How repayments work
You don’t make HELP repayments yourself, unless you choose to. They’re compulsory repayments collected through the tax system:
- When you start a job, tell your employer you have a study loan on your TFN declaration or withholding declaration. They then take extra tax from each pay.
- When you lodge your tax return, the ATO works out what you owe for the year from your repayment income, and credits what’s been taken from your pay.
- Whatever is repaid comes off your HELP balance.
Your repayment income is your taxable income plus some other amounts, such as reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions and net investment losses.
How much will I repay in 2026–27?
| Repayment income | Compulsory repayment |
|---|---|
| $69,528 or less | Nothing |
| $69,529 to $129,717 | 15 cents for each $1 over $69,528 |
| $129,718 to $186,050 | $9,028.35 plus 17 cents for each $1 over $129,717 |
| $186,051 and over | 10% of your whole repayment income |
Example: on $80,000, you repay 15% of the $10,472 above the threshold: $1,571 for the year, or about $60 a fortnight.
What changed
Until 2024–25, you repaid a percentage of your whole income once you passed the threshold, from 1% up to 10%. Earning a dollar more could push your whole income into a higher rate. From 2025–26, you only repay on the part above the threshold, and the threshold went up to $67,000, then $69,528 for 2026–27.
- $60k repayment income $600 less
- 2024–25 (old system): $600 2026–27 (new system): $0
- $80k repayment income $1,629 less
- 2024–25 (old system): $3,200 2026–27 (new system): $1,571
- $100k repayment income $929 less
- 2024–25 (old system): $5,500 2026–27 (new system): $4,571
- $150k repayment income $1,024 less
- 2024–25 (old system): $13,500 2026–27 (new system): $12,476
You repay less at every income, and nothing until $69,528
2024–25 repaid a share of your whole income; the new system only charges the part over the threshold.
Indexation
Each 1 June, your HELP debt grows with indexation, so it keeps its real value. It’s now set at the lower of inflation (CPI) or wage growth (WPI):
- 2.8% on 1 June 2026
- It only applies to the part of your debt that has been unpaid for more than 11 months
A voluntary repayment that reaches the ATO before 1 June reduces the amount indexation is charged on. Payments can take a few days to process, so pay well before the deadline.
The 20% debt cut
A law passed in 2025 cut student debts by 20%, based on what people owed on 1 June 2025, before that year’s indexation. It covers HECS-HELP and other HELP loans, VET Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, Student Start-up Loans and the old Student Financial Supplement Scheme.
You don’t need to do anything. The ATO applied it automatically, and you can see your new balance in myGov.
Should I pay it off faster?
There’s no bonus for voluntary repayments, and there’s no interest, only indexation. Paying extra mainly makes sense if indexation is likely to be higher than what your money could earn elsewhere, or if you want to be debt-free sooner, for example before applying for a home loan.
See it in your pay
Our pay calculator shows your HELP repayment in every pay. Set HELP or study loan to Yes under More options.