Loan Payoff Calculator
See how many months until a balance is paid off, and how much interest and time an extra monthly payment saves.
Balance and payment
Calculated in your browser as you type. Nothing is uploaded.
| Metric | Without extra | With extra |
|---|---|---|
| Time to pay off | 3 years 6 months | 2 years 7 months |
| Payoff date | — | — |
| Total interest | 4,770.23 | 3,450.08 |
| Total paid | 16,770.23 | 15,450.08 |
Estimates assume a fixed payment every month and interest charged on the remaining balance. The payoff date counts forward from today. Fees and a changing rate are not modeled.
How to calculate a loan payoff
Enter the balance and rate
Type the current balance you owe and the annual interest rate, or APR, on the loan or card.
Add your payments
Enter the fixed monthly payment you make now, then an optional extra amount you could add on top each month.
Read the payoff
The months to payoff, payoff date, interest saved, and time saved update instantly as you type.
Compare with and without extra
Use the comparison table to weigh paying the minimum against adding extra before you commit to a plan.
Why use this tool
Interest and time saved
The tool amortizes the balance twice, with and without your extra payment, and shows exactly how much interest and how many months the extra clears.
A real payoff date
Months to payoff is turned into a calendar month counted forward from today, so the finish line is a date and not just a number.
Warns when a payment is too small
If the payment only covers the monthly interest, the balance never falls. The tool flags that instead of spinning up an impossible schedule.
Handles 0% balances
A zero interest rate is valid input, such as a promotional card. The balance is divided evenly across the payments with no interest added.
No currency assumptions
Results are plain numbers without a symbol, so the same math works for dollars, euros, pounds, or anything else.
Private by default
Balances and rates are sensitive. Everything is calculated on your device and nothing is uploaded, stored, or logged.
About this tool
This loan payoff calculator answers two questions at once: how long a balance takes to clear at your current payment, and how much sooner it clears if you add extra each month. It walks the balance forward one month at a time. Each month interest is charged on what you still owe, your payment covers that interest first, and whatever is left reduces the principal. Because interest is heaviest early on, when the balance is largest, even a small extra payment early cuts the total interest more than the same amount added near the end. The result is the number of months to payoff, an estimated payoff date, and the interest and time an extra payment saves.
It suits credit cards, personal loans, car loans, and any fixed-rate balance you pay down at a steady monthly amount. Enter the balance, the annual rate, your current payment, and an optional extra, and the comparison table lines up paying the minimum against paying more so the trade-off is a ten-second read. For working out the payment on a brand new loan instead of paying one down, the loan calculator builds a full amortization schedule, and the compound interest calculator does the reverse job for money that is growing rather than owed.
One guardrail matters most: if a payment is at or below the interest charged that month, the balance never clears, and the tool says so rather than pretending otherwise. Raising the payment above the monthly interest is what turns a balance that grows into one that shrinks. Every figure is calculated on your device as you type, and nothing is sent to a server. Results cover principal and interest only, so fees, a variable rate, and any changes to your payment are not modeled. Treat the payoff date as a close estimate and confirm exact numbers with your lender.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the payoff time calculated?
- The balance is amortized month by month. Each month the interest is added to the balance, your payment is subtracted, and the tool counts how many months it takes to reach zero. It does this twice, once with your current payment and once with the extra added, so it can compare the two.
- How much interest does an extra payment save?
- The interest saved is the total interest on your current payment minus the total interest once the extra is added. Because extra money goes straight to principal, it removes future interest that balance would have accrued, and the effect is largest when you start early.
- Why does it say the balance never clears?
- If your monthly payment is at or below the interest charged that month, the payment only covers interest and the balance stays the same or grows. Raising the payment above the monthly interest is the only way to start reducing what you owe.
- How is the payoff date worked out?
- The number of months to payoff is counted forward from today to give an estimated calendar month. It assumes you keep paying the same amount every month starting now, so treat it as a close estimate rather than an exact day.
- What does it leave out?
- It covers principal and interest only. Annual fees, late fees, a variable or promotional rate that later changes, and new charges added to the balance are not modeled, so a real payoff may differ. Confirm exact figures with your lender.
- Is my financial data private?
- Yes. The balance, rate, and payment amounts never leave your device. All calculations run in your browser and nothing is uploaded, stored, or logged.
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