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. From 2025-26 the repayment is worked out marginally, so the old flat-rate tables no longer apply.

Your details

Repayment income

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.

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.

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.
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.
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.

What this does not cover.

It works out the compulsory repayment only. It does not track your loan balance, voluntary repayments, or the indexation applied each year.
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.

ATO, Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-09-11.
ATO, Tax rates for Australian residents, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-08-13. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
ATO, Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners, the source gave its own last updated date as 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-09-02. Not yet published for 2026-27: this is the prior year’s figure carried forward and labelled as such, never estimated. It is corrected as soon as the ATO publishes.

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.

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.

Does this calculator include the indexation on my debt?

No. This works out the compulsory repayment for the year, not the balance of your debt or the annual indexation applied to it. Your outstanding balance is in myGov and on your ATO notice of assessment.

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.
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.