How HELP study loan repayments come out of your pay
Every study loan debt that existed on 1 June 2025 was cut by 20%. Repayments changed a month later too. From 1 July 2025 the repayment is worked out only on the income above the first threshold. Below it you repay nothing, whatever you owe.
What counts as repayment income
The repayment is based on your repayment income, which is your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions (salary sacrifice included) and net investment losses. It depends on what you earn, not on the size of your debt.
The 2026 to 27 repayments
| Repayment income | Repayment |
|---|---|
| Up to $69,528 | Nil |
| $69,529 to $129,717 | 15% of the amount over $69,528 |
| $129,718 to $186,050 | $9,028 plus 17% of the amount over $129,717 |
| $186,051 and above | 10% of your whole repayment income |
Marginal, except at the top
Each band charges only on the income inside it. On $70,000 you repay 15% of the $472 above $69,528, which is $70.80. A pay rise can never leave you with less money after repayment than before it. Older advice online describes the pre 2025 rule, where one rate hit your whole income at every step. Ignore it.
The top band is the one place a share of whole income survives. Above $186,050 you repay 10% of everything, from the first dollar. The numbers are set so there is no cliff. At $186,050 the repayment is $18,604.96, and one dollar higher it is $18,605.10.
$80,000 in numbers
Your repayment income is $80,000, which is $10,472 over the first threshold. At 15% the repayment is $1,570.80 a year, about $130.90 a month. Income tax is $14,520 and the Medicare levy is $1,600. Take home pay falls from $63,880 to $62,309.20 a year.
On $200,000 you are in the top band, so the repayment is 10% of $200,000, which is $20,000 a year.
How it reaches the ATO
Your employer can include the repayment in the tax withheld from each pay. The final amount is set from your income when you lodge, so there is no fixed monthly bill, and you can end up owing a little or getting some back. A repayment is not tax, but it comes out of your pay like tax, so we show it as its own line. You can pay extra at any time. Our pages show the compulsory repayment only.
Tick the study loan box on the calculator or see the $80,000 salary page. This is general information, not advice.
Keep reading
How Australian income tax worksThe Medicare levy explainedSuper and your take home payHow the TFN declaration works