HECS/HELP Repayment Calculator

Year-by-year projection

Projection applies indexation on 1 June each year to the opening balance, then deducts the compulsory repayment — matching the ATO's actual sequence. Capped at 30 years.

How to use this calculator

• Enter your annual repayment income — not just your salary. Add reportable fringe benefits, net rental losses (negative gearing), reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income to your taxable income.
• Enter your current HECS/HELP balance as it stands today, after the ATO's one-off 20% reduction that was applied on 1 June 2025. Check your myGov account or ATO online services for the precise figure.
• The indexation rate defaults to 2.8%, which is the confirmed rate for 1 June 2026. You can override this to model higher or lower future indexation scenarios.
• Set an expected income growth rate to model how your repayments will increase as your career progresses. The default of 3% per year is a reasonable long-run assumption for many workers.
• Optionally enter a voluntary lump sum to see how much time and indexation you would save. The comparison section will appear automatically.
• Open the year-by-year schedule to see the full repayment timeline, including how much of each year's balance increase comes from indexation versus debt reduction from repayments.
• If you have HECS debt, also use the Calcula income tax calculator to estimate your take-home pay — HECS repayments are collected via PAYG withholding and reduce the net amount you receive each pay period.

Key assumptions

• Repayment thresholds and marginal rates are sourced from the ATO — Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates (last updated 30 October 2025), which is the authoritative source for 2025–26 rules.
• The 2025–26 system uses four marginal brackets: nil below $67,000; 15% on the excess above $67,000 up to $125,000; $8,700 plus 17% on the excess above $125,000 up to $179,285; and 10% of total repayment income for $179,286 and above.
• Indexation is applied to the opening balance on 1 June each year, before the prior year's compulsory repayment is deducted — reflecting the ATO's actual sequence where PAYG-withheld amounts are credited only after tax return assessment.
• The indexation rate defaults to 2.8% (the confirmed rate for 1 June 2026, being the lower of CPI and WPI as legislated from 1 June 2023). Future years use the same rate unless you override it.
• Compulsory repayment is capped at the outstanding balance in the final year — you cannot overpay via the compulsory system.
• The 20% one-off debt reduction is assumed to have already been applied to the balance you enter. The ATO applied this automatically to all eligible debts on 1 June 2025 under the Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Act 2025.
• Income growth compounds annually. No salary sacrifice, deductions, Medicare levy, or tax offsets are modelled here — use the income tax calculator for those.
• A voluntary lump sum is assumed to be applied before indexation at the start of Year 1 (i.e., before 1 June), maximising the indexation saving. If paid after 1 June, that year's indexation has already been calculated on the higher balance.
• The projection caps at 30 years. If income remains below $67,000 throughout, the debt will not be cleared through compulsory repayments and the table shows the balance growing with indexation each year.
• This calculator does not constitute financial or tax advice. Individual circumstances vary — consult a registered tax agent or financial adviser for personalised guidance.