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Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Enter your card balance, its APR and what you plan to pay each month to see when the balance reaches zero, the interest along the way and how that compares with minimum payments.

The currency menu changes only the symbol and format; amounts are not converted.

$

Time to pay off

2 years 9 months

Total interest
$1,522.13
Total paid
$6,522.13
Minimum payments only
49 years 3 months, $21,168.81 interest
Fixed payment to clear it in 36 months
$185.82

Paying $200.00 a month clears $5,000.00 in 2 years 9 months with $1,522.13 of interest; paying only the minimum would take 49 years 3 months and cost $21,168.81 in interest.

Your numbers, month by month

r = 20% ÷ 12 = 0.01666667

month 1 interest = B × r = $83.33

month 1 principal = A − interest = $116.67

repeat until B = 0: 33 payments

interest total = $1,522.13

How the payoff is calculated
Where your payments go

Month-by-month payoff

33 monthly payments · a heavier rule marks each year end

Month Payment Balance repaid Interest Balance
1$200.00$116.67$83.33$4,883.33
2$200.00$118.61$81.39$4,764.72
3$200.00$120.59$79.41$4,644.13
4$200.00$122.60$77.40$4,521.53
5$200.00$124.64$75.36$4,396.89
6$200.00$126.72$73.28$4,270.17
7$200.00$128.83$71.17$4,141.34
8$200.00$130.98$69.02$4,010.36
9$200.00$133.16$66.84$3,877.20
10$200.00$135.38$64.62$3,741.82
11$200.00$137.64$62.36$3,604.18
12$200.00$139.93$60.07$3,464.25
13$200.00$142.26$57.74$3,321.99
14$200.00$144.63$55.37$3,177.36
15$200.00$147.04$52.96$3,030.32
16$200.00$149.49$50.51$2,880.83
17$200.00$151.99$48.01$2,728.84
18$200.00$154.52$45.48$2,574.32
19$200.00$157.09$42.91$2,417.23
20$200.00$159.71$40.29$2,257.52
21$200.00$162.37$37.63$2,095.15
22$200.00$165.08$34.92$1,930.07
23$200.00$167.83$32.17$1,762.24
24$200.00$170.63$29.37$1,591.61
25$200.00$173.47$26.53$1,418.14
26$200.00$176.36$23.64$1,241.78
27$200.00$179.30$20.70$1,062.48
28$200.00$182.29$17.71$880.19
29$200.00$185.33$14.67$694.86
30$200.00$188.42$11.58$506.44
31$200.00$191.56$8.44$314.88
32$200.00$194.75$5.25$120.13
33$122.13$120.13$2.00$0.00

How a card balance is paid down

A credit card has no fixed term. Each month the issuer adds interest to the balance you carry, and your payment first covers that interest; only the remainder reduces what you owe. The calculator assumes you stop using the card while you repay it, so the balance only moves through interest and payments, and it repeats the month until nothing is left.

  • r = APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12, the monthly rate. An APR of 24% is 2% a month.
  • interest = B × r, rounded to the cent, where B is the balance.
  • B = B + interest − A, where A is your monthly payment. The final payment is only what is left.

A fixed payment clears the balance after n = −ln(1 − r × B ÷ A) ÷ ln(1 + r) months, rounded up. That only works if the payment is larger than the first month's interest, A > r × B; at or below it the balance never falls, and the calculator says so instead of showing a result.

The minimum-payment comparison

Issuers set their own minimum payment formula. For the comparison the calculator uses the assumption of the Federal Reserve Board's Credit Card Repayment Calculator: each month the minimum is 2% of the balance or $20, whichever is greater, and the final payment pays the balance in full. Because the minimum shrinks with the balance, the balance falls more slowly every month, which is why paying only the minimum takes so long.

From an APR of 24% upward, 2% of the balance is never more than the month's interest, so only the $20 floor can bring the balance down, and only while $20 is more than the interest: the starting balance has to be below $20 ÷ the monthly rate. That is $1,000.00 at 24% and $800.00 at 30%; a $500.00 balance at 30% is repaid on minimums in 3 years 4 months. At or above that limit, minimum payments never repay the card, and the calculator says so.

The last figure, the fixed payment that clears the balance in 36 months, is the same estimate U.S. card statements must show under Regulation Z: the payment that repays the balance in 36 equal monthly amounts at the account's APR.

Worked example: the Federal Reserve's $3,000 balance

When the Federal Reserve Board released its repayment calculator, it described a $3,000.00 balance at 13%, which it said could take as long as 16 years and cost $2,812 in interest on minimum payments only. Working through it:

  1. Monthly rate: 13 ÷ 100 ÷ 12 = 0.01083333. First month's interest: $3,000.00 × 0.01083333 = $32.50.
  2. First minimum: 2% of $3,000.00 = $60.00, so $27.50 of the balance is repaid in month one.
  3. Repeating that month by month, the minimum falls with the balance until it reaches the $20 floor, and the card is clear after 192 payments (16 years) with $2,811.66 of interest. Rounded, that is the 16 years and $2,812 the Federal Reserve published.
  4. The fixed payment that clears the same balance in 36 months is $101.08; at that payment interest totals $638.97.
  5. A fixed $150.00 a month clears it in 1 year 11 months with $399.64 of interest.

How the payment and the APR change the payoff

The calculator opens with a $5,000.00 balance at 20% APR and $200.00 a month: 2 years 9 months and $1,522.13 of interest. On minimum payments alone the same balance would take 49 years 3 months and cost $21,168.81.

  • $150.00 a month: repaid in 4 years 2 months, $2,359.09 of interest.
  • $200.00 a month: repaid in 2 years 9 months, $1,522.13 of interest.
  • $300.00 a month: repaid in 1 year 8 months, $906.82 of interest.
  • $500.00 a month: repaid in 1 year, $515.21 of interest.

The first steps up save the most. Near the interest-only threshold a small increase in the payment removes years from the payoff; at higher payments each extra amount saves less, because the balance is outstanding for fewer months.

A lower APR

At 15% instead of 20%, the same $200.00 a month clears the balance in 2 years 7 months with $1,032.67 of interest. At 0%, for example during an introductory period, it takes 2 years 1 month and no interest. Introductory rates end and balance transfers can carry a fee, so enter the rate and amount that will actually apply.

More than one card

With several balances, any amount above the minimums has to go to one card first. Two orderings are commonly described: the avalanche method directs it to the highest APR, which produces the lowest total interest for the same total payment; the snowball method directs it to the smallest balance, which closes accounts sooner. You can run each card through the calculator separately to see the numbers for either order.

Frequently asked questions

Why does paying only the minimum take so long?

Because the minimum is a percentage of a shrinking balance, the payment shrinks too, and most of it goes to interest. In the worked example the first minimum of $60.00 repays only $27.50 of the balance.

My issuer calculates the minimum differently. Does that matter?

Yes, for the minimum-payment comparison only. A formula that asks for more than 2% of the balance each month repays sooner than the comparison shows, and one that asks for less repays later. U.S. statements show the issuer's own estimate, using its own formula, under a “Minimum Payment Warning” heading. Your fixed-payment result does not depend on the minimum formula.

Which APR should I enter?

The purchase APR on your statement if the whole balance is purchases. If parts of the balance carry different rates, such as a cash advance, entering the highest rate gives an estimate that should not be shorter than the real payoff, the same assumption the Federal Reserve calculator made.

Does the result include new purchases, fees or a grace period?

No. It assumes no new charges, no fees and interest every month on the full balance. New purchases add to the balance and lengthen the payoff; a late fee or a penalty APR does the same.

What is the 36-month payment?

The equal monthly amount that repays the balance in three years at the APR you entered. Regulation Z requires U.S. card statements to show this estimate, with its total cost and the saving compared with minimum payments, when minimum payments would take longer than three years.

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