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HECS Repayment Calculator

Work out your compulsory HECS, HELP or STSL repayment for the year, and what is left after income tax, the Medicare levy and the repayment together. Add your loan balance from myGov and it shows the tax return that clears the debt, with the ATO indexation added each 1 June. From 2025-26 the repayment is worked out marginally, so the old flat-rate tables no longer apply.

Your details

From myGov. Enter it to see the year you pay it off; leave $0 for the repayment only.

Compulsory repayment this year

$2,320.80

Repayment income
$85,000
Compulsory repayment
$2,320.80
Share of repayment income
2.7%
Per fortnight
$89.26
Per week
$44.63
Take-home after tax and repayment
$64,959

Repayment income is more than salary. It adds reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses, reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income.

Worked examples, with the arithmetic.

The same sums the tool runs, on real figures. Every number below is computed by the tested engine from the published rates, so the prose and the tool can never disagree.

What is the HECS repayment on $85,000?

$85,000 - $69,528 threshold = $15,472
$15,472 x 15c                = $2,320.80

On $85,000 of repayment income the compulsory repayment is $2,320.80 for 2026-27, which is $89.26 a fortnight. Only the income above $69,528 is counted, so the effective share of total income is 2.7%, not 15%.

And on $140,000?

base at $129,717        = $9,028
$140,000 - $129,717        = $10,283
$10,283 x 17c              = $1,748.11
total                         = $10,776.11

Above $129,717 the repayment is a fixed $9,028 plus 17c for each dollar over that threshold, giving $10,776.11. The rate steps up but it still applies only to the slice above the threshold, not to the whole income.

How long does a $25,000 HECS debt take to repay on $85,000?

$25,000 + 2.8% on 1 June     = $25,700.00
less the 2026-27 repayment     = $23,379.20
$23,379.20 + 2.8% on 1 June   = $24,033.82
less the 2027-28 repayment     = $21,713.02
...
cleared by the 2038-39 return, 13 returns

With no pay rise, $25,000 on $85,000 of repayment income is cleared by the 2038-39 tax return, after 13 compulsory repayments. Indexation adds $5,170 along the way, so $30,170 is repaid in total. Each $2,320.80 repayment lands after that year's 1 June indexation, which is why the balance falls by less than the repayment. Indexation after 1 June 2026 and thresholds after 2026-27 are not published yet, so 2.8% and the 2026-27 thresholds are carried forward.

Is this accurate, and how does it work?

The method is published rather than described. Nothing here is a black box, and the limits are listed as plainly as the workings.

  1. 1Start from repayment income, not salary. Repayment income is taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, total net investment losses, reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income. It is usually higher than your salary, which is why people under-estimate the repayment. If you salary package through a hospital, ambulance service or charity, the Salary Packaging Calculator works out the reportable amount and the repayment it adds.
  2. 2Apply the marginal bands. From 2025-26 the repayment is charged only on income above the minimum threshold, at 15c and then 17c in the dollar. Before 2025-26 a single rate applied to the whole repayment income, which is why older calculators give a much bigger answer.
  3. 3Switch to a flat rate at the top. Above the top threshold the repayment reverts to 10% of your entire repayment income rather than a marginal rate. The ATO sets the boundary so the two methods meet almost exactly, so there is no cliff.
  4. 4Index on 1 June, then take off the repayment. On 1 June each year the ATO indexes the part of the loan unpaid for more than 11 months, at the lower of CPI and WPI: 2.8% on 1 June 2026. A year's compulsory repayment reaches the loan only once that year's tax return is assessed, as one lump sum, so it lands after that 1 June. The payoff projection repeats that order each year, caps the last repayment at what is left, and stops at 50 years.

What this does not cover.

  • The payoff projection carries the 1 June 2026 indexation rate of 2.8% and the 2026-27 repayment thresholds forward to every later year, because the ATO has not published later figures. The real thresholds rise each year, so with a pay rise the projected payoff can come earlier than it will.
  • It assumes the balance you enter already reflects every assessed repayment, that each repayment is credited after that year's 1 June indexation, and that you borrow nothing more. New study debt is not indexed until it is 11 months old, which is not modelled.
  • A voluntary repayment is treated as paid before 1 June each year. Paid after 1 June, that year's indexation is charged on the balance first.
  • It does not apply the low family income exemption: with a spouse or dependants, no compulsory repayment is due in a year you get a Medicare levy reduction or pay no levy.
  • It assumes the figure you enter is your repayment income. If you enter salary alone the repayment will be understated.
  • It does not model the Medicare levy surcharge or Division 293, both of which can apply at the same incomes.
  • It assumes you are an Australian resident for tax purposes for the full year.

Where these figures come from.

Every rate this site uses is listed on the Methodology page.

Common questions.

How is my HECS repayment calculated in 2026-27?

Nothing is payable up to $69,528 of repayment income. From $69,529 to $129,717 you repay 15c for each dollar over $69,528. From $129,718 to $186,050 you repay $9,028 plus 17c for each dollar over $129,717. Above $186,050 the repayment is a flat 10% of your whole repayment income. On salary alone, $65,000 a year repays nothing, and $70,000 a year, $472 over the threshold, repays $70.80. On $85,000 that is $2,320.80. What comes out of a single pay is the Schedule 8 component, which the Tax Withheld Calculator adds to the tax on that pay. That component is the STSL line some payslips carry, explained on STSL Component.

Did HECS repayments change?

Yes, and it matters. From the 2025-26 income year the ATO calculates compulsory repayments marginally, on income above the threshold, instead of applying one rate to your entire repayment income. On the same income the marginal method usually produces a smaller repayment than the old tables did.

What counts as repayment income?

Taxable income, plus reportable fringe benefits, plus total net investment losses including net rental losses, plus reportable super contributions, plus exempt foreign employment income. Salary sacrificing into super does not remove the amount from repayment income, which surprises people.

When will I pay off my HECS debt?

Enter your balance from myGov and your repayment income. The calculator adds each 1 June indexation, takes off each compulsory repayment, and shows the tax return that clears the balance. On $85,000 with no pay rise, $25,000 is cleared by the 2038-39 return, after 13 compulsory repayments of $2,320.80, with $5,170 of indexation added. A 3% pay rise each year brings that to the 2033-34 return. The later years rest on figures the ATO has not published yet, which the limits below set out.

How does HECS indexation work?

On 1 June each year the ATO adds indexation to the part of your loan that has been unpaid for more than 11 months. The rate is the lower of the Consumer Price Index and the Wage Price Index: 2.8% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2025. The 2023 and 2024 rates were cut to 3.2% and 4%, from 7.1% and 4.7%. The rate for 1 June 2027 is set once the December CPI and WPI are out, so until then the projection carries 2.8% forward.

Why does my HECS balance not drop after each pay?

The extra tax your employer withholds for the loan is not applied to it until you lodge your tax return and the ATO works out the compulsory repayment. It then comes off in one lump sum. Any gap between what was withheld and the repayment is settled in your refund or bill, which the Tax Return Calculator works out.

Do voluntary repayments lower my compulsory repayment?

No. While you still owe money and your repayment income is over the threshold, a voluntary repayment does not change the compulsory repayment on your return. It lowers the balance, and paid before 1 June it escapes that year's indexation, so it shortens the time to pay the loan off. Enter an amount a year to see by how much.

Which loans do these thresholds cover?

All of them use the same table: HELP, VET Student Loan, Student Financial Supplement Scheme, Student Start-up Loan, ABSTUDY SSL and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan. If you hold more than one, repayments are applied in that order.

Related pages.

  • Income Tax CalculatorWork out income tax, the Medicare levy and the low income tax offset on any salary for 2026-27, with the bracket-by-bracket working shown.
  • Salary Sacrifice CalculatorSee what salary sacrificing into super saves in tax and costs in take-home pay, with the 15% contributions tax netted off.
  • Salary Packaging CalculatorSee what salary packaging saves a hospital, ambulance or charity worker in 2026-27, and how the reportable fringe benefit lifts HECS and surcharge income.
  • Division 293 CalculatorWork out Division 293 tax on concessional super contributions once income plus contributions passes the $250,000 threshold.
  • Pay Rise CalculatorSee what a pay rise is worth after tax, how much of a salary increase you keep at your marginal rate, and the extra super paid on top.

Every calculator on this site is listed on the Wage Calculator page.