How long will it take to pay off my HECS debt?

Enter your balance and income to see the income year in which your last compulsory repayment clears the debt, and what extra repayments or a pay rise change.

Your debt and pay-off date

HELP balance today (A$)

From the ATO app or myGov: Tax › Accounts › Loan accounts.

Your 2025–26 tax return

If not assessed yet, its repayment will come off before the next 1 June.

Extra repayments and pay rise

One-off voluntary repayment now (A$)

Voluntary repayment every year before 1 June (A$)

One-off pay rise (%)

For example 10 for a promotion worth +10%.

Pay rise starts in income year

Assumptions for future years

Yearly pay growth (%)

Default: same as the thresholds, so your pay keeps pace with average earnings.

Indexation from 1 June 2027 (%)

2026 rate: 2.8%. History.

Threshold growth after 2026–27 (%)

Indexed to average weekly earnings. 2026–27 rise: 3.8%.

When your HELP debt is paid off

Total you repay

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Total indexation added

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Repayment years

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Year-by-year table

Projected HELP balance each 1 June
Before 1 June	Return assessed	Repayment income	Compulsory	Voluntary	Indexation	Balance after

Rates marked * are assumptions: the ATO publishes each year’s rate shortly before 1 June. Assumes you lodge each return on time (by 31 October), take on no new study debt and remain an Australian resident.

Estimate only. Figures use the ATO’s published thresholds, rates and formulas. Your notice of assessment from the ATO is the only authoritative figure. This is not financial or tax advice. Read the disclaimer.

Pay-off year by balance and income

Starting on 29 September 2026, assuming pay and thresholds both rise 3.8% a year (the 2026–27 threshold increase), 2.8% indexation every year, no voluntary repayments and a 2025–26 return already assessed. Each cell shows the income year whose compulsory repayment clears the debt.

Income year in which the HELP debt is repaid, by starting balance and 2026–27 repayment income
Balance ↓ / 2026–27 income →	$75,000	$90,000	$110,000	$140,000
$20,000	2048–49 (23 yrs) $8,424 indexation	2032–33 (7 yrs) $2,247 indexation	2029–30 (4 yrs) $1,269 indexation	2027–28 (2 yrs) $833 indexation
$35,000	2062–63 (37 yrs) $28,218 indexation	2037–38 (12 yrs) $6,670 indexation	2031–32 (6 yrs) $3,522 indexation	2029–30 (4 yrs) $2,196 indexation
$50,000	2075–76 (50 yrs) $63,298 indexation	2041–42 (16 yrs) $13,696 indexation	2034–35 (9 yrs) $6,967 indexation	2030–31 (5 yrs) $4,179 indexation
$80,000	not within 60 years $181,116 indexation	2049–50 (24 yrs) $36,348 indexation	2038–39 (13 yrs) $17,644 indexation	2033–34 (8 yrs) $10,137 indexation

What changes the date

A pay rise

A higher income raises the compulsory repayment by 15c or 17c for every extra dollar (10c once you are in the 10% zone). Example with $50,000 owed and $90,000 of income: the debt ends in 2041–42 (16 years), with $13,696 of indexation along the way. A 15% raise from 2027–28 brings the end forward to 2036–37 (11 years) and cuts indexation to $8,820.

Pay rises that only keep up with thresholds

Thresholds are indexed every 1 July to average weekly earnings. If your pay grows at the same rate, your repayment stays roughly the same share of your income. If your pay grows more slowly, repayments shrink as a share and the debt lasts longer.

A voluntary repayment

In the same example, $5,000 paid now (before 1 June 2027) ends the debt in 2040–41 and cuts total indexation to $11,047, a saving of $2,648. When it is worth doing.

Timing of your tax return

Money withheld from your pay only reaches your loan when your return is assessed. Lodging in July–October means the year’s repayment is deducted well before the next 1 June indexation. The projection assumes you lodge on time.

Limits of any projection

Future indexation rates and thresholds are unknown; the defaults repeat the latest published changes.
New study debts, time overseas and changes to the law are not modelled.
Your repayment income includes more than salary: see what counts.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to pay off HECS on average?

There is no official average repayment time on the ATO or studyassist.gov.au pages used here. It depends on only three things: your balance, your repayment income each year, and indexation. The table above shows typical combinations.

Does a HELP debt ever get written off?

Not because of time. A HELP debt has no expiry date and is not provable in bankruptcy; it is cancelled on death (HESA s140-40). Separate schemes reduce the debt of very remote teachers and of rural and remote doctors and nurse practitioners.

Will I keep paying after the debt is gone?

Your employer keeps withholding until you tell them. Once the debt is paid, give your employer a new withholding declaration saying you no longer have a study loan. Anything withheld for a year in which you owed nothing is refunded when your return is assessed.

Should I pay it off faster?

Paying early saves only the indexation you would otherwise pay — currently a low, tax-free “return”. Compare it with an offset account or savings.

Official sources

Study and training loan repayment thresholds and rates — ATO, page updated 30 June 2026.
Study and training loan indexation rates — ATO, page updated 17 April 2026.
Compulsory repayments — ATO, page updated 3 June 2026.
Voluntary repayments — ATO, page updated 10 September 2026.
Loan repayments — studyassist.gov.au (Department of Education), page updated 25 May 2026.
Higher Education Support Act 2003 – compilation C2026C00297 (ss 140-5 to 140-30, 154-1 to 154-25) — Federal Register of Legislation, compilation in force from 1 July 2026.

All pages checked on 29 September 2026.

Page updated 29 September 2026.