Answers · UK 2025/26
What is my take-home pay on £36,000 with a Plan 5 student loan in 2026/27?
On £36,000 in 2026/27 with a Plan 5 student loan, you pay £4,686 Income Tax, £1,874.40 National Insurance and £990 student loan repayments, leaving £28,449.60 take-home pay -- about £2,370.80 a month.
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On a £36,000 salary in 2026/27, the standard deductions are £4,686 Income Tax (20% on the £23,430 above the £12,570 Personal Allowance) and £1,874.40 National Insurance (8% of the same £23,430), leaving £29,439.60 before a student loan. Plan 5 applies to English students who started their undergraduate course from August 2023 onwards, and it is repaid at 9% of income above a £25,000 threshold for 2026/27 -- the lowest threshold of any current plan, which is frozen rather than uprated each year. On £36,000, the amount above the threshold is £11,000, so the repayment is 9% of £11,000, which is £990 for the year, deducted automatically through PAYE. This leaves take-home pay of £28,449.60 a year, around £2,370.80 a month. Because the Plan 5 threshold is lower and frozen compared with Plan 2's £29,385 threshold, a graduate on Plan 5 repays more than an otherwise identical graduate on Plan 2 at the same salary -- on £36,000 a Plan 2 borrower would repay 9% of only £6,615, or £595.35, roughly £395 less per year. Plan 5 also has a much longer 40-year repayment term before any outstanding balance is written off, compared with 30 years for Plan 2, meaning more Plan 5 borrowers are expected to repay their loans in full rather than have any balance written off.
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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.