HECS repayment calculator (HECS-HELP 2026-27)
This HECS repayment calculator estimates your compulsory HECS-HELP repayment for 2026-27 under the ATO's marginal system: 15c for each dollar above $69,528. On $95,000 of repayment income, you'd repay $3,820.80. It also estimates how many years your debt will take to clear.
The link carries the numbers you entered, so anyone who opens it sees the same result.
2026-27 key figures
- Repayments start
- Over $69,528
- First band
- 15c per dollar over
- Top band
- 10% over $186,050
- Based on
- Repayment income
Compulsory HELP repayment per year
$3,820.80
From $95,000 gross per year
- You keep 74.0%
- Income tax 20.0%
- Medicare levy 2.0%
- HELP repayment 4.0%
Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | $95,000 |
| Plus other repayment income | $0 |
| Repayment income | $95,000 |
| HELP repayment (15c per $1 over $69,528) | $3,820.80 |
| Income tax after offsets | $19,020 |
| Medicare levy | $1,900 |
| Total tax and HELP | $24,740.80 |
| Take-home pay (taxable income − tax − HELP) | $70,259.20 |
- HELP per fortnight
- $146.95
- Repayment income
- $95,000
- HELP as % of repayment income
- 4.02%
- Take-home per year
- $70,259.20
- After tax and HELP
- Take-home per fortnight
- $2,702.28
- Total tax per year
- $20,920
- Excl. HELP
- Estimated year the debt clears
- 2033-34
- Estimated total repaid
- $31,559.85
The marginal repayment system: you repay only on income above the threshold
Since 1 July 2025, compulsory repayments are worked out on the income above the threshold, like a tax bracket. On $95,000 that means 15% of $25,472, which is about 4.0% of repayment income.
$69,528
Repayments start
$25,472 below
You repay nothing up to here. From $69,529 to $129,717, you repay 15c for each dollar above $69,528.
$95,000
Default income
$129,717
Second band starts
Above $95,000
From $129,718 to $186,050, it's $9,028 plus 17c for each dollar above $129,717.
$186,050
Top band starts
Above $95,000
Above $186,050, you repay 10% of your total repayment income.
The marginal design also sets the cost of a pay rise. At $95,000 you keep $530 of an extra $1,000, an effective rate of 47% while the debt lasts.
The HECS repayment thresholds for 2025-26 started lower, at $67,000, which matters for 2025-26 returns.
| Step | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Pay rise | +$1,000 | $1,000 |
| Income tax | −$300 | $700 |
| Medicare levy | −$20 | $680 |
| HELP repayment | −$150 | $530 |
| You keep | $530 | |
Indexation each 1 June and how it stretches the payoff
Your balance is indexed on 1 June each year. These are the latest rates on the ATO indexation page (opens in a new tab).
- Indexation on 1 June 2026
- 2.8%
- Indexation in 2025
- 3.2%
- Indexation in 2024Reduced from 4.7%
- 4.0%
Balances also fell once under the 20% reduction. It was applied to debts held on 1 June 2025, before that year's indexation, and the ATO has finished processing it. The balance in myGov already reflects it.
Now take a $28,000 balance with $95,000 of repayment income. The assumptions are illustrative: indexation stays at 2.8%, salary grows 3% a year, and the repayment thresholds rise 3% a year with wages. Each year we index the balance on 1 June, then subtract the compulsory repayment when the return is assessed.
| Income year | Repayment income | Balance after 1 June indexation | Compulsory repayment | Balance after repayment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $95,000 | $28,784.00 | $3,820.80 | $24,963.20 |
| 2027-28 | $97,850 | $25,662.17 | $3,935.42 | $21,726.75 |
| 2028-29 | $100,786 | $22,335.10 | $4,053.49 | $18,281.61 |
| 2029-30 | $103,809 | $18,793.50 | $4,175.09 | $14,618.41 |
| 2030-31 | $106,923 | $15,027.73 | $4,300.34 | $10,727.39 |
| 2031-32 | $110,131 | $11,027.76 | $4,429.35 | $6,598.41 |
| 2032-33 | $113,435 | $6,783.17 | $4,562.24 | $2,220.93 |
| 2033-34 | $116,838 | $2,283.12 | $2,283.12 | $0.00 |
On these assumptions, the debt clears with the 2033-34 return, in the eighth income year. Total repaid is $31,559.85, so indexation adds $3,559.85.
What changes the payoff time
If salary stayed at $95,000 with thresholds frozen, it would take nine years. At 4% indexation, the 2024 rate, it still clears in 2033-34 but total repaid rises to $33,400.42.
Income near the threshold changes the picture sharply. On $75,000, the first compulsory repayment is $820.80, barely more than the $784 of indexation added to a $28,000 balance in the first year. On the same assumptions, that debt would take 34 years to clear.
When a voluntary repayment is worth making
A voluntary repayment made before 1 June avoids indexation on that amount. At 2.8%, a $2,000 voluntary repayment saves $56 of indexation in its first year, and the saving compounds while the debt remains.
Adding $2,000 every year to the example clears the debt with the 2030-31 return, three years sooner. Total paid falls to $30,140.49, about $1,419 less.
How voluntary repayments work, and what else the money could do
You can make one at any time through the ATO, and it's credited straight to your HELP account. It doesn't reduce the compulsory repayment for the year, which is still worked out on your repayment income.
Whether that's the best use of $2,000 depends on what else the money could do, such as reducing a home loan or adding to super. Compare the 2.8% indexation rate with the rate on those alternatives, and speak to a licensed adviser if you're unsure.
HECS repayments at $70,000, $100,000 and $150,000
These figures are for a single resident who claims the tax-free threshold and has no other adjustments.
| Repayment income | Compulsory repayment | Share of income | Take-home after tax, levy and HELP | Take-home without a HELP debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $70.80 | 0.10% | $57,009.20 | $57,080.00 |
| $100,000 | $4,570.80 | 4.57% | $72,909.20 | $77,480.00 |
| $150,000 | $12,476.11 | 8.32% | $97,953.89 | $110,430.00 |
At $70,000 the repayment is small because only $472 of income sits above the threshold. Under the pre-2025 system, crossing the threshold triggered a percentage on the whole income.
Where the payoff estimate can be wrong
The payoff estimate rests on assumptions about indexation, pay rises and threshold growth, and real figures will differ. It doesn't model career breaks, years below the threshold, or new study added to the debt.
It doesn't check your balance; myGov shows the ATO figure. If you hold more than one study or training loan, one compulsory repayment covers them all, so enter the combined balance.
Any tax refund or debt from the rest of your return is also outside the estimate, and the tax return calculator covers that. Income for the Medicare levy surcharge uses similar add-backs, and the Medicare levy surcharge calculator tests that separately.
HECS repayment questions: amounts, repayment income, deductibility, overseas work and payoff time
Still stuck? Email us
Last reviewed
How much HECS do I pay?
You pay 15c for each dollar of repayment income above $69,528 in 2026-27, up to $129,717, with higher rates above that. On $95,000 that's $3,820.80 for the year. Below $69,528, the compulsory repayment is nil, though indexation still applies to the balance on 1 June.
Is HECS calculated on gross income?
No. It's calculated on repayment income, which is taxable income plus add-backs such as reportable super contributions, reportable fringe benefits and net investment losses. Work deductions reduce it; salary sacrifice doesn't. Someone with $88,000 taxable income and $7,000 salary sacrifice repays $3,820.80, the same as on $95,000 of salary.
Are HECS payments tax deductible?
No. Compulsory and voluntary HECS-HELP repayments are not tax deductible for the person repaying. They also don't reduce your taxable income or Medicare levy. A $3,820.80 compulsory repayment on $95,000 is paid on top of income tax and the levy. At $100,000, it cuts take-home pay from $77,480 to $72,909.20.
Do I repay HECS while working overseas?
Yes, if your worldwide income is above the minimum repayment income of $69,528 for 2026-27. If you'll live overseas for 183 days or more in 12 months, lodge an overseas travel notification within 7 days of leaving. You then report your worldwide income, or lodge a non-lodgment advice, by 31 October each year, under the ATO's overseas obligations when repaying loans (opens in a new tab). Indexation continues on 1 June either way.
Why does my employer withhold HECS from each pay?
Your employer withholds an extra amount under the ATO's Schedule 8 so the year's repayment is mostly covered by tax time. On $95,000 a year paid weekly, that's $73 a week, or $3,796 over 52 weeks. The compulsory repayment is $3,820.80, so the remaining $24.80 would be added to your tax assessment.
How long will it take to pay off my HECS debt?
It depends on your balance, income, pay rises and indexation. With a $28,000 balance, $95,000 of repayment income, 2.8% indexation and 3% annual pay rises, the debt clears with the 2033-34 return, in the eighth income year. At $75,000 on the same assumptions, it takes 34 years, because repayments barely outpace indexation.
Estimates only, based on published rates for 2026-27. General information, not tax or financial advice.
Keep going
Sources
- ATO: Study and training support loans rates and repayment thresholds (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Study and training support loans indexation rates (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Study and training loans: what's new (opens in a new tab)
- ATO: Schedule 8 STSL components (opens in a new tab)
Provisional: the Medicare levy low-income thresholds ($28,011 and $35,013) are carried over from the previous financial year until the ATO publishes the 2026-27 figures.