Debt Payoff
Loan Payoff Calculator
Find out exactly when you'll be debt-free and how much extra payments can save you in interest — for student loans, credit cards, personal loans, or auto loans.
Original plan
How this loan payoff calculator works
This tool takes your current balance, interest rate, and either a fixed monthly payment or a target payoff timeline, then calculates how long it will actually take to reach a zero balance given how interest accrues each month. If you enter a monthly payment, the calculator works out the payoff date; if you enter a target date instead, it works out the payment required to hit it. Either way, the "extra payment" slider layers an additional amount on top of your base payment each month and recalculates the full schedule, so you can directly compare your original plan against a faster one.
The math follows standard amortization: each month, interest is charged on your remaining balance, and whatever is left of your payment after that interest goes toward reducing principal. Because interest is calculated on a shrinking balance, extra payments made earlier in the loan compound their benefit — the same extra $50 a month typically saves more interest on a loan with 8 years left than on one with 8 months left. Loan type (student, credit card, personal, auto) doesn't change the math here — it only affects which typical rates and terms are common for that kind of debt in the real world.
Does the type of loan I pick change the calculation?
No — the loan type selector is just a label. The underlying math (balance, rate, payment, time) is the same for every type of installment or revolving debt; only the typical interest rates and repayment norms tend to differ by loan type in practice.
Why does a small extra payment save so much interest?
Every dollar of extra payment goes straight to principal, which reduces the balance that next month's interest is calculated on — so the savings compound over the life of the loan, especially the earlier you start making extra payments.
What if my monthly payment barely covers the interest?
If your payment doesn't exceed the interest accruing each month, the balance will never go down — the calculator will flag this so you know to increase your payment.