HECS-HELP Repayments & STSL Tax Withholding Guide (2026–2027)

If you have a HECS-HELP debt, your compulsory repayment is linked to your income.

For the 2026–27 financial year, compulsory HELP repayments start when your repayment income reaches $69,528.

There is one important point to understand:

The HECS amount withheld from your pay is not necessarily the same as your final annual HECS-HELP repayment.

Your employer uses the ATO's Study and Training Support Loans (STSL) withholding rules during the year. The ATO then works out your final compulsory repayment when your tax return is assessed.

This guide explains the 2026–27 HECS-HELP threshold and rates, repayment income, STSL on your payslip, PAYG withholding, bonuses, salary sacrifice, indexation, voluntary repayments and what happens at tax time.

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HECS-HELP Repayment Rules for 2026–27

What is the HECS-HELP repayment threshold?

For 2026–27, the minimum repayment income is:

$69,528

If your repayment income is below $69,528, you generally do not have a compulsory HELP repayment for that year.

Once your repayment income goes above the threshold, the compulsory repayment is worked out using the marginal repayment system.

2026–27 HECS-HELP repayment rates

The system is marginal. A higher rate does not suddenly apply to your entire income when you cross a threshold.

Example: $80,000 repayment income

Suppose your repayment income is $80,000.

Only the amount above $69,528 is used:

$80,000 − $69,528 = $10,472

Then:

$10,472 × 15% = $1,570.80

So the estimated compulsory HELP repayment is:

$1,570.80

This is your annual compulsory repayment based on $80,000 of repayment income. It is not automatically the same as the amount withheld from each pay.

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What Is Repayment Income for HECS-HELP?

Your HECS repayment is not always based on your salary alone.

The ATO uses a broader measure called repayment income.

For HELP repayment purposes, this can include:

• •
  taxable income
• •
  reportable fringe benefits
• •
  reportable employer super contributions
• •
  net investment losses
• •
  exempt foreign employment income

This is why your salary and repayment income can be different.

Why does repayment income matter?

Imagine two people both earn a salary of $100,000.

One person may have no other relevant amounts.

The other may have reportable fringe benefits or reportable employer super contributions.

Their repayment income may therefore be different, which can change their compulsory HELP repayment.

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Does Salary Sacrifice Reduce Your HECS Repayment?

Not necessarily.

Salary sacrifice can reduce your taxable income, but some salary-sacrificed amounts are included when repayment income is calculated.

For example, reportable employer super contributions are relevant to HELP repayment income.

So you should not assume:

Lower taxable income = lower HECS repayment.

The effect depends on the type of salary sacrifice and how it is treated for repayment-income purposes.

If you use salary sacrifice, look at both your taxable income and your repayment income rather than relying only on the salary shown on your payslip. For a comprehensive guide on concessional super rules and packaging limits, review Calcivo's Salary Sacrifice & Pre-Tax Super Guide.

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Can a Novated Lease Affect Your HECS Repayment?

It can.

A novated lease or other salary-packaging arrangement may create a reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA).

Reportable fringe benefits can be relevant when repayment income is calculated.

This means a novated lease should not be judged only by how much it reduces your taxable salary.

If you are comparing a novated lease and a normal car loan, you should also consider the effect on your overall income and take-home pay. You can test your lease options and estimate reportable fringe benefit impacts using the Calcivo Novated Lease Calculator.

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What Does STSL Mean on a Payslip?

If you have a HECS-HELP debt, you may see STSL on your payslip.

STSL stands for:

Study and Training Support Loans

It is the payroll withholding category used for several Australian study and training debts, including:

• •
  HELP debts
• •
  VET Student Loans
• •
  Financial Supplement debts
• •
  Student Start-up Loans
• •
  Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans

So:

HECS-HELP is a type of HELP debt.

STSL is the broader payroll withholding category.

Why is STSL deducted from my pay?

When you tell your employer that you have a HELP debt, your employer uses the ATO withholding rules to calculate the STSL amount that should be withheld from your pay.

This happens through the PAYG withholding system.

The STSL amount may appear separately from your normal income-tax withholding on your payslip.

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How Does HECS-HELP Withholding Work Through PAYG?

It helps to think about the process in two stages.

Stage 1: Your employer withholds STSL

When you start a new job, you normally tell your employer whether you have a HELP debt through your Tax file number declaration.

For an existing employer, you can use a Withholding declaration (NAT 3093).

You answer Yes to the question asking whether you have a HELP debt.

Your employer then uses the applicable ATO withholding schedule to calculate the STSL amount from your pay.

Stage 2: The ATO calculates your final repayment

When you lodge your tax return, the ATO calculates your repayment income.

It then works out your compulsory HELP repayment.

The amounts already withheld through PAYG are taken into account.

This is why the amount coming out of your payslip and the final amount on your tax assessment can be different.

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HECS Repayment vs STSL Withholding: What Is the Difference?

This is one of the most important differences to understand.

Therefore:

Annual HECS repayment ≠ STSL amount withheld from one pay.

You should not simply take your annual compulsory repayment and divide it by 12, 26 or 52 to work out your exact payroll withholding.

The ATO has separate STSL formulas for different pay periods.

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How Much STSL Is Withheld From Your Pay?

The exact amount depends on your pay frequency and payroll circumstances.

For a simple regular-pay example, approximate 2026–27 STSL withholding can look like this:

These figures are examples to help explain the relationship between salary and STSL withholding. Your actual payroll amount can differ because of your withholding declaration, pay structure, bonuses, allowances and other circumstances.

Why isn't it simply annual repayment divided by the number of pays?

Take an $80,000 repayment income.

The annual compulsory repayment is:

$1,570.80

But payroll withholding is calculated using the ATO's pay-period formulas and rounding rules.

Therefore, the STSL amount on your weekly, fortnightly or monthly payslip should not be treated as simply:

$1,570.80 ÷ 12

or

$1,570.80 ÷ 26

The payroll calculation is a separate process.

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What Happens If You Receive a Bonus?

A bonus, commission or other additional payment can change the amount withheld from your pay.

The 2026 withholding rules include specific treatment for bonuses, commissions and similar additional payments. Where a worker has a HELP or other study and training loan debt, the relevant STSL withholding also applies to qualifying additional payments.

This means a bonus may result in additional STSL being withheld.

However, the amount withheld from the bonus is still not automatically your final annual HELP repayment.

Your final compulsory repayment is worked out by the ATO using your annual repayment income.

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What About Allowances and Other Payments?

Taxable allowances can also affect payroll withholding.

Under the 2026 Schedule 8 rules, STSL withholding applies to earnings including taxable allowances, bonuses and commissions.

This is one reason why your STSL amount may change from one pay period to another.

If your income changes because of overtime, allowances, bonuses or other payments, your withholding may not look exactly the same each pay.

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Why Is My HECS Withholding Different From My Final Repayment?

This can be completely normal.

Your employer withholds STSL during the year based on your pay.

The ATO calculates your actual compulsory HELP repayment after your tax return is lodged.

The process looks like this:

Employer withholds STSL

↓

You receive your payslips during the year

↓

You lodge your tax return

↓

ATO calculates your repayment income

↓

ATO calculates your compulsory HELP repayment

↓

Amounts already withheld are taken into account

If the amount withheld was too low, you may have an amount remaining to pay.

If too much was withheld, the excess may be returned through your tax assessment, subject to other amounts you may owe.

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Why Isn't My HECS Withholding Showing Against My HELP Balance?

Seeing STSL deductions on your payslip does not mean your HELP balance will immediately decrease.

PAYG amounts withheld by your employer are not immediately credited to your HELP account.

The compulsory repayment is assessed and applied through the tax-return process.

So you may see:

STSL deducted from your pay

while at the same time:

Your HELP balance has not yet changed by that amount.

This does not necessarily mean your employer or the ATO has made an error.

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What Happens at Tax Time?

At tax time, the ATO works out your repayment income and compulsory HELP repayment.

The PAYG amounts already withheld are then taken into account.

If too little was withheld

You may have a remaining amount to pay.

If too much was withheld

The excess may be returned through your tax assessment, subject to other outstanding debts or amounts affecting your refund.

This is why your final tax result can be different from what you expected by looking only at your payslips.

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Can I Make a Voluntary HECS-HELP Repayment?

Yes.

A voluntary repayment is an additional payment you choose to make toward your HELP debt.

It is different from your compulsory repayment.

For example, you could have:

• •
  a compulsory repayment calculated from your income, and
• •
  a separate voluntary payment you choose to make.

A voluntary repayment does not replace or reduce your annual compulsory repayment.

Voluntary repayments are additional payments toward the debt and are not refundable.

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Why Can My HELP Debt Grow Even When I Am Repaying It?

Your HELP balance can change for more than one reason.

Your compulsory repayment reduces the amount you owe, while annual indexation can increase the outstanding balance.

Indexation and compulsory repayments are separate.

This means that making a compulsory repayment does not automatically mean your HELP balance will fall by exactly the same amount.

Example

Suppose you have a HELP balance at the start of the year.

During the year:

• •
  compulsory repayment is assessed
• •
  you may make voluntary repayments
• •
  indexation may be applied to the outstanding debt

The final balance therefore depends on all relevant changes, not just the amount withheld from your payslips.

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HECS-HELP Indexation vs Compulsory Repayment

These two terms are often confused.

Compulsory repayment

Your compulsory repayment is based on your repayment income.

Indexation

Indexation affects your outstanding HELP debt.

They are separate parts of the HELP system.

So:

Compulsory repayment = based on repayment income

Indexation = adjustment to the outstanding debt

Understanding this difference makes your HELP balance much easier to follow.

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What If I Have More Than One Employer?

If you have multiple employers, each employer may need to withhold amounts toward your compulsory HELP repayment.

StudyAssist advises people with multiple employers to tell each employer to withhold.

Your final compulsory repayment, however, is based on your overall repayment income for the year.

It is not based only on the income from one employer.

This is important if you work two jobs or change employers during the financial year.

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What If I Have Fully Paid My HELP Debt?

Once your HELP debt has been fully repaid, you should tell your employer that you no longer have a HELP debt.

You can update your withholding declaration or use the relevant ATO online service to update your information.

This tells your employer to stop the additional STSL withholding.

If you do not update your employer, amounts may continue to be withheld from your pay until the withholding information is changed.

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Calculate Your Take-Home Pay With HECS

HECS is only one part of your take-home pay.

Your final pay can also be affected by:

• •
  income tax
• •
  Medicare levy
• •
  HELP/STSL withholding
• •
  salary sacrifice
• •
  superannuation arrangements
• •
  pay frequency
• •
  allowances
• •
  other payroll deductions

If you want to estimate how HECS affects your overall take-home pay, use the Calcivo Salary Calculator.

You can also explore other Australian financial calculators on Calcivo to plan your household taxes, superannuation and packaging arrangements.

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Official Sources & Methodology

This guide uses Australian Government and ATO material for the 2026–27 HELP repayment and withholding rules.

The main sources include:

• •
  Australian Government StudyAssist — Loan repayments
• •
  Australian Government StudyAssist — HELP FAQs
• •
  Australian Taxation Office information on study and training support loans
• •
  Taxation Administration (Withholding Schedules) Instrument 2026
• •
  Schedule 8 — Study and Training Support Loans withholding formulas
• •
  Australian Government legislation

The 2026–27 minimum repayment income used in this guide is $69,528.

The marginal repayment structure and the separate STSL withholding process are based on the 2026–27 rules.

The payroll examples are intended to explain the relationship between salary and STSL withholding. Actual withholding can vary depending on pay frequency, withholding declarations, bonuses, allowances and other payroll circumstances.

Calcivo provides educational information and calculator estimates. This page is not personal tax, financial or legal advice. For an individual tax situation, check the latest ATO guidance or speak with a registered tax professional.