When do I start repaying my student loan?
Repayment does not start when you graduate. It starts the April after you leave, and only once you earn over the threshold. Enter your details for the exact first-possible date.
The two rules that set the date
Repayment needs two things to be true at once. First, the April after you finish must have arrived, because student loan repayment runs on the tax year, not your graduation day. Second, your income in that pay period must be over the plan threshold. Miss either and nothing is deducted, which is why leaving the course rarely means an instant repayment.
Plan 5 adds a hard floor. It only exists for courses that started on or after 1 August 2023, so the earliest anyone could repay on it was April 2026, with a £25,000 threshold. If you left such a course in 2025, for example, the tool still shows April 2026 as the first possible date.
Worked example
Finish a Plan 5 course in June 2026 on a £28,000 graduate salary. The next 6 April is 6 April 2027, so that is the first possible date. Because £28,000 is over the £25,000 threshold, repayments would then begin at about £23 a month. Start on a lower salary and the date is the same, but the deductions wait until your pay clears the threshold.
Common questions
When do student loan repayments start?
They start on the first 6 April after you finish or leave your course, but only in a month you earn over your plan threshold. Both conditions have to be met, so a graduate on a low starting salary can leave the course and still pay nothing until their pay rises.
When do Plan 5 repayments start?
Plan 5 is the newest plan, for English courses starting on or after 1 August 2023. The very first Plan 5 repayments began in April 2026, and the threshold is £25,000. No one repays on Plan 5 before that April, however early they left the course.
I have finished university but nothing is coming off my pay. Why is that?
Almost always because your salary is under the monthly threshold, or the April after you left has not arrived yet. Repayments are checked each pay period, so they only start once both the date and the income test are passed.
Do I start repaying as soon as I graduate?
No. Leaving the course does not trigger repayment on its own. The clock starts on the following 6 April, and even then only if your income is above the threshold that month.
What counts as leaving the course?
Finishing, withdrawing or being withdrawn all count. The date used is when you stop being enrolled, and the first repayment window is the 6 April after that date.