What Is STSL on Your Payslip?

What Does STSL Stand For?

STSL is the ATO's umbrella term for every Australian government study and training loan. Payroll software uses the STSL label because the same withholding rules apply to all of these loan types — not just HECS. Older payslips may show the same deduction as "HECS", "HELP", or "SFSS"; they all mean the same thing.

Why Is STSL Being Deducted From Your Pay?

STSL appears on your payslip because you answered yes to the study loan question on your Tax File Number declaration when you started your job, and your pay is now high enough that the ATO requires extra withholding. Two conditions must both be true:

• You told your employer you have a study loan. Payroll flags your record, and the ATO's STSL withholding schedules activate.
• Your earnings exceed the repayment threshold for your pay cycle. For FY2026-27 the annual threshold is $69,528 — roughly $1,337 per week or $2,674 per fortnight before STSL withholding begins.

If STSL suddenly appeared after a pay rise, that is usually the reason: your per-pay earnings crossed the threshold. Casual and variable-hour workers may see STSL in big weeks and not in quiet ones, because the schedules apply to each pay period independently.

How Is the STSL Amount Calculated?

Your employer does not calculate your actual HECS repayment. Instead, payroll software looks up your gross earnings for the pay period in the ATO's STSL component tax tables — published alongside the standard PAYG withholding tables — and withholds the listed extra amount on top of normal income tax.

The tables are built from the annual repayment bands. For FY2026-27, compulsory repayments are 15c per dollar of repayment income above $69,528 (rising to 17c above $129,717, and 10% of total repayment income from $186,051). Use our HECS repayment calculator to see your annual figure and weekly impact at any salary.

Worked Example: STSL on an $80,000 Salary

An employee earning $80,000 a year, paid fortnightly, with a HECS debt declared on their TFN declaration would see a payslip like this:

The STSL line tracks the annual repayment: at $80,000, the FY2026-27 compulsory repayment is $1,571 a year, which is about $60 per fortnight. Figures are rounded — the exact withholding comes from the ATO STSL tax tables for your pay cycle. Cross-check your own payslip with our Take-Home Pay Calculator.

STSL Withholding vs Your Actual Annual Repayment

The STSL amounts on your payslip are estimates held as a credit — they do not come off your loan balance during the year. When you lodge your tax return, the ATO calculates your real compulsory repayment from your full-year repayment income (taxable income plus reportable super, fringe benefits, net investment losses, and exempt foreign income) and applies the STSL credits against it.

• Too much withheld? Common if your income varied, you worked part of the year, or you have deductions. The excess comes back in your tax refund.
• Too little withheld? Common with second jobs (no STSL withheld if each job is under the threshold), salary sacrifice, or investment income. You will owe the shortfall at assessment.
• Timing quirk: because credits are applied at assessment, your HELP balance is still indexed on 1 June on its full outstanding amount — the year's withholding does not reduce it beforehand.

A second job is the most common cause of an STSL shortfall. If you work two jobs, check our Second Job Tax Calculator to see your combined position, and read the HECS-HELP guide for repayment strategies.

How to Stop STSL Deductions After Paying Off Your Loan

Employers keep withholding STSL until you tell them to stop — the ATO does not notify payroll automatically. Once your loan balance reaches zero:

1. Check your balance in ATO online services (via myGov) under Loan accounts. Remember the year's withheld STSL has not been applied yet if you haven't lodged your return.
2. Give your employer a Withholding Declaration (or update your details in their payroll portal) stating you no longer have a study loan debt.
3. Payroll removes the STSL flag and the deduction stops from the next pay run.

If you forget, nothing is lost — the extra withholding is refunded when you lodge your tax return — but you are giving the ATO an interest-free loan from every pay in the meantime.

Frequently Asked Questions