HECS Repayment Per Pay: Weekly, Fortnightly and Monthly for 2026-27
pay-calculator.au breaks the 2026-27 compulsory HECS-HELP repayment down to the number that actually leaves each pay, at every income from the $69,528 threshold upwards, and explains why the STSL line on your payslip is a different figure again. Switch the HECS-HELP field below to “Yes, repaying” to see it on your own salary.
HECS Repayment Per Pay Calculator 2026-27
Tax bracket progress
Where your money goes
Income vs deductions
Your pay, every way
| Component | Daily | Weekly | Fortnightly | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $346 | $1,731 | $3,462 | $7,500 | $90,000 |
| Income tax | −$67 | −$337 | −$674 | −$1,460 | −$17,520 |
| Medicare levy | −$7 | −$35 | −$69 | −$150 | −$1,800 |
| Super (12%) | +$42 | +$208 | +$415 | +$900 | +$10,800 |
| Take-home pay | $272 | $1,359 | $2,718 | $5,890 | $70,680 |
How Much HECS Comes Out Per Week, Fortnight and Month?
The assessed annual repayment, divided across the pay cycles people are actually paid on.
The ATO assesses one compulsory repayment for the whole year. Turning that into a per-pay figure is a division: the annual amount over 52, 26 or 12. Every row below is computed from the 2026-27 marginal band table, so the arithmetic follows the same rules the ATO applies at assessment.
| Repayment income | Repayment per year | Per week | Per fortnight | Per month | Share of income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $71 | $1 | $3 | $6 | 0.1% |
| $75,000 | $821 | $16 | $32 | $68 | 1.1% |
| $80,000 | $1,571 | $30 | $60 | $131 | 2% |
| $90,000 | $3,071 | $59 | $118 | $256 | 3.4% |
| $100,000 | $4,571 | $88 | $176 | $381 | 4.6% |
| $110,000 | $6,071 | $117 | $233 | $506 | 5.5% |
| $120,000 | $7,571 | $146 | $291 | $631 | 6.3% |
| $130,000 | $9,076 | $175 | $349 | $756 | 7% |
| $140,000 | $10,776 | $207 | $414 | $898 | 7.7% |
| $160,000 | $14,176 | $273 | $545 | $1,181 | 8.9% |
| $190,000 | $19,000 | $365 | $731 | $1,583 | 10% |
| $200,000 | $20,000 | $385 | $769 | $1,667 | 10% |
An even spread across the year. Because the system is marginal, the share of income stays well below the headline band rate until the top band: on $100,000 the $4,571 repayment is 4.6% of the whole income. Source: computed from the ATO 2026-27 study and training support loans band table.
What Are the 2026-27 HELP Repayment Bands?
Marginal, like income tax, with one whole-income band at the top.
Since 2025-26 the repayment is worked out marginally: you repay only on the income above the threshold, not on your whole salary. The 2026-27 minimum threshold is $69,528 of repayment income (ATO, Study and training support loans rates and repayment thresholds, updated 30 June 2026).
| Repayment income (2026-27) | Rate | Repayment on this income |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $69,528 | 0% | Nil (minimum threshold) |
| $69,529 to $129,717 | 15c | 15c for each $1 over $69,528 |
| $129,718 to $186,050 | 17c | $9,028 plus 17c for each $1 over $129,717 |
| $186,051 and over | 10% | 10% of total repayment income |
One band table covers every Study and Training Support Loan: HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP, SA-HELP, VET Student Loans, SFSS, Student Start-up Loans, ABSTUDY SSL and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans. Full detail in HELP repayment thresholds 2026-27 and how HECS-HELP repayments work.
The $9,028 base is simply the 15c band used up in full, and the 10% top band joins smoothly, so there is no cliff anywhere in the table. Crossing the threshold by a dollar costs 15c, not a percentage of your whole salary.
Why Does the STSL Line on Your Payslip Differ From This?
Two different calculations, run by two different parties, for two different purposes.
The figures above are the assessed repayment: what the ATO works out from your whole-year repayment income when you lodge. The number on your payslip is withholding: an estimate your employer makes each pay run using the ATO study and training support loans withholding schedule, Schedule 8 (NAT 3539). Schedule 1 (NAT 1004), which covers income tax and the Medicare levy, does not include STSL at all, which is why a study loan is the most common reason a payslip shows more tax than the published withholding tables suggest.
| Why the two numbers move apart | What happens |
|---|---|
| Withholding annualises one pay period | Schedule 8 takes the earnings in that single pay, scales them to a year, and withholds accordingly. A quiet fortnight and a busy fortnight produce different STSL lines on the same annual salary. |
| Overtime, bonuses and commissions | A one-off large payment makes that pay period look like a much higher annual income, so a disproportionate STSL amount is withheld for that pay and returned at assessment. |
| Repayment income is broader than salary | The assessment adds back reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions such as salary sacrifice, net investment losses and exempt foreign employment income. Your employer cannot see any of that. |
| Part-year work | Starting or finishing mid-year means the employer withholds as though you earn that rate all year, while the assessment only counts what you actually earned. |
| More than one job | Each employer withholds on its own earnings only. Two jobs that each sit under the threshold can combine to sit above it, leaving too little withheld across the year. |
| The loan box was never ticked | If you did not flag the study loan on a Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092) or a later Withholding declaration (NAT 3093), no STSL is withheld at all and the whole repayment arrives as a bill at tax time. |
pay-calculator.au does not reproduce the Schedule 8 (NAT 3539) coefficients, so no per-pay withholding amount is stated on this site. The per-pay figures on this page are the assessed annual repayment divided evenly, which is the right number for budgeting and the wrong number for predicting a single payslip to the cent. Line-by-line detail is in STSL on your payslip.
Does the STSL Withheld Each Pay Reduce Your Loan?
No. Nothing reaches the loan until the return is assessed.
The STSL amount your employer withholds is remitted to the ATO as ordinary PAYG withholding and sits against your tax account. It does not touch your loan balance during the year. When you lodge, the ATO calculates the actual compulsory repayment from your repayment income, puts it on your notice of assessment, and applies it to the loan as a single lump sum at that point.
Two consequences follow. Your loan balance will look unchanged all year even though money has been leaving every pay, which is not an error. And indexation on 1 June is applied to the balance as it stands on that date, before the year’s withholding has been credited, which is why a voluntary payment made before 1 June has a timing effect that a year of withholding does not.
If the year of withholding exceeds the assessed repayment, the excess comes back in your refund, provided no other tax or Commonwealth debt is outstanding. If it falls short, the balance is payable with the assessment. Estimate the whole picture with the tax refund calculator.
How Much Does HECS Reduce Your Take-Home Pay?
Worked at $90,000, per year and per fortnight.
The repayment comes out alongside income tax and the Medicare levy, so it reduces take-home pay directly. On $90,000 the repayment is $3,071 for the year, calculated as 15% of the $20,472 above the $69,528 threshold.
| On a $90,000 salary, 2026-27 | Per year | Per fortnight |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home with no study loan | $70,680 | $2,718 |
| Compulsory HECS-HELP repayment | −$3,071 | −$118 |
| Take-home with a study loan | $67,609 | $2,600 |
Australian resident, tax-free threshold claimed, private hospital cover assumed, super paid on top of salary. Salary sacrificing into super does not reduce the repayment, because reportable super contributions are added back into repayment income: test it on the salary sacrifice calculator.
What If You Are Not Paid Fortnightly?
The annual repayment is the same. Only the divisor changes.
| Pay cycle | Pays a year | Repayment per pay on $90,000 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $59 | 52 pays a year |
| Fortnightly | 26 | $118 | 26 pays a year, the most common Australian cycle |
| Twice a month | 24 | $128 | 24 pays a year |
| Monthly | 12 | $256 | 12 pays a year |
Twice a month and fortnightly are not the same cycle: 24 pays against 26. In some years a fortnightly payroll runs 27 pay days, which spreads the same annual repayment slightly thinner per pay. See the fortnightly pay calculator and the monthly pay calculator.
HECS Repayment Per Pay FAQ
The per-fortnight questions people actually search for.
Sources for This Page
- ATO, Study and training support loans rates and repayment thresholds, updated 30 June 2026 (the 2026-27 band table, the $69,528 minimum threshold and the definition of repayment income).
- ATO, Compulsory repayments, updated 3 June 2026 (collection mechanics, employer notification, and the rule that the repayment is applied to the loan only at assessment).
- ATO, Study and training loans, what is new, updated 30 June 2026 (the marginal repayment system in force from the 2025-26 income year).
- ATO, Schedule 8, Statement of formulas for calculating study and training support loans components (NAT 3539). Named as the withholding authority; its coefficients are not reproduced on pay-calculator.au, so no per-pay withholding amount is stated.
- ATO, Schedule 1, Statement of formulas for calculating amounts to be withheld (NAT 1004), which covers income tax and the Medicare levy only and excludes STSL.
- ATO, Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092) and Withholding declaration (NAT 3093), the two forms that switch STSL withholding on or off.
- ATO, resident tax rates 2026-27, with the 15% first marginal rate under the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, used for the take-home comparison.
Last verified 4 August 2026. Every repayment figure on this page is computed at render from the 2026-27 band table in the pay-calculator.au engine, so no table can drift from the calculators. pay-calculator.au is not a registered tax agent and this page is general information, not advice.