Credit Cards Payoff Calculator
Enter one credit card's balance and APR, then either the payment you can make each month or the number of months you want the card paid off in. The calculator shows the monthly payment, the months to payoff, the payoff date, the last payment, the total interest and the total paid, with the payment schedule below.
How to use the Credit Cards Payoff Calculator
- Choose Fixed Payment if you know what you can pay each month. Choose Fixed Time if you have a deadline in months.
- Enter the card's balance and its APR. Both are on your monthly statement. For a card that charges no interest, enter 0 as the APR.
- Enter the monthly payment, or the number of months, and press Calculate.
- Read the payoff date and the total interest. The table lists each month's payment, principal, interest and remaining balance. For payoffs longer than 12 months it shows the first three months and the last three.
How the payoff is worked out
Interest = balance × APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent · · · New balance = balance + interest − payment · · · Fixed Time payment M = B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)
The calculator keeps the card's ledger month by month, the way a statement does. Each month it charges the balance times the APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent, and then takes off your payment. Fixed Payment counts the months until the balance reaches zero. The last month pays only what is left, so that payment is never more than the others. Fixed Time works out M for the n months you enter, where B is the balance and r is the APR ÷ 12, rounds it to the cent and runs the same ledger. The last month pays whatever is left, so it can differ from M. In the 36-month example below it is 10 cents more. Every month's rounding stays in the balance and is charged interest, so over a long term at a high APR the nearest cent can leave a last payment dollars above M. If the last payment would be more than 1% above M, the calculator rounds M up a cent at a time until it is not. $10,000 at 19.99% over 600 months comes to $166.60 a month, and the card is paid off in 558 months with a last payment of $123.24. When the schedule ends early, or the last payment is a dollar or more away from M, the result says so. At 0% APR no interest is charged, and in Fixed Payment the months are the balance ÷ the payment, rounded up. If a payment does not cover the first month's interest, the balance never falls, and the calculator says so instead of giving a date.
Worked example
A $5,000 balance at 19.99% APR, paid at $150 a month, takes 50 months. The first month's interest is $83.29, the last payment is $7.03, the interest comes to $2,357.03 and you pay $7,357.03 in total. Switch to Fixed Time and enter 36 months. The payment becomes $185.79 a month with a last payment of $185.89, and you pay $1,688.54 in interest and $6,688.54 in total.
Paying off several cards
This calculator takes one card at a time. If you carry balances on several cards, the debt payoff calculator lists them together, each with its balance, rate and minimum payment, and puts an extra monthly amount toward them in avalanche order (highest rate first) or snowball order (smallest balance first).
For more than one card:
Frequently asked questions
Can I enter more than one card?
No. It works on one balance at a time. Run each card on its own, or use the debt payoff calculator, which takes several debts and puts an extra monthly amount toward them in snowball or avalanche order.
What is the difference between Fixed Payment and Fixed Time?
Fixed Payment starts from what you pay each month and tells you how many months the card takes. Fixed Time starts from the number of months you want and tells you the monthly payment that gets you there.
Why does it say my payment is too low?
In the first month the card charges interest of the balance × APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent. On $5,000 at 19.99% that is $83.29. A payment at or below that amount never brings the balance down, so there is no payoff date to show.
Why does Fixed Time sometimes finish before the months I entered?
The monthly payment is rounded to the cent. When it is rounded up, you pay a fraction of a cent extra every month, and over a long term that can clear the balance early. Each month's interest is rounded to the cent as well. On a small balance it can round down, even to nothing, and that can also clear the balance early. $5,000 at 19.99% over 600 months comes to $83.30 a month, and that pays the card off in 561 months. Over 1,200 months the payment would round to $83.29, the same as the first month's interest, so the balance would never go down. The calculator then adds one cent and tells you so under the result.
Does it count new purchases or a minimum payment that changes?
No. It assumes you stop using the card and pay the same amount every month, with interest charged monthly at the APR you enter. New purchases or a payment that falls with the balance would push the payoff date later.