24 · Calculators

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Enter your balance, the card’s APR and what you can pay each month to see when you’ll be debt-free and what it will cost.

Time to pay off

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How to use the credit card payoff calculator

  1. Enter the current balance on the card.
  2. Enter the APR from your statement.
  3. Enter the fixed amount you’ll pay each month.

How it’s calculated

Each month, interest of APR ÷ 12 is added to the balance and then your payment is taken off. This repeats until the balance reaches zero. It assumes you make no new purchases on the card and the rate doesn’t change.

Paying it off faster

  • Even a small increase in the monthly payment cuts the total interest sharply, because more goes to the balance.
  • A 0% balance transfer can help, but check the transfer fee and when the offer ends.
  • With several cards, paying the highest APR first saves the most interest.

Examples

4,500 at 22.9% APR, paying 200 a month

2 years, 6 months · 1,436.05 interest

Same balance, paying 300 a month

1 year, 6 months · 852.12 interest

Questions

Why does it say my payment is too low?

If your payment is less than the monthly interest, the balance never goes down. The calculator tells you the minimum needed.

Does it include fees?

No. Annual fees or late fees add to the balance and would make payoff take longer.

What about minimum payments?

This uses a fixed payment. Minimum payments usually shrink as the balance falls, which makes payoff take much longer.