HELP/HECS Debt Repayment Calculator
See how long your HELP debt takes to repay — including compulsory repayments, voluntary extras, and CPI indexation.
Your current HELP/HECS loan balance.
Your repayment income (taxable income + reportable fringe benefits + net investment losses).
Indexation is applied 1 June each year. Default is 3%.
Best made before the 1 June indexation date.
Expected annual salary increase. Affects future compulsory repayment amounts.
For related tools, see the HELP income threshold calculator to find your repayment rate, and the repay vs invest calculator to compare strategies.
Your repayment income is not simply your taxable income — it's taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits and net investment losses. This is the figure your employer withholds Study and Training Support Loan (STSL) amounts against through PAYG, and it's what the calculator above uses.
STSL applies marginally, similar to income tax brackets: each threshold below only taxes the slice of income that falls within that band, not your whole repayment income (except at the top tier, where a flat rate applies to the total). These are the current 2026-27 thresholds:
| Repayment income band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $69,528 | 0c per $1 in this band |
| $69,529 – $129,717 | 15c per $1 in this band |
| $129,718 – $186,050 | 17c per $1 in this band |
| $186,051+ | 10% of total repayment income |
See the full 2026-27 HELP/HECS repayment rates guide for worked examples across a wider range of incomes and how these thresholds compare with prior years.
Under the marginal system, your compulsory repayment is the lower of the marginal formula (15c then 17c over the thresholds) or 10% of your total repayment income. The effective rate stays well below 10% until very high incomes.
| Repayment income | Compulsory repayment | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $0 | 0.0% |
| $67,000 | $0 | 0.0% |
| $90,000 | $3,071 | 3.4% |
| $125,000 | $8,321 | 6.7% |
| $160,000 | $14,176 | 8.9% |
| $185,000 | $18,426 | 10.0% |
Worked example: on $90,000 of repayment income, the compulsory repayment is 15c on the $20,472 above $69,528 = $3,071 for the year (3.4% effective), withheld through PAYG.
How does HELP indexation work?
What are the compulsory HELP repayment rates?
Should I make voluntary repayments before the indexation date?
Tax Accuracy & Sources
This calculator is an estimate tool and may not cover all personal circumstances. For state-based taxes, confirm details with your state or territory revenue office.