HECS/Help Debt – Pay In Full Before Jan 2012 For 10% Discount

If you have completed University, you will likely be aware that you have a HECs debt (now known as a HELP debt).

Did you know that if you voluntarily pay off your entire debt directly with the ATO, you will get a discount of 10%? This means that if you were to owe $7,000 in outstanding HECS/HELP debt – if you were to agree to pay this in full, you would get a 10% discount – a saving of $700, revising your total you owe to only $6,300.

This discount may not sound like a lot, though we at Savings Guide will take whatever discounts the ATO wish to hand out as great news. It isn’t often you hear of hands outs like this. This is the equivalent of the ATO giving you $700 in cash.

The 10% discount ends as of 1st January 2012

That’s right. This 10% discount has been reduced to 5% as a result of recent Government legislation changes. On 1st January 2012, you would only get a 5% saving if you paid in full. This means a saving of $350 instead of $700 in the scenario above.

Are you a future thinker?

The majority of people will ignore this hand out. This is understandable if your debt is quite large as quite frankly it would be very hard to cough up that amount of money by December 2011.
In saying that, if your debt is quite small and on its last legs – you would be a very wise and future thinking saver to take advantage of the 10% offer while it was still available.

Benefits of paying off your HECS/HELP debt

Each pay cheque you receive you pay a little towards your HECs/HELP debt. Paying it off means more money in your pocket each pay day and the ability to use that money wisely for other more exciting things.