If you have a HELP debt, often still called HECS, you repay it through the tax system once your income is high enough. Nothing is due below the threshold, and since 2025–26 the repayment is worked out only on the part of your income above it. This guide covers the 2026–27 thresholds and rates, how the cap works, what counts as income for the test, and how the amount withheld from your pay compares with what you actually owe.
The same rules apply to VET Student Loans, Student Start-up Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and the Financial Supplement, which are all repaid together. Figures below are calculated live by the HELP repayment calculator.
The short version
For 2026–27, you make no compulsory repayment if your repayment income is $69,528 or less. On a repayment income of $90,000 the repayment is $3,071 for the year, and an employer paying that salary fortnightly withholds $118 a fortnight towards it.
$3,071
- Repayment income
- $90,000
- Repayment as % of repayment income
- 3.4%
- Rate on your next dollar
- 15%
- Withheld per fortnight (salary)
- $118
- Balance left after this year's repayment
- $26,929
- 2026–27 thresholds: no compulsory repayment up to $69,528; 15c per dollar above that to $129,717, then 17c per dollar, but never more than 10% of your whole repayment income.
- HELP, VET Student Loans, Student Start-up Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and the Financial Supplement are repaid together under these rates.
- The amount withheld from your pay is a prepayment; the actual repayment is worked out when you lodge your tax return.
- No repayment is due if a Medicare levy family reduction removes or reduces your levy.
Compulsory repayment: $3,071 for 2026–27 ($118 a fortnight from salary)
Show the breakdown
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | $90,000 |
| Repayment income | $90,000 |
| Compulsory repayment | $3,071 |
| Balance left after repayment | $26,929 |
How the marginal system works
Before 2025–26, once you passed a threshold you repaid a percentage of your whole income. So a small pay rise that took you over a threshold could add a large amount to the year’s repayment in one step. The Higher Education Support Act now works like the income tax brackets instead: a rate applies only to the income above each threshold.Federal Register of Legislation
The compulsory repayment is the smallest of three amounts:
- the marginal amount: 15% of repayment income above the first threshold, plus 17% of income above the second threshold;
- 10% of your whole repayment income;
- what you still owe.
For most people the first amount is the one that applies. On repayment income of $90,000 it is $3,071: 15% of the income above $69,528. The limit based on your whole income only becomes the smaller figure at high incomes, and the limit at your balance only matters in the year you finish paying off the loan.
Thresholds and rates for 2026–27
| Repayment income | Repayment |
|---|---|
| Up to $69,528 | Nil |
| $69,528 to $129,717 | 15% of the income above $69,528 |
| Above $129,717 | $9,028 plus 17% of the income above $129,717 |
| Any income | No more than 10% of total repayment income |
Both thresholds rise each year with average weekly earnings. For 2025–26 the Act set them at $67,000 and $125,000. They were indexed for 2026–27 using the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ average weekly earnings figures, as section 154-25 requires.Australian Bureau of Statistics The rates themselves are unchanged.
The 10% cap
The cap only matters at high incomes. Lower down, the marginal amount is always smaller than 10% of income. As income rises, the 17% rate catches up, and at high incomes the cap takes over. On $200,000 of repayment income, the repayment is $20,000, which is 10% of income. Above that point each extra dollar of income adds 10% to the repayment.
Repayments at common incomes
| Repayment income | Repayment for the year | Share of income | Withheld each fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $71 | 0.1% | $2 |
| $80,000 | $1,571 | 2% | $60 |
| $90,000 | $3,071 | 3.4% | $118 |
| $100,000 | $4,571 | 4.6% | $176 |
| $120,000 | $7,571 | 6.3% | $292 |
| $150,000 | $12,476 | 8.3% | $480 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 | 10% | $770 |
The yearly figures assume your debt is larger than the repayment. The fortnightly column is what an employer withholds on that salary, paid fortnightly, when you have claimed the tax-free threshold. Here is the working for $90,000 with a $30,000 balance:
| Line | Per year |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | $90,000 |
| Repayment income | $90,000 |
| Compulsory repayment | $3,071 |
| Balance left after repayment | $26,929 |
What counts as repayment income
Repayment income is broader than taxable income. Section 154-5 adds four amounts to your taxable income:Federal Register of Legislation
- reportable super contributions, such as salary sacrifice and personal contributions you claim as a deduction;
- reportable fringe benefits from your income statement;
- a net investment loss, for example from a negatively geared rental property;
- exempt foreign employment income.
This means you can’t reduce your HELP repayment by salary sacrificing into super. With a taxable income of $85,000 and $5,000 of salary sacrifice, repayment income is $90,000, and the repayment is $3,071, the same as on a straight $90,000.
How withholding works
If you tell your employer on your TFN declaration that you have a study loan, they add a study loan component to the tax they withhold from each pay. The ATO sets this component in Schedule 8 of its withholding instrument, using the same weekly conversion and rounding as ordinary PAYG withholding.Australian Taxation Office
There are two tables. One applies if you claim the tax-free threshold from that employer, and starts once your weekly pay is above the equivalent of the repayment threshold. The other applies if you don’t claim the threshold, as in a second job, and starts at a much lower level of pay. On a $60,000 second job without the tax-free threshold, the employer withholds $50 a fortnight for the loan, even though $60,000 on its own is below the repayment threshold. That is deliberate: your two jobs together may well be above it.
No study loan amount is withheld if you haven’t given your employer a tax file number.
Withholding versus your tax return
The amount withheld is a prepayment. Your actual repayment is worked out when you lodge your tax return, on your repayment income for the whole year, and any difference is added to your tax bill or refund.
For employees in 2026–27, withholding often runs a little ahead of the final figure. One reason is the new $1,000 standard deduction for work expenses, which lowers taxable income, and so repayment income, only at tax time. On a $90,000 salary paid fortnightly, your employer withholds $118 a fortnight for the loan, in line with a repayment of $3,071 on the full salary. On the return, the standard deduction lowers repayment income and the repayment falls to $2,921. The difference comes back as part of your refund.
When you repay less or nothing
- Your income is at or below the threshold. No repayment is due, and anything withheld is refunded.
- Your balance is small. The repayment can’t be more than you owe. With $2,000 left and repayment income of $90,000, the repayment is $2,000.
- You qualify for a Medicare levy family reduction. If your family income is low enough for the Medicare levy to be reduced or removed under the family rules, no compulsory repayment is due for that year.Federal Register of Legislation For example, someone on a $60,000 salary with a spouse who has no income and three dependent children repays $0.
The calculators don’t cover the overseas debtors’ repayment for people living outside Australia.
Common questions
Do I need to tell my employer about my loan? Yes. Tick the study loan box on your TFN declaration, or update it with a withholding declaration if you already work there. If you don’t, too little is withheld and the shortfall is added to your tax bill when you lodge.
I have two jobs. Who withholds the repayment? Every employer you have told withholds a study loan amount, each using the table that matches whether you claim the tax-free threshold with them. Between them they may withhold more than you need, and the extra comes back at tax time.
When does the repayment come off my balance? Not as each pay is withheld. The compulsory repayment is applied to your loan account once your tax return for the year has been assessed.
I’m self-employed. How do I repay? No employer withholds for you, so the repayment for the year is added to your tax assessment when you lodge. Put money aside during the year, as you would for your income tax.
My income is just over the threshold. Will I repay much? Very little, because only the income above the threshold counts. At $70,000 the repayment is $71 for the year.
Can I repay more than the compulsory amount? Yes, you can make voluntary repayments at any time. They are separate from the compulsory repayment, and the calculator doesn’t include them.
Check your own repayment
Enter your taxable income, any reportable super or fringe benefits and your balance in the HELP repayment calculator. To see the loan repayment on each payslip alongside your tax, use the pay calculator. The salary after tax guide shows take-home pay with and without a study loan at common salaries, and the take-home pay guide explains the rest of your payslip.
Figures are estimates for 2026–27 worked out from the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the ATO’s withholding schedules. They are not tax advice.
