Study loan repayments, 2026-27
HECS and HELP repayment calculator
Your compulsory HELP repayment for 2026-27 under the marginal system, what your employer withholds and your take-home pay after it.
Earnings
Deductions
Paid by your employer on top
Over 26 fortnights, about $27,144 is withheld from your pay. You owe $26,621 for 2026-27, so about $523 would come back when you lodge your tax return, if nothing else changes.
Rules checked 20 October 2026 against the ATO's 2026-27 resident tax rates, low income tax offset, Medicare levy, study loan and super guarantee pages, and PAYG withholding Schedules 1 and 8. How we check.
For an Australian resident for tax with one job, no other income or fringe benefits, treated as single for the Medicare levy, with the $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses and no other deductions. Foreign residents and working holiday makers are not modelled. Why your payslip differs from your tax bill.
These figures are estimates based on the information you entered and the 2026-27 rates and thresholds published by the Australian Taxation Office, with the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for 2025-26, the latest published. They are general information, not tax, financial or legal advice. Your actual pay and tax can differ, for example because of other income, deductions, your family situation, allowances, salary packaging or how your employer runs payroll. Check your payslip, or ask your employer, a registered tax agent or the ATO, before relying on them.
Your tax for 2026-27
Your HELP repayment for 2026-27
Repayments are charged only on income above $69,528
Since 2025-26, compulsory repayments of HELP and other study and training loans are marginal: only repayment income above the threshold is charged, until the top band, where the repayment is 10% of all of it. These are the 2026-27 rates. ATO: Study and training loan repayment income and rates; Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Act 2025.
| Repayment income | Repayment for 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| $0 to $69,528 | Nil |
| $69,529 to $129,717 | 15c for each $1 over $69,528 |
| $129,718 to $186,050 | $9,028 plus 17c for each $1 over $129,717 |
| $186,051 and over | 10% of your total repayment income |
The thresholds rose from 2025-26
| Repayment income | Repayment for 2025-26 |
|---|---|
| $0 to $67,000 | Nil |
| $67,001 to $125,000 | 15c for each $1 over $67,000 |
| $125,001 to $179,285 | $8,700 plus 17c for each $1 over $125,000 |
| $179,286 and over | 10% of your total repayment income |
Thresholds are indexed each year. ATO: Study and training loans, what's new.
Repayment income can be more than your taxable income
Repayment income is your taxable income plus any reportable fringe benefits, total net investment loss, reportable super contributions (including salary sacrifice) and exempt foreign employment income. Salary sacrifice lowers your taxable income but not your repayment income. Because repayment income starts from taxable income, the $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses lowers it too. The repayment is worked out when you lodge your tax return, and stops once the debt is repaid.
Your employer withholds an estimate each pay
If you tell your employer you have a study loan, it adds a study and training support loans component to the tax withheld, using ATO Schedule 8. With the tax-free threshold claimed, it starts at $1,337 a week, $2,674 a fortnight or $5,793.67 a month; without it, at $987 a week, $1,974 a fortnight or $4,277 a month. It is withheld from all earnings, including allowances, bonuses and commissions, but not from lump sum termination payments. The same applies to VET Student Loans, Student Start-up Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and Financial Supplement debts. ATO: Schedule 8, study and training support loans components.
| Salary | Repayment for 2026-27 | Withheld a fortnight | Take-home a fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $0.00 | $2.00 | $2,207.69 |
| $80,000 | $1,420.80 | $60.00 | $2,414.58 |
| $90,000 | $2,920.80 | $118.00 | $2,618.43 |
| $100,000 | $4,420.80 | $176.00 | $2,822.28 |
| $120,000 | $7,420.80 | $292.00 | $3,229.97 |
| $150,000 | $12,306.11 | $480.00 | $3,789.00 |
| $200,000 | $19,900.00 | $770.00 | $4,642.31 |
Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, no salary sacrifice. The amount withheld over the year is an estimate and is settled against the repayment when you lodge.
Salary after tax
More tools
- Super and salary sacrificeYour 12% super guarantee, packages including super, and what salary sacrifice costs you.
- Hourly payTake-home pay from an hourly rate, and the $26.44 national minimum wage.
- Tax rates 2026-27Resident tax brackets, the low income tax offset and what changed on 1 July 2026.
- Medicare levyThe 2% levy, the low-income thresholds and the surcharge.
- Why your payslip differsThe tax taken from each pay against the tax you finally owe.