HECS moved to a tax-bracket-style repayment system, but payslip deductions only caught up on 24 September 2025 — so most people were over-withheld and get the difference 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 verified against ATO tables · updated 13 July 2026 · FY2025-26 & FY2026-27Compares 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.
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 the ATO refunds the difference when you lodge. Voluntary repayments you made during the year don’t reduce the assessed amount.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.