Student Loan Calculator – Should You Overpay?

Student Loan Calculator — What You’ll Actually Repay, UK & US

Written by Hamid Ali · Founder of DebtShift · Updated 21 October 2026

The number on your student loan statement looks enormous. What it actually costs you each month, this year, on your real income — nobody shows you that clearly, and the UK and US systems work so differently that generic advice from either side of the Atlantic is often just wrong for the other.

This calculator handles both systems properly — UK income-contingent plans and US federal repayment plans, including the plans that changed on 1 July 2026.

What This Calculator Actually Does

Select UK or US, then your specific plan — Plan 1, 2, 4, 5, or Postgraduate in the UK, or Standard, IBR, or the new RAP in the US — and enter your income. It shows your monthly deduction now, how that changes as your income grows, and, where relevant, whether you’ll actually clear the balance before it’s written off or forgiven.

\u2713 Free to use. No account, no sign-up and no bank link. You only give an email if you choose to have your result sent to you.

Who This Is For

UK graduates who’ve never worked out which of the five plans they’re actually on, or whether overpaying is worth thinking about. US borrowers trying to make sense of a system that changed on 1 July 2026: the SAVE plan has ended, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) has launched, and most guidance written before July 2026 is out of date.

How to Use It — UK

Select your plan (check your Student Loans Company account or payslip if you’re not sure — Plan 2 covers most English/Welsh graduates from 2012–2023, Plan 5 covers anyone starting from August 2023 onward). Enter your gross annual income. The calculator applies 9% (6% for the Postgraduate Loan) to whatever sits above your plan’s threshold — nothing on income below it, however much you owe overall.

How to Use It — US

Choose your repayment plan: Standard, IBR (for loans taken on or after 1 July 2014), IBR (for older loans), RAP or PSLF. Then enter your balance, your adjusted gross income, your household size and your loan’s interest rate. Household size matters because IBR uses the poverty guideline for your household, and RAP takes $50 off your payment for each dependent.

UK — The Five Plans, 2026/27 Thresholds

You repay 9% of income above your threshold (6% for the Postgraduate Loan) — nothing below it, and the loan behaves more like a graduate tax than conventional debt, since it’s tied to your earnings, not a fixed monthly bill.

• Plan 1: £26,900 threshold, 4.1% interest, written off 25 years after the April you were first due to repay (loans from September 2006) or at age 65 (earlier loans)
• Plan 2: £29,385 threshold (the government has announced a freeze from April 2027 to April 2030), written off after 30 years, interest of 4.1% to 6.0% depending on your income
• Plan 4 (Scotland): £33,795 threshold, the highest of any plan, 4.1% interest, written off after 30 years (loans from August 2007; earlier loans at 65 or 30 years, whichever comes first)
• Plan 5: £25,000 threshold, the lowest starting point, 4.1% interest, written off after 40 years, the longest of any plan (students starting from 2023)
• Postgraduate Loan: £21,000 threshold, 6% of income above it, 6% interest, written off after 30 years

The detail almost nobody explains clearly: UK student loans don’t appear on your credit file at all. A large balance or a missed deduction does not show up on Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. But it does affect mortgage affordability — lenders ask about your monthly deduction directly, and it can reduce how much you’re able to borrow.

US — What Actually Changed on 1 July 2026

The SAVE plan has ended. A court-approved settlement between the Department of Education and Missouri closed it down, and from 1 July 2026 servicers began giving SAVE borrowers 90 days to choose a new plan. Borrowers who do nothing are moved to a Standard plan.

For any loan taken out from 1 July 2026 onward, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is the only income-driven option, alongside the Tiered Standard plan. RAP charges 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income, with a $10 monthly minimum, so a $0 payment is not possible. It takes $50 off your bill for each dependent, waives any interest your payment does not cover, adds a matching payment of up to $50 towards your balance if your payment does not reduce it by $50, and forgives any remaining balance after 30 years. That is longer than the 20 to 25 years on older plans.

If your loans were made before 1 July 2026, you can choose RAP, a Standard plan or IBR. The older ICR and PAYE plans are being phased out, with a deadline of 1 July 2028. IBR is not open to loans made on or after 1 July 2026. For loans from 1 July 2014 IBR charges 10% of discretionary income over 20 years; for older loans it is 15% over 25 years.

PSLF Still Exists

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) still forgives the remaining balance after 120 qualifying payments (10 years) while you work full time for a government or qualifying nonprofit employer, and the forgiven amount is not taxed federally. Qualifying plans include IBR, ICR, PAYE and RAP. A 10-year Standard plan can mean you finish paying before you qualify for forgiveness. From 1 July 2026 the Department can also deny forgiveness for employers engaged in a “substantial illegal purpose”, a rule several cities are challenging in court.

Parent PLUS Borrowers: What Changed

Parent PLUS loans cannot use RAP. New Parent PLUS loans made after 1 July 2026 can only use the Tiered Standard plan, with no income-driven plan or PSLF. For older Parent PLUS loans, the route to IBR runs through consolidating, making one ICR payment and then switching, and NPR advises starting at least three months before any deadline. Ask your loan servicer what is open to you.

Worked Examples (maths run in code)

UK, Plan 1: a graduate with £12,000 left, earning £35,000 and getting 3% pay rises, pays 9% of the £8,100 above the £26,900 threshold. That is £729 a year, or £60.75 a month. On our assumptions the loan clears in 2038 and they pay £15,911 in total. Paying an extra £200 a month would clear it in 2029 and cut the total to about £13,048, a saving of about £2,863.

UK, Plan 2: a graduate of 2022 owing £45,000, earning £40,000 with 3% pay rises, pays £79.61 a month at first. On our assumptions they pay about £75,149 over 27 years and about £64,278 is written off in 2053. In this case an extra £200 a month would clear the loan in 2042 and cost about £4,538 less in total, because the unpaid interest keeps growing when the deductions are small. The result changes a lot with salary and pay rises, so run your own numbers.

US, $40,000 at 6.5%, $50,000 income, household of one: the 10-year Standard plan costs $454.19 a month and $54,503 in total. IBR (loans from 1 July 2014) starts at $217.17 a month and costs $52,120 over 20 years, with about $39,755 forgiven, which may be taxed as income. RAP charges 4% of $50,000, which is $166.67 a month, and $60,000 over 30 years, with about $40,000 forgiven. For RAP, a household of two with one dependent at $55,000 income pays 5% of $55,000 divided by 12, less $50, which is $179.17 a month.

Sources and Method (checked 21 October 2026)

UK thresholds, repayment rates, interest rates and write-off rules come from GOV.UK: how much you repay and when your loan is written off. The Plan 2 threshold freeze is from the CIPP summary of Budget 2025. US rules come from the Education Department’s RAP fact sheet, the RAP payment table on StudentAid.gov, the NPR guide to the July 2026 changes and the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines ($15,960 plus $5,680 per extra person).

The calculator runs month by month. It holds today’s thresholds flat, assumes your salary grows at the rate you choose and uses current interest rates. It models one loan at a time, so people with two plans, or a Postgraduate Loan alongside another plan, will see different deductions. It is an estimate, not advice.

If You Are Struggling With Other Debts

Student loan deductions rise and fall with your pay, so they are rarely the debt that causes a crisis. If other debts are the problem, UK readers can get free help from StepChange on 0800 138 1111 and start with our UK debt help guide. US readers can contact the NFCC at nfcc.org. To spread your whole debt load into one plan, try the debt payoff planner.

Related Tools

If student debt is one part of a bigger picture, the AI Debt Payoff Planner factors it in alongside everything else you owe. UK graduates weighing whether to overpay should also check the Debt Consolidation Calculator before redirecting money toward a loan that might be written off anyway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a UK student loan affect my credit score?
No. UK student loans never appear on your credit file, regardless of balance or plan. They do affect mortgage affordability assessments directly, since lenders factor in your monthly deduction, but that’s separate from your credit score itself.

Is the SAVE plan really gone in the US?
Yes. A court-approved settlement ended it, and from 1 July 2026 servicers began giving SAVE borrowers 90 days to choose another plan. Borrowers who do not choose are placed in a Standard plan. Log in to your servicer account or StudentAid.gov to see where you stand.

Should I overpay my UK student loan?
It depends on whether you would clear the loan before it is written off. If you would repay in full anyway, extra payments cut the interest you pay. If a large part would be written off, extra payments may save you little or nothing, though a big balance with growing interest can still make them worthwhile (see the Plan 2 example above). Run your own figures, and think about alternatives such as an emergency fund, higher-interest debt or a pension. This is general information, not personal advice.

What’s the difference between RAP and the old income-driven plans?
RAP never allows a $0 payment (older plans could), takes 30 years to reach forgiveness instead of 20–25, but does cancel unpaid interest and gives a $50/month reduction per dependent. It’s the only income-driven option for anything borrowed from 1 July 2026 onward.

Is forgiven US student loan debt taxable?
Generally yes for income-driven plans from 1 January 2026. The temporary federal tax exemption on forgiven student loans ended on 31 December 2025, so a balance forgiven under IBR or RAP can be treated as taxable income in the year it is cancelled. Forgiveness under PSLF is not taxed federally. State tax can differ, so check with a tax adviser.

DebtShift is an educational platform — not a debt management firm or financial adviser. UK users seeking free debt help visit StepChange.org. US users visit NFCC.org.