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Calculate how long it will take to repay your HELP/HECS loan
Repayment income includes taxable income, reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses and reportable super contributions.
Your HELP/HECS repayment projection
Typically around 2-4% per year, based on CPI
Your expected annual wage growth
The ATO indexes the repayment thresholds every year, in line with average earnings, so this projection indexes them too. It follows your wage-growth figure above by default, which holds your position relative to the threshold steady. Set it lower if you expect promotions to outrun average earnings. For reference, the last published move was $67,000 to $69,528, or 3.8%.
The table below shows the repayment rates that apply at each income band and the thresholds where they start. The income-based amount is worked out from repayment income (taxable income plus applicable add-backs). Under section 154-20(1) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003, the domestic compulsory amount is the least of that formula, 10.0% of repayment income and repayable debt. Below the first threshold the income-based formula is nil.
For 2026–27, the income-based formula starts once repayment income passes $69,528. On $80,000 the income-based amount before the repayable-debt cap is $1,571 a year ($60 a fortnight by simple division); on $150,000the income-based amount before that cap is $12,476 a year, or 8.3% of income, before the repayable-debt cap. These examples assume repayable debt is at least the income-based amount; the projection above also uses your entered balance and applies that cap.
| Repayment income | Income-based formula |
|---|---|
| Below $69,528 | Nil income-based formula |
| $69,528 – $129,717 | 15% of income above $69,528 |
| $129,717 – $186,050 | $9,028 + 17% of income above $129,717 |
| Over $186,050 | 10% of your total repayment income |
On $80,000
15% of the $10,472 above $69,528 = $1,571 a year (about $60 a fortnight).
On $150,000
$9,028 plus 17% of the $20,283 above $129,717 = $12,476 a year.
Thresholds for years after 2025-26 are indexed from 1 July under section 154-25 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003, using average weekly earnings for all employees (AWE), not general inflation. Published years use the ATO figures. Beyond those years, this projection applies your editable threshold-indexation assumption, which defaults to your wage-growth assumption. That is a modelling estimate, not a forecast of future AWE or ATO thresholds. The last published move was $67,000 to $69,528, or 3.8%. Freezing thresholds while projecting rising income can overstate later-year repayments. Enter your own income above to see the estimate and how long the model projects your debt will take to clear.
This calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product. Before you make a financial decision, consider obtaining advice from someone who holds an Australian Financial Services Licence. We do not, and we cannot advise you.
HELP and HECS are study loan programs where the government pays your tuition fees upfront and compulsory repayments may apply once repayment income exceeds the minimum threshold.
Under section 154-20(1) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003, the compulsory amount is the least of the income-based formula, 10.0% of repayment income and repayable debt.
It depends on your repayment income, balance and the assumptions used in this projection. The timeline is an estimate, not an ATO assessment.
Indexation is a separate mechanism that changes the loan balance. The projection uses the selected indexation assumption.
Voluntary repayments reduce the loan balance. The compulsory amount is separately subject to the statutory least-of limit, including repayable debt.
Estimates only. Not financial or tax advice. Full disclaimer for your rights and our limitations of liability.
This calculator exists to show you the arithmetic. It applies published Australian rates, thresholds and formulas to the numbers you enter and shows the working, so you can check it. That is all it does — it produces a number and describes what the number is. It does not recommend anything and it holds no opinion about any financial product.
What can move this result
Why these default assumptions are reasonable
This calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product. Before you make a financial decision, consider obtaining advice from someone who holds an Australian Financial Services Licence. We do not, and we cannot advise you.