payroll.student-loan
Student loan or postgraduate loan deduction from one period's pay, by plan, rounded down to whole pounds.
1.0.0 (not the latest) · published 2026-10-03 by charlie · Anterra
Pinned by 22 tests, run in TypeScript, Python and Rust.
Not professional advice. This capability calculates payroll figures from published rules. It is a software component for developers, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and every rate here has an effective date. Check that the dates cover your case. Verify results against the official sources listed in its README, and have a payroll specialist review how you use it, before anyone relies on the output. Provided “as is” under its licence, without warranty.
What it does
The student loan or postgraduate loan deduction an employer takes from one period's pay: 9% (plans 1, 2, 4 and 5) or 6% (postgraduate loan) of the earnings above the period's share of the plan's annual threshold, with the pence dropped. Tax years 2023-24 to 2026-27 are carried as dated data.
## Decisions
For example
student_loan(£3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28)→ £68.00 plan 1, monthly, 2026-27: 9% over £26,900 / 12, pence droppedstudent_loan(£700.00, plan-1, weekly, 2026-05-29)→ £16.00 HMRC's worked example: £700 a week on plan 1 repays £16student_loan(£2,800.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28)→ £50.00 HMRC's worked example: £2,800 a month on plan 1 repays £50
The function
The same function in TypeScript, Python and Rust, pinned by the same tests. Pick your language; the choice follows you around the registry.
pub fn student_loan(earnings: &Money, plan: &str, frequency: &str, pay_date: &str) -> Money
| earnings | Money | NI-able gross pay for the period: student loans use the earnings employer NI is worked out on, not taxable pay |
| plan | StudentLoanPlan | the one plan or loan to work out; an employee with a postgraduate loan as well needs two calls |
| frequency | PayFrequency | the earnings period, which scales the annual threshold |
| pay_date | date | the date the earnings are paid, which picks the tax year's threshold |
| returns | Money | the deduction for this period, whole pounds, never negative |
The type it declares, generated into your project
// StudentLoanPlan is a string in Rust, one of: "plan-1", "plan-2", "plan-4", "plan-5", "postgraduate".
// Parameters take it as &str and results hold it as String.
Your code names it in one line, in the file that uses it
fune!(payroll.student-loan@^1); // then call student_loan(…)
Imports name this capability’s declared dependencies, which fune builds next to it in your project; each one links to its page.
use super::funejson::Value; ← the fune runtime: the JSON value the test vectors use; fune build keeps it only where a signature takes one
use super::money_amount::{money, money_from_value, money_to_value, Money}; ← from money.amount ^1.0.0 · built alongside by fune
use super::payroll_student_loan_data::{
STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS, STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS_HISTORY, STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS_HORIZON,
};
fn is_iso_date(value: &str) -> bool {
let bytes = value.as_bytes();
bytes.len() == 10
&& bytes[4] == b'-'
&& bytes[7] == b'-'
&& bytes
.iter()
.enumerate()
.all(|(i, b)| i == 4 || i == 7 || b.is_ascii_digit())
}
/// The student or postgraduate loan deduction for one pay period.
///
/// The period threshold is the annual one scaled exactly by weeks/52 or
/// months/12 (Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 reg.
/// 44(2)), not HMRC's printed weekly and monthly figures, which are that
/// fraction cut to the penny. The deduction then drops its pence (reg. 44(3)),
/// so the whole calculation stays in integers: pence times the period
/// denominator.
///
/// # Panics
/// Panics on non-GBP or negative earnings, an unknown plan or frequency, or a
/// date no threshold covers.
pub fn student_loan(earnings: &Money, plan: &str, frequency: &str, pay_date: &str) -> Money {
if earnings.currency != "GBP" {
panic!("student loan deductions must be in GBP, received {}", earnings.currency);
}
if earnings.minor < 0 {
panic!("earnings must not be negative, received {}", earnings.minor);
}
if !matches!(plan, "plan-1" | "plan-2" | "plan-4" | "plan-5" | "postgraduate") {
panic!("unknown student loan plan \"{}\"", plan);
}
let (periods, per_year): (i128, i128) = match frequency {
"weekly" => (1, 52),
"fortnightly" => (2, 52),
"four-weekly" => (4, 52),
"monthly" => (1, 12),
other => panic!("unknown pay frequency \"{}\"", other),
};
if !is_iso_date(pay_date) {
panic!("payDate must be an ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD), received \"{}\"", pay_date);
}
let rule = STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS.iter().find(|r| {
r.plan == plan && pay_date >= r.valid_from && r.valid_to.map_or(true, |to| pay_date <= to)
});
let rule = match rule {
Some(r) => r,
None => {
if let Some(horizon) = STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS_HORIZON {
if STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS_HISTORY != "full" && pay_date < horizon {
panic!(
"no student loan threshold for {} on {}: this build was installed with history={}, so it only carries rules from {}. Reinstall with history=full for earlier tax years.",
plan, pay_date, STUDENT_LOAN_THRESHOLDS_HISTORY, horizon
);
}
}
panic!("no student loan threshold for {} on {}", plan, pay_date)
}
};
// Everything below is in pence x per_year, so the threshold is exact.
let excess = earnings.minor as i128 * per_year - rule.annual_threshold as i128 * periods;
if excess <= 0 {
return money(0, "GBP");
}
let pounds = (excess * rule.basis_points as i128) / (10000 * per_year * 100);
money((pounds * 100) as i64, "GBP")
}
pub fn fune_vector(args: &[Value]) -> Value {
money_to_value(&student_loan(
&money_from_value(&args[0]),
args[1].as_str(),
args[2].as_str(),
args[3].as_str(),
))
}Install
fune build
With that line in your source, in a Rust project (language rust in fune.project), fune build resolves it and its 2 dependencies, pins them in fune.lock, downloads only the Rust package of each, and builds the code above into your project’s .fune/build, one readable file per capability with a header linking back here. A crate’s build.rs runs it before every compile. Or pin a range in fune.project and build in one step:
fune add payroll.student-loan
The manifest, vectors and README with only the Rust implementation. Install it without the registry with fune add ./payroll.student-loan-1.0.0-rust.fune, or fetch it from a terminal with fune pull payroll.student-loan@1.0.0:rust.
The whole function, every language, is one file too: payroll.student-loan-1.0.0.fune, 23,725 bytes, sha256 3f88d31b873fb177f8d3f516db14afa1d8cb14b843357b73b720a3439d8854ae. It installs into a project of any language.
Customise it in your app
The seams this capability offers. Put a marker directly above a function of your own and fune build wires it into the built code; the package on the registry is not changed, the built file’s header lists it under CUSTOMISED, and fune hooks lists every hook in the project. How hooks work.
before — your function gets the arguments and returns them, changed or not, or throws to refuse the call.
// fune: before payroll.student-loan
after — your function gets the result and the arguments, and returns the final result.
// fune: after payroll.student-loan
replace — inside this capability’s code only, calls to a dependency go to your function, with the same signature. Other capabilities that use it are unaffected; write in * to replace it everywhere.
// fune: replace money.amount in payroll.student-loan
// fune: replace payroll.tax-period in payroll.student-loan
step — your function runs at a numbered point inside the function’s body, receives the in-scope values it names as parameters, and may return replacements. List the points with fune show payroll.student-loan --steps.
// fune: step payroll.student-loan after <n|label>
Tests
A version published now needs at least 8 tests for every function, and one that expects the error for each function that throws; the registry refuses it otherwise. fune verify --all runs each case in TypeScript, Python and Rust, and a project runs them again with fune verify. This page lists the cases; it does not run them. The exact JSON is vectors.json.
| Case | Arguments | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| plan 1, monthly, 2026-27: 9% over £26,900 / 12, pence dropped | £3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £68.00 |
| HMRC's worked example: £700 a week on plan 1 repays £16 | £700.00, plan-1, weekly, 2026-05-29 | → | £16.00 |
| HMRC's worked example: £2,800 a month on plan 1 repays £50 | £2,800.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £50.00 |
| plan 2, monthly, 2026-27 | £3,000.00, plan-2, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £49.00 |
| plan 4, monthly, 2026-27 | £3,000.00, plan-4, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £16.00 |
| plan 5 repays from 2026-27: exactly £82.50 drops to £82 | £3,000.00, plan-5, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £82.00 |
| postgraduate loan: 6% over £1,750 a month | £3,000.00, postgraduate, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £75.00 |
| pay below the threshold repays nothing | £2,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £0.00 |
| the exact monthly threshold, not HMRC's printed £2,241.66: £2,341.66 repays £8, not £9 | £2,341.66, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | £8.00 |
| plan 1 in 2023-24, weekly | £500.00, plan-1, weekly, 2023-10-06 | → | £6.00 |
Show the other 12 tests
| Case | Arguments | Expected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| plan 1 in 2024-25, monthly | £2,500.00, plan-1, monthly, 2024-07-26 | → | £37.00 |
| fortnightly in 2025-26 uses 2/52 of the annual threshold | £1,500.00, plan-2, fortnightly, 2025-10-10 | → | £36.00 |
| exactly the fortnightly threshold repays nothing | £1,095.00, plan-2, fortnightly, 2025-10-10 | → | £0.00 |
| four-weekly in 2025-26 uses 4/52 of the annual threshold | £3,000.00, plan-1, four-weekly, 2025-11-14 | → | £89.00 |
| the new tax year's threshold applies from 6 April | £3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-04-06 | → | £68.00 |
| the day before, the old one does | £3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-04-05 | → | £74.00 |
| plan 5 has no threshold before 6 April 2026 | £3,000.00, plan-5, monthly, 2025-12-28 | → | error: no student loan threshold for plan-5 |
| a date before the rules this package carries | £3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2023-04-05 | → | error: no student loan threshold for plan-1 |
| an unknown plan is an error | £3,000.00, plan-3, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | error: unknown student loan plan |
| negative earnings are refused | -£0.01, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | error: earnings must not be negative |
| another currency is refused | €3,000.00, plan-1, monthly, 2026-05-28 | → | error: must be in GBP |
| an unknown frequency is refused | £3,000.00, plan-1, daily, 2026-05-28 | → | error: unknown pay frequency |
More from the author
- **Earnings are NI-able pay**, the figure employer Class 1 NICs are worked out on, not taxable pay: pension contributions under a net pay arrangement do not reduce it. - **The period threshold is exact.** Regulation 44(2) of the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 scales the annual threshold by weeks/52 or months/12 of the earnings period. HMRC's printed weekly and monthly figures (£517.30, £2,241.66 for plan 1 in 2026-27) are that fraction cut to the penny, and on rare pay amounts the difference moves the deduction by a pound; a vector pins the case. Fortnightly is 2/52 and four-weekly 4/52 of the annual threshold. - **Pence are ignored** (reg. 44(3)): the deduction is always whole pounds, rounded down. HMRC's own worked example (£700 a week repays £16, £2,800 a month repays £50, plan 1, 2026-27) is a vector. - **One plan per call.** An employee repaying a postgraduate loan and a plan 1, 2, 4 or 5 loan has both deducted, concurrently (reg. 44(2A)): call twice. With two undergraduate plans and no SL1 yet, HMRC says to use the plan with the lowest threshold; picking that is the caller's job. - **Plan 5** repayments start in 2026-27 (threshold £25,000); asking for plan 5 before 6 April 2026 is an error. - The deduction is never negative. Refunds, under- and over-deduction recovery and the court-order ordering rules are out of scope.
## Sources
- The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009, reg. 44: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/470/regulation/44 - HMRC, "Special rules for student loans" (thresholds from April 2026, plan 5, the £700 / £2,800 worked example): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/special-rules-for-student-loans - HMRC, "Rates and thresholds for employers" 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025, 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 (annual thresholds and the 9% / 6% rates): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027
Files
| Path | Bytes |
|---|---|
| README.md | 2,293 |
| data/student-loan-thresholds.json | 2,671 |
| impl/python.py | 2,879 |
| impl/rust.rs | 3,379 |
| impl/typescript.ts | 2,934 |
| vectors.json | 5,160 |