Plan 5 on £28,000 — just over the threshold
Updated 12 November 2026 · Tax year 2026/27 · England, Wales or Northern Ireland · No pension · Plan 5 only
Scope: Plan 5 only (England courses started from August 2023).
Plan 5 is the newer English undergraduate loan. It applies to English undergraduate courses starting on or after 1 August 2023. The 2026/27 collection threshold in the calculator is £25,000 — the lowest undergraduate threshold modelled here — at 9%. Plan 2, still common for English and Welsh courses that started from 2012, uses £29,385. That £4,385 gap between the two thresholds is the whole point of this example.
Worked example — £28,000 in England
Noah earns £28,000, standard allowance, no pension. Taxable pay is £15,430, all at basic rate. The salary is above Plan 5 and below Plan 2.
- Income tax: 20% × (£28,000 − £12,570) = £3,086.00
- Employee National Insurance: 8% × £15,430 = £1,234.40
- Plan 5: 9% × (£28,000 − £25,000) = 9% × £3,000 = £270.00
- Take-home: £23,409.60 a year (£1,950.80 a month)
Without any loan the same salary comes to £23,679.60. Switch the calculator to Plan 2 at this exact salary and the loan line is £0.00, because £28,000 is under the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold. Plan 5 is the only undergraduate plan in this tool that takes a deduction at £28,000 (Plan 1 would too, at a different amount: 9% of £1,100). Plan 4 would not.
Why the Plan 2 page still quotes £35,000
At £35,000, Plan 5 deducts 9% × £10,000 = £900.00 and take-home comes to £27,819.60. Plan 2 on that same salary deducts £505.35. The Plan 2 guide keeps that side-by-side. This page uses £28,000 so the story is the threshold itself, not another copy of the £35,000 stack.
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 5 rules worth knowing
- Who is on Plan 5. Students from England who started an undergraduate course on or after 1 August 2023.
- Monthly threshold. Repayments are taken above £2,083 a month (£480 a week) in each pay period.
- Interest. RPI only, with no extra margin.
- Write-off. 40 years after the April you were first due to repay, 10 years longer than Plan 2.
- Two plans. A postgraduate loan is repaid at 6% on top of Plan 5.
Plan 5 versus Plan 2 over time
On the same salary Plan 5 takes more each month, because its threshold is £4,385 lower: £394.65 a year more at any salary above £29,385. Combined with the 40-year term, many more Plan 5 borrowers are expected to repay in full. Source: GOV.UK.
Plan 5 repayments by salary
Plan 5 takes 9% of pay above £25,000. This table shows the annual and monthly deduction and the take-home that remains.
| Salary | Repaid a year | A month | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £21,519.60 |
| £27,000 | £180.00 | £15.00 | £22,779.60 |
| £30,000 | £450.00 | £37.50 | £24,669.60 |
| £35,000 | £900.00 | £75.00 | £27,819.60 |
| £45,000 | £1,800.00 | £150.00 | £34,119.60 |
| £55,000 | £2,700.00 | £225.00 | £39,757.40 |
Scroll sideways to see the whole table →
Frequently asked questions
When do I start repaying Plan 5?
When pay is above £25,000 a year (£2,083.33 a month). Employers deduct it through PAYE each pay period.
How much is Plan 5 on £35,000?
9% × £10,000 = £900.00 a year, £75.00 a month.
Is anything taken if I earn below the Plan 5 threshold?
Not on a steady salary. Repayments are 9% of pay above £25,000 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 £25,000.
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.
Second example — Plan 5 on £45,000, month by month
Assumptions: 2026/27 · £45,000 gross, paid in 12 equal monthly amounts · England · no pension · Plan 5 only · NI modelled on the year.
At £45,000 the threshold gap between Plan 5 and Plan 2 still matters, but it is now a fixed amount rather than the whole deduction.
- 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 5: 9% × (£45,000 − £25,000) = 9% × £20,000 = £1,800.00 (£150.00 a month)
- Take-home: £34,119.60 a year (£2,843.30 a month)
Compared with Plan 2 on the same £45,000: Plan 2 takes £1,405.35 (£117.11 a month), leaving £34,514.25. Plan 5 takes £394.65 a year more, about £32.89 a month. That is 9% of the £4,385 threshold gap, the same £394.65 as at £35,000. Once you earn above both thresholds the difference stays the same.
What this means: on a salary above £29,385, Plan 5 costs about £33 a month more than Plan 2 in this model, whatever the salary. Below that, only Plan 5 takes anything. Try your own figures in the calculator, or read the Plan 2 guide.
What this page does not decide
Course start date and the Student Loans Company decide the plan. This page does not.
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.