What is the HELP repayment threshold for FY2023-24?

For 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 compulsory HELP repayments start once repayment income passes $51,550.

Is repayment income the same as taxable income?

No. Repayment income is taxable income plus Reportable fringe benefits, Total net investment loss — including a negatively geared rental, Reportable employer super contributions (salary sacrifice), Exempt foreign employment income. A negatively geared rental does not reduce it.

Australian tax · FY2023-24

HELP / HECS repayment calculator

Q: How is the FY2023-24 HELP repayment calculated?

A flat rate set by your income band, applied to your WHOLE repayment income — not just the part above the threshold. On $90,000 the repayment is $4,950.

For 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 compulsory repayments start above $51,550, and the rate for your band applies to your whole repayment income — not just the part above the threshold. That changed from FY2025-26.

Calculator

Your repayment incomeNot your taxable income — see below

Compulsory repayment for FY2023-24$4,950

As a share of your repayment income5.50%

Income below the threshold, which repays nothing$51,550

This is an estimate, not advice. It applies the published rate to what you enter; whether the method suits your circumstances, and whether your records support the figures, is a question for your tax agent.

Repayment income is not taxable income

This is the single most common reason a repayment comes in higher than expected. Repayment income is your taxable income plus:

Reportable fringe benefits
Total net investment loss — including a negatively geared rental
Reportable employer super contributions (salary sacrifice)
Exempt foreign employment income

A negatively geared rental does not reduce it. The loss comes off your taxable income and is then added straight back for this calculation, which is exactly the case where a return and a repayment notice look like they disagree.

How this year's system works

The rate for your band applies to your whole repayment income, so a dollar over a band boundary re-rates everything below it too. FY2025-26 replaced this with a marginal system — see that year's page for the comparison.

Worked example

On a repayment income of $90,000 in FY2023-24, the compulsory repayment is $4,950 — 5.50% of the whole. Every dollar of it is in the base, including the first $51,550.

Preparing returns, not just your own?

BeforeMay builds the working paper behind the return — and computes this repayment from the same function this page just used, on a repayment income assembled from the client's own documents rather than typed in.

Start a case free Where does client data go?

Three returns free. No card.

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