HECS Repayment Calculator
Enter your repayment income and current balance to see your compulsory HELP repayment for 2026-27, the fortnightly cost and the year your debt clears.
- The ATO applied a one-off 20% reduction to HELP balances held at 1 June 2025, processed before the June 2026 indexation was added.
- Repayments are marginal for 2026-27: only the dollars above $69,528 attract a repayment, not your whole income.
| Year | Indexation | Repayment | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $840 | $2,321 | $28,519 |
| 2027-28 | $799 | $2,321 | $26,997 |
| 2028-29 | $756 | $2,321 | $25,432 |
| 2029-30 | $712 | $2,321 | $23,823 |
| 2030-31 | $667 | $2,321 | $22,170 |
| 2031-32 | $621 | $2,321 | $20,470 |
| 2032-33 | $573 | $2,321 | $18,722 |
| 2033-34 | $524 | $2,321 | $16,925 |
| ... | |||
| 2042-43 | $17 | $636 | $0 |
Projection holds your income and the indexation rate constant, indexes the balance each 1 June, then credits the year's repayment. Voluntary repayments would shorten the timeline.
How HELP repayments work in 2026-27
Repayments are marginal, the same way tax brackets work. You repay nothing on repayment income up to $69,528, 15 cents in each dollar between $69,528 and $129,717, and 17 cents in each dollar above that. On $90,000, only the $20,472 above the threshold counts, so the compulsory repayment is $3,071 for the year, about $118 a fortnight.
The marginal system replaced the old design, which charged a single percentage against your whole income once you crossed the threshold. Crossing the line by one dollar used to trigger a repayment on everything; now it costs you 15 cents. The full band-by-band detail lives in our HECS repayment rates guide, and this page is part of a wider set of tax calculators covering every piece of your pay.
2026-27 repayment thresholds and rates
| Repayment income | Repayment on this income |
|---|---|
| $0 to $69,528 | Nil |
| $69,528 to $129,717 | 15c for each $1 over $69,528 |
| $129,717 to $186,050 | $9,028 plus 17c for each $1 over $129,717 |
| $186,050 and over | 10% of total repayment income |
The repayment sits on top of income tax and the Medicare levy, which follow the 2026-27 tax brackets. On $90,000 with a study loan, total deductions come to $22,391 for the year once the $3,071 HELP repayment is added.
That is a real dent in your pay packet, so budget with the loan switched on. Our take-home pay calculator shows the same figures per week, fortnight and month.
The 20% reduction and June 2026 indexation
The ATO applied a one-off 20% reduction to HELP balances held at 1 June 2025, with processing running from December 2025. A $30,000 balance became $24,000, and the cut landed before the 1 June 2026 indexation of 2.8% was added. Check your current balance in ATO online services through myGov before you run the numbers above; it is probably lower than you remember.
Indexation still applies every 1 June, so a balance that only receives small repayments keeps growing in the background. How the annual rate is set, and why it spiked in recent years, is covered in our guide to HECS indexation.
The projection in the calculator shows the tug of war directly. On $90,000 with a $30,000 balance and 2.8% indexation, the debt clears in about 12 years through compulsory repayments alone. If that timeline bothers you, read up on paying off HECS early before making voluntary repayments.
What counts as repayment income
Repayment income is bigger than your salary. The ATO adds up all of the following amounts from your tax return and payment summaries:
- taxable income, not including any assessable First Home Super Saver released amounts
- any reportable fringe benefits, regardless of your employer's exempt status
- total net investment loss, which includes net rental losses
- reportable super contributions, including salary sacrificed super
- any exempt foreign employment income amounts
The add-backs matter. A negatively geared rental cuts your taxable income, but the loss goes straight back in for HELP purposes. Salary sacrificing to super does not lower your repayment either, because the sacrificed amount returns as a reportable super contribution. You can cross the $69,528 line on a salary that sits below it.
Frequently asked questions
What is HECS debt?
How does HECS repayment work?
How much do you have to earn to pay HECS?
When do you start paying HECS?
What is HECS indexation?
What happens if I never pay off my HECS debt?
How do I check my HECS balance?
Sources
Narelle Hartigan is a CPA-qualified tax accountant with over a decade of experience in Australian personal taxation and payroll. She founded PAYG Calculator Australia to make tax withholding easy for every Australian worker to understand.