Credit Card Payoff Calculator

How the payoff is calculated

Each month interest is charged on the balance based on the annual rate. Your monthly payment first covers this interest, and whatever remains reduces the principal.

The calculator repeats this month by month until the balance reaches zero. The result is the payoff time and the total interest accrued.

What you enter and what you get

Enter the balance, the annual interest rate and the monthly payment. The result shows the payoff time in months, the total interest and the total amount paid over the whole period.

Even a small increase in the monthly payment shortens the term and cuts interest surprisingly much, because a larger share of the payment goes toward the principal.

When it is useful

Use the calculator when planning to pay down a credit card or a revolving credit line. You can try different monthly payments and see how soon you could be debt free.

Good to know

If the monthly payment is smaller than the interest accruing each month, the debt never reduces and the payoff time is shown as a dash. In that case you need to raise the payment so the principal starts to fall.