012, up to the point a newer English loan is issued under Plan 5. It is not the Scottish undergraduate plan (that is Plan 4, threshold £33,795) and it is not the postgraduate loan (6% above £21,000). The threshold in this model is £29,385 at 9%. The worked £35,000 example below is unchanged so it still lines up with the Plan 5 comparison further down.
Worked example
Salary £35,000.00. Plan 2 threshold £29,385. Rate 9% of earnings above the threshold.
- Income tax: £4,486.00
- Employee National Insurance: £1,794.40
- Plan 2: 9% × (£35,000 − £29,385) = £505.35
- Take-home: £28,214.25 a year (£2,351.19 a month)
Without the loan, the same salary comes to £28,719.60. The loan is the difference in this model.
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
Plan 2 rules worth knowing
- Monthly threshold. Repayments are taken each pay period above £2,448 a month (£565 a week). A low month repays nothing, even if the yearly salary is above £29,385.
- Interest. Interest is linked to RPI, plus up to 3% depending on income, subject to government caps. Higher earners are charged more.
- Write-off. Any balance is cancelled 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
- Overpaying. If your income for the whole year was below the threshold but deductions were taken in some months, you can ask the Student Loans Company for a refund.
- Self-employed. Repayments are worked out through Self Assessment.
Should I overpay Plan 2?
Many Plan 2 borrowers never clear the balance before write-off, so voluntary overpayments can be money they would never have had to pay. Whether it helps depends on your expected lifetime earnings. Source: GOV.UK repaying your student loan.
Plan 2 repayments by salary
Plan 2 takes 9% of pay above £29,385. This table shows the annual and monthly deduction and the take-home that remains.
| Salary | Repaid a year | A month | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| £29,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £24,399.60 |
| £31,000 | £145.35 | £12.11 | £25,694.25 |
| £34,000 | £415.35 | £34.61 | £27,584.25 |
| £39,000 | £865.35 | £72.11 | £30,734.25 |
| £49,000 | £1,765.35 | £147.11 | £37,034.25 |
| £59,000 | £2,665.35 | £222.11 | £42,112.05 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
Frequently asked questions
When do I start repaying Plan 2?
When pay is above £29,385 a year (£2,448.75 a month). Employers deduct it through PAYE each pay period.
How much is Plan 2 on £39,385?
9% × £10,000 = £900.00 a year, £75.00 a month.
Is anything taken if I earn below the Plan 2 threshold?
Not on a steady salary. Repayments are 9% of pay above £29,385 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 £29,385.
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 this salary in the calculator
Plan 2 versus Plan 5 on the same £35,000
Both plans repay 9% above a threshold. Plan 2’s 2026/27 threshold here is £29,385; Plan 5’s is £25,000. On £35,000 with no pension:
- Plan 2 deduction: £505.35 → take-home £28,214.25
- Plan 5 deduction: £900.00 → take-home £27,819.60 (see the Plan 5 guide)
- Difference in this model: £394.65 a year more deducted under Plan 5 at this salary
Which plan applies is decided by the Student Loans Company and your loan start date, not by this page.
Second example — Plan 2 on £45,000, month by month
Assumptions: 2026/27 · £45,000 gross, paid in 12 equal monthly amounts · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · no pension · Plan 2 only · NI modelled on the year.
At £45,000 the salary is still inside the 20% band, so the extra £10,000 over the first example is all 20% tax, 8% NI and 9% Plan 2.
- Income tax: 20% × £32,430 = £6,486.00 (£540.50 a month)
- Employee NI: 8% × £32,430 = £2,594.40 (£216.20 a month)
- Plan 2: 9% × (£45,000 − £29,385) = 9% × £15,615 = £1,405.35 (£117.11 a month)
- Take-home: £34,514.25 a year (£2,876.19 a month)
Compared with Plan 1 on the same £45,000 (threshold £26,900): Plan 1 takes 9% × £18,100 = £1,629.00 (£135.75 a month), leaving £34,290.60. Plan 2 leaves £223.65 a year more, about £18.64 a month, because its threshold is £2,485 higher. Plan 5 would take £1,800.00 (£150.00 a month).
What this means: every extra £1,000 of salary above the threshold adds £90 a year (£7.50 a month) to Plan 2 repayments. Going from £35,000 to £45,000 adds £900 a year to the deduction. Try your own salary and plan in the calculator, or compare with the Plan 1 guide.
What this page does not decide
For how Plan 2 changes the value of a pay rise, see what a pay rise is worth with a student loan. It does not say which plan a person is on. The Student Loans Company and the payslip do. If you also repay a Postgraduate Loan, both are deducted at once: on £35,000 that adds £840.00 (6% of £14,000), so £1,345.35 in total, and the calculator can show it with the Postgraduate Loan box ticked.
Sources (checked 12 November 2026): HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. National Insurance is modelled on the year, not each pay period.