Interest & Debt

When Is Your Student Loan Written Off?

4 April 20255 min read

One of the most important — and most misunderstood — facts about UK student loans is that they are eventually written off. For the majority of graduates, the balance disappears before it is fully repaid. Here is when that happens.

Write-Off Dates by Plan

Plan	Write-off point
Plan 1 (pre-2006 loans)	When you turn 65
Plan 1 (2006 onwards)	25 years after the April you were first due to repay
Plan 2	30 years after the April following graduation
Plan 4	30 years after the April following graduation
Plan 5	40 years after the April following graduation
Postgraduate	30 years after the April following graduation

What Happens at Write-Off?

When your loan reaches its write-off date, any outstanding balance — including any accumulated interest — is cancelled entirely. You will not be taxed on the amount written off. This is one area where UK student loans differ meaningfully from personal debt: there is no tax bill waiting at the end.

Your credit file is not affected by write-off, and you do not need to do anything — it happens automatically. The Student Loans Company will write to you confirming it.

Who Actually Gets to Write-Off?

Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the government's own impact assessments tells a clear story:

Plan 2

The majority of graduates are expected to reach write-off with a remaining balance. Estimates vary, but IFS modelling has consistently suggested fewer than 25% of Plan 2 graduates will repay in full.

Plan 5

The proportion expected to fully repay is higher due to the longer repayment window — but a significant portion of graduates are still expected to carry a balance to write-off.

Plan 1

Most graduates are on lower loan amounts (pre-2012 fees were capped at £3,375/year), so a higher proportion repay in full.

Does This Mean I Shouldn't Worry About Interest?

For many graduates, yes — if you are unlikely to repay your full balance, the interest rate on your loan does not affect how much you actually pay. You will repay 9% of your income above threshold until write-off, regardless of how large the balance grows.

However, for higher earners who are on track to repay their loan in full, a lower interest rate does reduce the total amount paid.

Should I Overpay?

This is a nuanced question that depends entirely on your expected lifetime earnings. Use our calculator to estimate whether you are likely to repay your balance in full before write-off. If not, overpaying early typically costs you more in the short term with no long-term benefit.

Planning