The minimum HECS and HELP repayment threshold for FY2026-27 is $69,528, up from $67,000 in FY2025-26. Below that, you make no compulsory repayment; above it, the marginal system applies 15c in the dollar rising to 10% at the top band.
Key facts
| What changed | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum threshold | $67,000 | $69,528 |
| 15% band | — | $69,529 – $129,717 |
| 17% band | — | $129,718 – $186,050 ($9,028 + 17c/$) |
| Flat rate band | — | 10% above $186,050 |
The threshold, band by band
Once your repayment income exceeds $69,528, you pay 15c for every dollar above that figure, up to $129,717. From $129,718 to $186,050, the repayment is $9,028 plus 17c per dollar over $129,717. Above $186,050, you pay a flat 10% of your total repayment income. Every band boundary moved up with indexation from the FY2025-26 launch-year figures of $67,000, $125,000 and $179,285 — the structure is identical, only the dollar points shift each year.
Note that “repayment income” is broader than salary: it includes your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions and net investment losses. Salary sacrificing into super, for instance, lowers your taxable income but is added straight back for HECS purposes, so it cannot be used to duck under the threshold.
Why $69,528, not $69,529
It's a common point of confusion: $69,528 is the exempt threshold — earn up to and including that amount and you owe nothing. The first dollar taxed at 15% is $69,529, the start of the next band. Both figures describe the same boundary, but the ATO's schedule names $69,528 as the threshold, which is why you'll see it quoted on withholding tables and in our STSL on your payslip guide, which uses the same figures to explain when withholding starts appearing on your pay.
Worked examples at real salaries
On $70,000 of repayment income, only the $472 above the threshold is assessed — 15c in the dollar comes to about $71 for the whole year. On $80,000, the excess is $10,472 and the repayment is roughly $1,571. On $100,000, it's 15% of $30,472, about $4,571. A $150,000 earner crosses into the second band: $9,028 plus 17% of the $20,283 above $129,717, around $12,476. And someone on $200,000 sits in the flat zone, paying 10% of total repayment income — $20,000. The repayment amounts rise smoothly with income; there is no point where earning one more dollar costs you more than a dollar.
How it compares to the old flat-rate system
Before the marginal system launched in FY2025-26, crossing the threshold meant a percentage of your entire income became repayable — a sharp cliff that could turn a small pay rise into a repayment bill of over a thousand dollars. Under the current marginal bands, only the income above $69,528 is assessed at the relevant rate, so the $70,000 earner above owes $71 rather than a lump-sum percentage of their whole salary. The higher threshold compounds that relief: an income that triggered repayments in FY2024-25, when the threshold was $54,435, may now sit entirely inside the exempt zone.
What this means for your pay
If your income sits near $69,528, small changes — a bonus, overtime, or a pay rise — can push you just over the threshold and trigger a modest compulsory repayment for the first time. Because the system is marginal, that first repayment will be small, but your employer will begin withholding STSL once your per-pay earnings cross the pro-rated threshold for your pay cycle. Run your salary through our HECS-HELP calculator to see your exact FY2026-27 repayment, and read what changes at tax time in your first return under the new system.