Compulsory repayment on $60,000
You pay nothing
What this means
A repayment income of $60,000 is $9,528 short of the 2026-27 minimum threshold of $69,528, so no compulsory HECS-HELP repayment is required for the year.
Enter reportable fringe benefits, investment losses and other add-backs in the full calculator.
2026–27 rates
| Repayment income | Repayment |
|---|---|
| $0 – $69,528 | Nil |
| $69,529 – $129,717 | 15c per $1 over $69,528 |
| $129,718 – $186,050 | $9,028 + 17c per $1 over $129,717 |
| $186,051 and over | 10% of total repayment income |
Take-home pay on $60,000
After income tax, the Medicare levy, the low income tax offset and this HECS repayment, $60,000 works out to $50,380.00 a year in the bank.
Assumes a full-year Australian resident with no other deductions, offsets or the Medicare levy surcharge. Figures from data/tax-rates.json, ATO-verified separately from the HECS rates above.
Income tax brackets on $60,000
$60,000 reaches 3 resident income tax brackets for 2026–27. Worked bracket by bracket, the $8,520.00 total below is exactly what feeds into the take-home figure above.
| Bracket | Rate | Tax in this bracket |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $18,200 | Nil | $0 |
| $18,201 – $45,000 | 15% | $4,020.00 |
| $45,001 – $60,000 | 30% | $4,500.00 |
How $60,000 becomes $0
$60,000 leaves $9,528 of clear room under the $69,528 threshold. That gap is the whole calculation: below it, repayment income is irrelevant to how much HECS is owed, because the answer is $0 regardless of exactly where under the line you sit.
Under the 2025-26 rules the repayment on $60,000 would have been identical: $0.00. The threshold moved between the two years but not by enough to change this particular figure.
Here is what a raise actually looks like on $60,000: the next dollar loses 30c to income tax, 2c to the Medicare levy, and nothing to HECS, since you are under the repayment threshold — 68.0c makes it to your bank account. That is the marginal rate on the next dollar, not the average rate on $60,000 as a whole; every dollar already earned kept more, because the earlier brackets charge less.
A $5,000 raise on $60,000 does not arrive whole. Income tax takes $1,500.00 of it, the Medicare levy $100.00, and HECS nothing — $3,325.00 (66%) actually lands in the bank.
Under the threshold, $9,528 of headroom at $60,000
At $60,000 you are $9,528 below the 2026-27 threshold of $69,528, so no compulsory repayment is required. Crossing the line does not trigger a bill for a share of the whole $69,528: one dollar over, the repayment is $0.15, because 15 cents is charged only on dollars above $69,528. A pay rise cannot leave you worse off. There is no cliff here to fall off.
The $60,000 figure this page is built on is repayment income, which is not the same as the salary on your payslip. The ATO starts from taxable income and adds back reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, total net investment loss and exempt foreign employment income, then subtracts any First Home Super Saver amount released to you. Someone earning well under $60,000 in cash can land here after a novated lease and salary-sacrificed super are counted.
HECS-HELP is one branch of the HELP family. FEE-HELP covers full-fee places, VET Student Loans cover approved vocational courses, OS-HELP covers overseas study and SA-HELP covers the student services and amenities fee. All share the same repayment thresholds, so a combined debt at $60,000 produces one nothing figure. The schedule reads your income, not which loan type it came from. For most people at this income, the distinction between loan types is academic. The repayment is the same regardless.
Since the November 2024 changes, indexation is the lower of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (WPI), so a HELP debt can no longer grow faster than wages. The 2.8% figure for 2026 is what that cap produced. The nothing on this page is unaffected, indexation adjusts the balance, not the compulsory repayment, which is worked out from your income alone.
The nothing repayment is settled through your tax return. The ATO assesses it after you lodge, and it appears on your notice of assessment as an amount owed. If your employer withheld too little throughout the year, the shortfall is added to what you owe; if they withheld too much, you get a refund. The repayment itself is not a separate bill, it is part of the annual tax assessment.
Common questions
Do I pay HECS on $60,000?
No. $60,000 is $9,528 below the 2026-27 minimum repayment threshold of $69,528, so no compulsory repayment is required. Voluntary repayments are still allowed at any time.
Is this based on my salary or my taxable income?
Neither exactly. It is repayment income: taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions, total net investment loss and exempt foreign employment income, less any First Home Super Saver released amount.
Does the loan type change the repayment?
No. HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans and the other HELP branches all share the same thresholds, so $60,000 produces one nothing figure regardless of which loan carries the debt.
How is the indexation rate worked out now?
Since November 2024 it is the lower of CPI or WPI, so the debt cannot grow faster than wages. The 2.8% for 2026 is what that cap produced. It adjusts the balance, not the compulsory repayment.
When do I actually pay this?
The nothing is settled through your tax return. The ATO assesses it after you lodge and it appears on your notice of assessment. If your employer withheld too little, the shortfall is added to what you owe; too much and you get a refund.
Nearby salaries compared
How the compulsory repayment moves either side of $60,000, worked out the same way as above for each.
On the ladder this page sits on: Step up to $65,000 and the repayment becomes $0 — $0.00 more than here; step down to $55,000 and it drops to $0, $0.00 less.
| Salary | Repayment | Effective rate | Take-home, per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $45,000 | $0 | 0.0% | $40,405.00 |
| $50,000 | $0 | 0.0% | $43,730.00 |
| $55,000 | $0 | 0.0% | $47,055.00 |
| $65,000 | $0 | 0.0% | $53,705.00 |
| $70,000 | $70.80 | 0.1% | $57,009.20 |
| $75,000 | $820.80 | 1.1% | $59,659.20 |