HECS-HELP Calculators
Repayment thresholds, indexation impact and voluntary repayment comparison.
HECS Repayment Calculator
Calculate your mandatory HECS repayment based on your income.
HECS Indexation Calculator
See how CPI indexation grows your HECS debt over time.
HECS Voluntary Repayment Calculator
Is it worth making voluntary HECS repayments vs investing the money?
HECS-HELP in Australia — 2025–26
HECS-HELP is Australia's income-contingent student loan scheme. When you study at a Commonwealth-supported place at an eligible higher education provider, the government covers your tuition upfront in the form of a HELP debt. You repay that debt gradually through the tax system once your income reaches the minimum repayment threshold — there are no interest charges, but the debt is indexed annually to CPI.
How HECS Repayments Work
HECS repayments are not optional once you earn above the threshold. For 2025–26, the minimum repayment threshold is $54,435. Repayments are calculated as a percentage of your total repayment income (not just the portion above the threshold), with rates ranging from 1% at the lower end to 10% for very high incomes. The HECS Repayment Calculator applies the 2025–26 ATO repayment rates to your income to show exactly how much will be withheld through your tax return or PAYG.
Note that your employer withholds HECS repayments from your salary if you indicate you have a HELP debt on your Tax File Number declaration. If you have multiple jobs or variable income, you may end up over- or under-withheld across the year.
The Impact of CPI Indexation
Unlike a standard loan, HECS-HELP carries no interest rate — but the outstanding balance is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on 1 June each year. In periods of high inflation, this indexation can add thousands of dollars to the debt in a single year, outpacing the mandatory repayments being made. The HECS Indexation Calculator projects how your debt will grow or shrink over time under different CPI and income scenarios, making the real cost of the debt visible.
Should You Make Voluntary Repayments?
Until 2022, the government offered a 5% bonus for voluntary HECS repayments — that incentive has been removed. Today the question of whether to pay off HECS debt early versus investing the money comes down to a simple comparison: is the CPI indexation rate on your HECS debt higher or lower than the after-tax return you could achieve by investing? The HECS Voluntary Repayment Calculator models both scenarios so you can make an informed decision based on current inflation expectations and your investment return assumptions.