Answers · UK 2025/26

What is my take-home pay on £42,000 with a Plan 2 student loan in 2026/27?

On a £42,000 salary with a Plan 2 student loan in 2026/27, you pay £5,886 Income Tax, £2,354.40 National Insurance and £1,135.35 student loan repayment, leaving £32,624.25 take-home pay -- about £2,718.69 a month.

Last updated: 3 July 2026Last reviewed: 3 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

For a £42,000 salary in 2026/27, taxable income after the £12,570 Personal Allowance is £29,430, entirely within the 20% basic rate band, giving £5,886 Income Tax. National Insurance is 8% of £29,430 above the Primary Threshold, giving £2,354.40. Plan 2 student loans (for most English and Welsh students who started university between 2012 and 2023) repay 9% of income above a £29,385 threshold for 2026/27 -- at £42,000 salary, the £12,615 above the threshold generates a repayment of £1,135.35. Combined deductions of £9,375.75 leave £32,624.25 take-home pay a year, around £2,718.69 a month or £627.39 a week. Plan 2 has a higher interest rate than Plan 1 or Plan 5 and is written off 30 years after the April you became eligible to repay, so many Plan 2 borrowers on moderate salaries like this never clear the balance before write-off, making the monthly repayment effectively a graduate tax rather than a loan being paid down. Use the Student Loan Repayment calculator to model overpayments or a future pay rise.