Answers · UK 2025/26
What is my take-home pay on £27,000 with a Plan 5 student loan in 2026/27?
On £27,000 in 2026/27 with a Plan 5 student loan, you pay £2,886 Income Tax, £1,154.40 National Insurance and £180 student loan repayments, leaving £22,779.60 take-home pay -- about £1,898.30 a month.
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On a £27,000 salary in 2026/27, the standard deductions are £2,886 Income Tax (20% on the £14,430 above the £12,570 Personal Allowance) and £1,154.40 National Insurance (8% of the same £14,430), leaving £22,959.60 before a student loan. Plan 5, which applies to English undergraduates who started their course from August 2023 onwards, is repaid at 9% of income above a £25,000 threshold for 2026/27. On £27,000, the amount above the threshold is only £2,000, so the repayment is 9% of £2,000, which is £180 for the year, deducted automatically through PAYE. This leaves take-home pay of £22,779.60 a year, around £1,898.30 a month. Because the Plan 5 threshold of £25,000 is frozen and considerably lower than Plan 2's £29,385, recent graduates on Plan 5 start repaying their loan sooner, even at relatively modest salaries just above the National Living Wage full-time equivalent. Someone on the same £27,000 salary with a Plan 2 loan would pay nothing at all, since £27,000 is below the £29,385 Plan 2 threshold -- illustrating how much the choice of repayment plan, determined by when and where you studied, affects take-home pay at lower salary levels.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.