Independent calculator · figures checked against published ATO tables — no sign-up, no email, nothing you enter is stored

You may have had too much HECS withheld in 2025-26.
See your number in 30 seconds.

HECS moved to a tax-bracket-style repayment system, but payslip deductions only caught up on 24 September 2025 — so many people with a study loan were over-withheld for part of the year, and any excess may come back in their 2026 return. This calculator runs the current FY2026-27 rates, itemised repayment income, and a payoff planner that indexes the thresholds properly (most calculators don't).

Rates taken from published ATO tables · updated 1 October 2026 · FY2025-26 & FY2026-27

Will your HECS withholding come back as a refund?

Compares what your employer actually withheld for your study loan (shown as “STSL” on payslips) against the amount the ATO will really assess. Positive result = refund at tax time.

I have fringe benefits, extra super or investment losses (affects repayment income)
Assumptions
  • Assumes Australian tax residency for the full year — if you live overseas the same thresholds apply to your worldwide income, with separate reporting rules.
  • If you have a spouse or dependants and, because of low family income, qualify for a Medicare levy reduction or exemption, no compulsory repayment is due — this calculator doesn't model that.
  • “STSL withheld” is the figure you enter from your payslips or income statement; the tool doesn’t estimate it for you.
  • Fringe benefits, reportable super and investment losses default to $0 unless you enter them.
  • An estimate only — your actual refund also depends on income tax, offsets and Medicare. Your ATO notice of assessment is the final number.

Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell me →

Why refunds are common this year: employers only switched to the new marginal STSL withholding tables on 24 September 2025. Pays between 1 July and 23 September 2025 were withheld under the old, higher schedule, and any excess may be refunded when you lodge your 2026 return — provided you have no outstanding tax or other Commonwealth debts. Voluntary repayments you made during the year don’t reduce the assessed amount.

Compulsory repayment under the marginal system

The ATO assesses your repayment on repayment income, not just salary. Salary packaging counts — grossed up by 1.8868 — which is how a “tax-free” package quietly raises your HECS bill.

Assumptions
  • Assumes Australian tax residency for the full year.
  • Repayment income = taxable income + reportable fringe benefits (grossed up ×1.8868) + reportable super + net investment loss + exempt foreign income (add any exempt foreign income to the taxable income field — there is no separate input for it).
  • Bands are the current ATO marginal repayment rates for the year you pick — nil, 15c, then 17c, with a 10%-of-whole-income rule above the top threshold.
  • This is your compulsory repayment, not your take-home pay — income tax and Medicare are separate.

Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell me →

Quick answers

Why is my HECS debt not going down?

Indexation is added every 1 June, but your compulsory repayment is only credited when your tax return is assessed — usually July–October. Your balance genuinely rises mid-year even though you’re paying all along.

Does salary sacrifice increase my HECS repayment?

Usually yes. Packaged amounts come back as reportable fringe benefits, grossed up by 1.8868, and count toward repayment income. Packaging $9,010 at an NFP adds about $17,000 to the income the ATO uses for HECS.

Where did the 20% cut go?

The one-off 20% reduction was applied automatically to balances as at 1 June 2025 (before that year’s indexation) — the ATO finished processing it, so your myGov balance already includes the cut.

When will you actually be debt-free?

Models the two moving parts most calculators merge or ignore: your debt indexes with CPI/WPI (2.8% this year) while the repayment thresholds index with wages — so repayments don’t grow as fast as naive projections claim.

Assumptions (editable)

Estimates only. The comparison shows two numbers side by side and is not a recommendation. This calculator is not intended to be relied on to make a decision about any financial product — consider obtaining advice from an Australian financial services licensee before making financial decisions.

Assumptions
  • Indexation (1 June) and the wage-linked thresholds both continue at the rates shown — real rates vary each year.
  • The "invest it instead" figure applies the after-tax return you enter to every year. Investment returns are not guaranteed and can be negative. Amounts are in future dollars; the line under each figure restates it in today's dollars at 2.5% inflation.
  • Your repayment income grows at the annual % you set; extra payments are assumed to land before 1 June, so they escape that year’s indexation.
  • Compulsory repayments are credited at assessment (after 1 June indexation), matching the ATO’s order of operations.
  • A long-range projection is illustrative — use it to compare choices, not as a guarantee of your debt-free date.

Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell me →

Guides

How much HECS do I pay? Repayments at $60k to $200k

HECS refund 2026 — why many people may get money back this tax time

HECS tax brackets & repayment table 2026-27

Why is my HECS not being deducted from my pay?

HECS indexation 2026 — the 2.8% rate explained

When is HECS indexed? The 1 June date

How much HECS debt do I have? Reading your balance

The 20% HECS cut — did it apply, and where did it go?

Salary sacrifice with a HECS debt — the ×1.8868 gross-up trap

Why is my HECS debt not going down? The 1 June timing trap

Should you pay off your HECS early, or invest?

Does HECS affect your home-loan borrowing power?

Worked from the data

HECS repayment at every income — the full 2026-27 table

Is there a HECS cliff at $186,051? Every dollar checked

What salary packaging quietly adds to your HECS

How long until your HECS is gone — debt × income grid

What HECS indexation has cost since 2021

What the 2026-27 threshold rise gave back, by income

What building a HECS calculator taught me about HECS

Five inputs that test any HECS calculator (including mine)

Does a pay rise increase your HECS? The marginal maths of a raise

Second job and HECS: why nothing extra is withheld, and what you'll owe

Repayment income vs taxable income — the four add-backs

Voluntary repayments: what paying before 1 June actually saves

Moving overseas with a HECS debt: what you still owe

Sources: ATO — repayment thresholds and rates · ATO — what’s new for study loans · ATO — indexation rates