Study Loan Repayment Calculator: What You Actually Repay on HECS-HELP

Start with the annual liability, not the payroll deduction

HELP debt is repaid through the Australian tax system, and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) manages HELP debt repayments. The ATO works out the annual compulsory repayment when you lodge your tax return.

Your employer may withhold money from your regular pay through a PAYG, or pay-as-you-go, deduction. However, Study Assist says a PAYG deduction is applied to your HELP debt only after you lodge your tax return. The calculator should therefore be treated as an estimate of the annual compulsory repayment, not as a fixed monthly instalment or a payoff figure for the entire debt.

2026–27 repayment thresholds and marginal rates

Compulsory repayments use marginal rates. This means each rate applies only to the repayment income within its band rather than to all your income.

For the 2026–27 income year, the ATO’s published rules are:

“Nil” means no compulsory repayment is calculated on repayment income in that range. The 15% and 17% rates are marginal calculations, so you do not apply those percentages retrospectively to all your repayment income. In the highest band, the published formula changes to 10% of total repayment income.

What counts as repayment income

Repayment income is not limited to salary. The ATO calculates it by adding:

This distinction matters when using a repayment calculator. Entering salary alone can omit amounts that must be included in repayment income.

The ATO’s Christina example combines taxable income of $60,470, reportable fringe benefits of $5,400, total net investment loss of $1,330, reportable super contributions of $16,500 and exempt foreign employment income of $2,680. Her repayment income is $86,380. The calculation is:

$86,380 − $69,528 = $16,852

$16,852 × 15% = $2,527.80

Barry has taxable income of $118,450 and reportable super contributions of $18,614, producing repayment income of $137,064. His calculation is:

$137,064 − $129,717 = $7,347

$7,347 × 17% = $1,248.99

$1,248.99 + $9,028 = $10,276.99

Priya has taxable income of $227,123 and reportable super contributions of $27,657. Her total repayment income is $254,780, producing a compulsory repayment of:

$254,780 × 10% = $25,478

These examples show why a salary-only calculation can give a different result from the ATO assessment.

Why your payroll deduction is not the final repayment

PAYG withholding comes directly out of your income before you can spend it. It therefore reduces your disposable cash even though the ATO has not yet completed the annual assessment.

The amount withheld from a payslip is provisional. Once you lodge your tax return, the ATO calculates the annual compulsory repayment and compares it with the PAYG amount your employer has withheld and sent to the ATO.

If too little was withheld, you must pay the gap amount to the ATO. If too much was withheld because your compulsory repayment is lower, the extra is returned through your income tax return. That is why the amount disappearing from each payslip is not necessarily the same as your final repayment liability.

The annual calculator result is useful for checking whether your PAYG withholding appears likely to be close to the compulsory amount. It cannot replace the ATO’s assessment after the tax return is lodged.

Voluntary repayments and indexation

A voluntary repayment is separate from the compulsory repayment. It reduces your HELP debt as soon as the ATO processes it, but it does not count towards or reduce any compulsory repayment required through the tax system.

Indexation increases the debt balance over time. The ATO applies indexation each year on 1 June to the part of your accumulated HELP debt that has remained unpaid for more than 11 months.

Indexation in 2026 applies at 2.8%. A voluntary repayment made before the 1 June indexation date reduces the balance against which indexation is calculated, so less indexation is added. For the 2026 indexation date, Study Assist instructed borrowers to make the voluntary repayment by 26 May 2026.

Reducing the balance before indexation can limit the extra amount added to the debt, but it does not remove the separate compulsory repayment assessed through the tax system.

How to use the AI Calculator tool

AI Calculator does not have a separate HECS calculator. Its income tax calculator includes the HECS/HELP repayment logic.

Use the repayment-income amounts described above rather than relying on salary alone, then compare the estimated annual compulsory repayment with the PAYG amounts already withheld from your pay. The ATO remains responsible for the final assessment after your tax return is lodged.

AI Calculator does not provide tax, financial or legal advice, and the figure is indicative only.

Frequently asked questions

Which study and training loans use these thresholds?

The same thresholds and marginal rates apply to all study and training loan types for each financial year. The ATO’s published list includes HELP, VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and AASL.

How are repayments allocated across multiple study loans?

The ATO applies compulsory repayments in this order: HELP, VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and AASL. Compulsory payments are allocated to the loan balances in that sequence.

When do I need to tell my employer about a HELP debt?

Study Assist says you need to tell your employer when you get a job or change jobs and have a HELP debt. This allows the employer to withhold PAYG from your regular pay and send it toward your HELP repayment.

Is there a cap on how much I can borrow through HELP?

Yes. The Australian Government caps how much can be borrowed through a HELP loan. Study Assist calls this cap the HELP loan limit.

Can PAYG be deducted even when no compulsory repayment is due?

Yes. Study Assist describes a case where an employee was below the minimum repayment income but employer deductions had still been taken. The ATO returned those amounts through the tax return because no compulsory HELP repayment was due.