Student and postgraduate loans thresholds and rates for 2026 to 2027

The new student loan plan type and postgraduate loan thresholds and rates have been announced by the Department for Education. The thresholds from 6 April 2026 are:

• Plan 1 — £26,900

• Plan 2 — £29,385

• Plan 4 — £33,795

• Plan 5 — £25,000

• postgraduate loan — £21,000

Deductions rates from 6 April 2026 for: 

• Plan type 1, 2, 4 and 5 remain at 9% for any earnings above the respective thresholds

• postgraduate loans remain at 6% for any earnings above the threshold

Changes to the student loan starter checklist and Expat version

We are now updating the student loan starter checklist ahead of the new tax year for 6 April 2026. This is mainly to add new student plan type 5 and to clarify options for customers with multiple loan types.

Key changes to the checklist are:

• a new Plan type 5 checkbox added to the PDF and online version

• employees will now only be able to select one plan type plan 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 on the online version, however they can still select postgraduate loan at the same time as plan type loans

If you would like further personal advice or help for Tax Return and accounts, please contact our team:

📞 0161 224 3510📧 info@aminandcoaccountants.co.uk 🌐 www.aminandcoaccountants.co.uk

Expert tax advice you can trust – Amin & Co Accountants, Manchester