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HECS payoff calculator

When will you actually be debt-free? Project your HELP balance year by year with indexation, salary growth and any extra repayments.

$
$
$
%
%
Debt-free in
12 years
around 2038 · $34,193 repaid in total
  • Starting balance$28,000
  • Indexation added (2.8% p.a.)+$6,193
  • Compulsory repayments$34,193
  • Total repaid$34,193

Balance by year

Year+1+3+4+6+7+9+10+12
Balance$27,584$25,685$24,161$19,856$17,029$9,902$5,551$0

Projection applies the 2025–26 marginal repayment rules to all future years, with indexation added before each year's repayments (recent rates under the lower-of-CPI-and-WPI rule: 3.2% in 2025, 2.8% in 2026). Compulsory repayments are collected through the tax system; timing simplified to annual steps. The one-off 20% reduction (June 2025) should already be reflected in your current balance. General information only — not financial advice.

How your HECS debt actually shrinks

A HELP debt is a tug-of-war between two numbers. Pulling it up: indexation, applied to your whole balance every 1 June — now the lower of CPI and wage growth (3.2% in 2025, 2.8% in 2026). Pulling it down: compulsory repayments collected through the tax system — under the 2025–26 marginal rules, 15c of every dollar you earn above $67,000, rising to 17c above $125,000. Early-career salaries sit close to the threshold, which is why balances often barely move for years and then collapse quickly as pay rises.

The projection is honest about ordering: indexation is applied to your balance before the year's repayments are credited, the conservative reading of how the system has historically worked. Salary growth compounds your repayments the same way indexation compounds the debt — a few percent of annual pay growth can halve the payoff time compared to a flat salary.

Voluntary repayments work by denying indexation its base: every dollar repaid early avoids all future indexation on that dollar. The calculator quantifies it — years saved and indexation avoided — rather than declaring it "worth it", because the alternative uses of that money (a mortgage offset, extra super) are a personal call that depends on rates, tax and your plans.

Two recent changes worth knowing: the one-off 20% reduction of balances as at 1 June 2025 (already visible in your myGov balance), and the switch to marginal repayments from 2025–26, which ended the old cliff where a $1 pay rise could add hundreds to your annual repayment.

The projection holds current rules and your chosen rates constant — thresholds are indexed and rules change, so treat long horizons as illustrations. General information only — not financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to pay off a HECS debt?

It depends heavily on salary. A $28,000 balance on a $75,000 salary with typical growth takes well over a decade, because early repayments (~$1,200 a year) only just outpace indexation. The same debt at a $110,000 salary clears in about four years. The calculator shows your timeline year by year.

How does HECS indexation work now?

Each 1 June, your outstanding balance is indexed by the lower of CPI and the Wage Price Index — a rule backdated to 2023 by the Universities Accord changes. Recent rates: 3.2% (June 2025) and 2.8% (June 2026). Indexation isn't interest, but it compounds the same way.

What was the 20% HECS cut?

In 2025 the government legislated a one-off 20% reduction of HELP balances as at 1 June 2025, applied before that year's indexation. If you check your balance on myGov today, the cut is already reflected — enter your current balance and the projection takes it from there.

Are voluntary HECS repayments worth it?

A voluntary repayment permanently avoids future indexation on the amount repaid — the calculator shows exactly how many years earlier you'd finish and how much indexation you'd save. Whether that beats other uses for the money (offset account, super, investing) depends on rates and your circumstances; that part is a personal decision.

Why isn't my HECS balance going down?

Below $67,000 of repayment income (2025–26) there's no compulsory repayment at all, and just above it repayments are small — 15c per dollar over the threshold. If your repayment is smaller than the year's indexation, the balance rises. The calculator flags when you're not on track and lets you test salary growth or extra repayments.

Does salary packaging or super sacrifice change my repayments?

Yes — both count toward your HECS repayment income even though they reduce taxable income (packaging at a grossed-up rate). Our salary sacrifice calculator models that interaction precisely.