How HECS-HELP repayments work
If you have a study or training loan — HECS-HELP, VET Student Loan, SFSS and others are all treated the same — you make compulsory repayments once your income passes a minimum threshold. There's nothing to arrange: the repayment is worked out when you lodge your tax return, and your employer usually withholds extra from each pay through the year to cover it.
The new marginal system (from 2025–26)
From 1 July 2025 the way repayments are calculated changed. Under the new system, your repayment is worked out only on the income above the minimum threshold — much like income tax brackets. This removes the old "cliff", where earning one dollar more could tip your whole income into a higher rate. These are the 2025–26 rates:
| Repayment income | Repayment |
|---|---|
| $0 – $67,000 | Nil |
| $67,001 – $125,000 | 15c for each $1 over $67,000 |
| $125,001 – $179,285 | $8,700 + 17c for each $1 over $125,000 |
| $179,286 and over | 10% of total repayment income |
The previous system (2024–25 and earlier)
For 2024–25 and earlier years, a single repayment rate — from 1% up to 10% — was applied to your whole repayment income, with the rate stepping up across about eighteen income bands. The year selector in the calculator switches automatically between the two systems, so picking an older year applies the rules that were actually in force.
What counts as repayment income
Repayment income is more than just your salary. It's your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, total net investment losses (including rental losses) and any exempt foreign employment income. For most employees with a straightforward salary, it's very close to their gross pay.
Indexation and the 2025 debt reduction
Separately from repayments, your outstanding HELP balance is indexed on 1 June each year so it keeps pace with the cost of living. Since 2023 the indexation rate is the lower of the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index. In 2025 the government also applied a one-off 20% reduction to all HELP debts, calculated on balances as at 1 June 2025 before indexation. This calculator works out your compulsory repayment for a year — it doesn't model indexation or the one-off cut.
Worked example: repayment on $90,000
Here's how the calculator works out the repayment for someone with $90,000 of repayment income in 2025–26:
Repayment income of $90,000
Under the previous system, $90,000 of repayment income in 2024–25 fell in the 5.0% band, and that rate applied to the whole amount — a repayment of $4,500. The new marginal system leaves this person about $1,050 better off.