Free Student Loan Repayment Calculator for New Zealanders
NZ student loans are repaid at 12 cents per dollar earned above the IRD repayment threshold ($24,128, frozen since 1 April 2024). The deduction is taken automatically from your pay alongside PAYE.
Your income
Based on a gross income of $80,000 with a current loan balance of $25,000.
About our Student Loan Repayment Calculator
NZ student loanStudent loanGovernment loan from StudyLink for tertiary study; repaid at 12% of income above the threshold.View in glossary → repayments do not depend on the size of your loan. They depend only on your income. Twelve cents in every dollar above the $24,128 annual threshold goes toward the loan, whether the balance is $5,000 or $50,000.
The deduction is taken automatically from PAYE-deducted income, in the same pay run as income tax and ACC, as long as your tax codeTax codeTwo-or-three-letter PAYE code (M, ME, S, SH, ST, etc.) that sets the tax taken each pay.View in glossary → carries the SL suffixSL (student loan code)Suffix added to a tax code (M SL, S SL) when the worker is repaying a NZ student loan.View in glossary → (M SL, S SL, ME SL, and so on). Submit an IR330 with the SL-suffixed code on every job that pays salary or wages.
The calculator shows the per-pay deduction, the annual deduction, and a years-to-clear projection at your current pay rate. As an NZ resident the loan is interest-free, so the projection is just balance ÷ annual repayment, with no compounding.
How to use it
Enter your annual gross income and your current loan balance. The slider does the same job faster if you just want to see how the deduction moves with income.
The result panel shows the annual repayment, the income above the threshold, the per-pay deduction (weekly and fortnightly), and the projected years to clear if your income stayed flat at the figure you entered.
For income that varies (commission, contract work, multiple jobs), use a conservative annualised figure rather than a peak-year figure. The deduction tracks year-to-date earnings, so a high pay run early in the year does not commit you to a higher deduction in later runs.
Why use it
Student loan deductions are the deduction most easily overlooked when people negotiate salary. A $5,000 pay rise sounds the same on paper whether or not you carry a loan, but with the SL deduction it lands $600 a year smaller in your bank account. The calculator makes the gap concrete.
For NZ-resident borrowers the loan is interest-free, so paying it down faster does not save interest. It only shortens the deduction window. For borrowers planning to move overseas, the calculator is a quick way to see how aggressively to pay down before leaving NZ, since interest starts accruing from the day of departure.
Anyone whose payslip is showing zero student loan despite an outstanding balance can use the calculator to confirm they should be seeing a deduction. The most common cause is a tax code missing the SL suffix, which payroll will fix once an updated IR330 lands.
The maths behind it
Annual repayment = (Income − $24,128) × 12% Once your income passes the $24,128 annual threshold, every additional dollar pulls 12 cents toward the student loan. The threshold has been frozen by Cabinet since 1 April 2024 and stays at $24,128 indefinitely. The calculator divides the annual repayment by your pay frequency to show what comes off each week or fortnight, and divides your loan balance by the annual repayment to project years to clear at the current pay level.
Worked example
Maddie, junior policy analyst in Wellington, on $58,000 with a $32,000 loan balance.
Maddie finished a four-year degree two years ago. Her loan balance sits at $32,000 and she earns $58,000 as a junior policy analyst in Wellington.
Her income above the $24,128 threshold is $33,872. At 12% that gives an annual repayment of $4,065, or roughly $156 a fortnight, deducted automatically from her pay because her tax code carries the SL suffix (M SL).
As an NZ resident, no interest accrues on the balance. At her current pay run, the loan would clear in about 7.9 years.
A pay rise to $68,000 would lift her annual repayment to $5,265 ($202 a fortnight) and shorten the clear-by date to about 6.1 years. Voluntary extra repayments would speed the clearance, with the proviso that the $500 bonus repayment incentive ended in 2013.
Things to keep in mind
- Loan size does not change the per-pay deduction. The deduction is purely a function of income. A $4,000 balance and a $40,000 balance trigger the same fortnightly deduction at the same income. The only difference is how soon the balance clears.
- Threshold is annual, but applied per-pay. Payroll uses pro-rated thresholds (weekly $464, fortnightly $928, monthly $2,011 in 2026/27 dollars). Income for one pay run above its pro-rated threshold triggers the deduction for that run, even if your year-to-date earnings stay below the annual line.
- Interest-free for NZ residents only. NZ residents physically present in NZ for at least 183 days in any 12 consecutive months pay no interest on the loan. Borrowers overseas accrue interest from the day they leave; the rate is set by IRD and reviewed annually.
- Tax code change matters. If your tax code does not carry the SL suffix (MM tax codeStandard PAYE tax code for a single main job.View in glossary →, SS tax codeSecondary income tax code; flat 17.5% if total earnings stay in the second-bracket band.View in glossary →, MEME tax codePAYE code for low-income earners eligible for the Independent Earner Tax Credit.View in glossary → on their own), payroll will not take any student loan deduction. You can fix this by submitting an updated IR330 with the right code (M SL, S SL, ME SL).
- Secondary income and student loan. For a second job, the SL deduction applies on the SECONDARY code only above the secondary income threshold. The IRD calculator handles this case more precisely than the simple version here.
NZ-specific notes
FAQs
Why did my repayment go up when I got a pay rise?
The deduction is 12% of every dollar earned above $24,128. A $5,000 pay rise adds $5,000 of income above the threshold, which adds $600 a year (or about $23 a fortnight) to the deduction. The rise itself still leaves you better off in net terms, just less than 12% of the gross rise lands in the bank.
Does paying down the loan early save me anything?
For NZ residents, the loan is interest-free. Paying it down faster shortens the clear-by date but does not save interest, because there is none accruing. For borrowers overseas, the loan accrues interest, and extra repayments save the interest cost on the balance they retire.
What happens if I move overseas?
After six months overseas, you become an "overseas-based borrower" and shift to a fixed annual repayment based on loan balance, paid in two instalments. Interest also begins to accrue from the date you left. The IRD page on overseas borrowers explains the bands and rates.
How does the deduction sit alongside PAYE and ACC?
PAYE and ACC come off first; the SL deduction is a separate line on the payslip. The take-home pay calculator shows all four together (PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver, student loan).
My payslip is not deducting any student loan even though I owe one. Why?
Most often, the tax code is wrong. If your code is M, S, ME, etc. without the SL suffix, payroll will not take the deduction. Submit an updated IR330 with the SL-suffixed equivalent. IRD will assess a year of arrears at the next squareup if the deduction was missed.
Does the threshold change every year?
Not since 2024. Cabinet froze the threshold at $24,128 indefinitely from 1 April 2024 onwards. Before that, the threshold was indexed to the consumer price index. The 12% repayment rate has been steady at that level since 1 April 2013.
Can I claim student-loan repayments on my tax return?
No. Student loan repayments are not deductible against income tax; they are simply repayment of borrowing. The deduction is on top of PAYE, not a substitute for it.
References & sources
- Inland Revenue, "Repaying my student loan when I earn salary or wages". ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Tax codes for individuals (IR330)". ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Living overseas with a student loan". ird.govt.nz
- StudyLink, "Student loan". studylink.govt.nz