Student Loan Overpayment Calculator

Plan 1: Started an undergraduate course before 1 September 2012 in England/Wales, or at any point in Scotland and Northern Ireland (if started before 1998, no loan existed). Plan 2: Started in England or Wales between 1 September 2012 and 31 July 2023. Plan 4: Started in Scotland from 1998 onwards (Scottish funding body loans). Plan 5: Started in England from 1 August 2023 onwards. Postgraduate Loan: Masters or Doctoral loan taken since 2016. Check which plan(s) you have at gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan.

Student loans are written off after a set number of years regardless of how much you owe. Plan 1: 25 years after you became eligible to repay (or when you turn 65, whichever comes first). Plan 2: 30 years after you became eligible to repay. Plan 4 (Scotland): 30 years after you became eligible to repay. Plan 5 (2023+ England starters): 40 years - a significant change from Plan 2, meaning many more people will repay for decades longer. Postgraduate: 30 years. Write-off does not affect your credit rating.

Use scenario math before deciding. Compare baseline repayments with monthly or one-off overpayments. If overpaying lowers your lifetime cash paid or meaningfully reduces your write-off risk, it may be worth considering. If it mostly reduces a balance that would have been written off anyway, it may be poor value.

This calculator uses simplified planning assumptions by plan (for example, fixed annual rates) so you can compare scenarios consistently. Real student loan interest can vary by inflation and income bands, especially on Plan 2 and Plan 5. Always sense-check against current GOV.UK rates.

Yes. Postgraduate loans are typically repaid at 6% above a separate threshold, with different write-off timing. If you have both an undergraduate plan and a postgraduate loan, deductions can stack. This calculator models one plan at a time so you can isolate trade-offs clearly.

When overseas: repayments are based on estimated equivalent UK income - the Student Loans Company sets a repayment threshold based on the country you live in. You must notify them and they'll calculate your repayments. If you earn below the local equivalent of the UK threshold, you won't repay. If you stop working or earn below the threshold (UK), repayments stop automatically - they resume when your income rises above the threshold again. Years when you're not repaying still count toward the write-off clock. The loan doesn't disappear but write-off timelines continue even during non-payment periods.

Student loans don't appear on your credit file and don't affect your credit score. However, lenders do factor student loan repayments into affordability calculations because they reduce your disposable income. A £600/year repayment won't dramatically affect borrowing - most lenders treat it like any other monthly commitment. The bigger impact is that Plan 5 borrowers on lower incomes may repay £100-300/month for decades, which affects mortgage affordability over time. Some specialist mortgage advisors know how to present student loan repayments most favourably. Use our mortgage affordability calculator to estimate the impact.