Student loan repayment · self-employed · 2026/27
Student loan repayment when you're self-employed
If you're self-employed, you don't repay your student loan through payslips — HMRC works it out from the income on your Self Assessment return and adds it to your tax bill. Put in your income for the year and your plan to see exactly what gets added. It runs entirely in your browser.
Your year
Use your total taxable income for the year — your self-employment profit plus any employed salary, rent or other income, because HMRC bases the repayment on the lot. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Thresholds & rates for 2026/27
You repay a percentage of everything you earn over the threshold for your plan — nothing on the income below it. Undergraduate plans repay at 9%; a Postgraduate Loan repays at 6% and stacks on top if you have both.
| Plan | Yearly threshold | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | 9% |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | 9% |
| Plan 4 (Scotland) | £33,795 | 9% |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | 9% |
| Postgraduate Loan | £21,000 | 6% |
Because it's collected through Self Assessment, the repayment lands in the same January bill as your Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance — so it's worth setting money aside for it too.
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Common questions
How do I repay my student loan if I'm self-employed?
Through Self Assessment. There are no payslips to deduct from, so HMRC works out the repayment from the total income you report on your tax return and adds it to what you owe. You pay it in the same January (and, if you make payments on account, July) as your Income Tax — the Student Loans Company then credits it to your balance.
How much do I repay?
You repay 9% of your income above your plan's threshold for undergraduate Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, and 6% above £21,000 for a Postgraduate Loan. For 2026/27 the yearly thresholds are £26,900 (Plan 1), £29,385 (Plan 2), £33,795 (Plan 4), £25,000 (Plan 5) and £21,000 (Postgraduate). Nothing is due on the income below the threshold.
What counts as income for the calculation?
For the self-employed it's your whole-year income on the return — your trading profit after expenses, plus any employment income, rental profit or other taxable income. If you're both employed and self-employed, HMRC looks at your combined income and deducts anything already taken from your salary through PAYE.
Do I pay this on top of my Income Tax and National Insurance?
Yes. The student loan repayment is separate from Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance, but all three are collected together through Self Assessment. So on the pound above your threshold you're effectively parting with the 9% (or 6%) student loan repayment as well as your tax and NI — worth remembering when you budget.
What if I have two plans, or a plan plus a Postgraduate Loan?
If you have a Postgraduate Loan as well as an undergraduate plan you repay both — 6% over £21,000 and 9% over your undergraduate threshold — which this calculator adds together for you. If you have two undergraduate plans (say Plan 1 and Plan 2), you repay 9% once, over the lower of the two thresholds.
The student loan is one line of a bigger Self Assessment bill
If you repay your loan through Self Assessment, that return also has to work out your Income Tax, Class 4 National Insurance and payments on account — and it helps to know the total early so you can set money aside. Our spreadsheet toolkit pulls the whole January bill together in Excel or Google Sheets you own.
- Self Assessment Tax Estimator 2026/27 — your full bill in one place: income tax, Class 4 NI, payments on account, month-by-month set-aside.
- Freelance Day-Rate & Profit Calculator — work back from the take-home you want to the rate you need to charge.
- Rental Property ROI & Yield Calculator — for landlords weighing personal versus company ownership.
- Invoice Tracker & Log — auto paid/outstanding/overdue, with a chase list.
Excel and Google Sheets. Working formulas, not just formatting. Built and checked by us, with AI assistance, and every calculation verified.
Get the Tax Estimator — £9 →£9 on its own, or all four tools for £19, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.