Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Find out how long it will take to pay off a credit card, how much interest it will cost, and what you would need to pay each month to be debt-free by a date you choose, with a month-by-month payoff schedule.

Your card

The balance you want to pay off.

The purchase APR on your statement.

How do you want to plan?

To see the minimum-payment trap, enter the minimum from your statement.

Compare your plan with paying a little more.

For example 24 for two years.

Shows your debt-free date.

Paid off in 2 years, 10 months · $2,255.61 interest. See full results

Example: a $6,000.00 balance at 24% APR, paying $250.00 a month. Enter your card to update.

Your estimate

Monthly payment
$250.00
34 payments at 24% APR
Interest this month
$120.00
Charged on the current balance
Total interest
$2,255.61
Total of payments
$8,255.61
Paid off
2 years, 10 months
Where your payments go
  • Balance: $6,000.00 (72.7%)
  • Interest: $2,255.61 (27.3%)

Assumes no new purchases, fees or rate changes while you pay the card off. The last payment is $5.61 because of rounding to the remaining balance.

Extra payments

Add an extra monthly payment above to see how much interest and time it could save.

Compare payoff dates

Paying the card off faster takes a bigger payment but costs less interest.

Monthly payment needed to be debt-free by…

TermMonthly paymentTotal interestInterest vs. your term
1 year $567.36$808.29−$1,447.31
2 years $317.23$1,613.44−$642.17
2 years, 10 months (yours) $250.00$2,255.61—
3 years $235.40$2,474.30+$218.69
4 years $195.61$3,389.33+$1,133.72
5 years $172.61$4,356.47+$2,100.86

Payoff schedule

Amortization by year, with the required payment

YearPaidPrincipalInterestEnding balance
Year 1 $3,000.00$1,743.57$1,256.43$4,256.43
Year 2 $3,000.00$2,211.27$788.73$2,045.16
Year 3 $2,255.61$2,045.16$210.45$0.00
Show all 34 monthly payments

Every monthly payment, with the required payment

Payment #PaymentPrincipalInterestBalance
1 $250.00$130.00$120.00$5,870.00
2 $250.00$132.60$117.40$5,737.40
3 $250.00$135.25$114.75$5,602.15
4 $250.00$137.96$112.04$5,464.19
5 $250.00$140.72$109.28$5,323.47
6 $250.00$143.53$106.47$5,179.94
7 $250.00$146.40$103.60$5,033.54
8 $250.00$149.33$100.67$4,884.21
9 $250.00$152.32$97.68$4,731.90
10 $250.00$155.36$94.64$4,576.54
11 $250.00$158.47$91.53$4,418.07
12 $250.00$161.64$88.36$4,256.43
13 $250.00$164.87$85.13$4,091.56
14 $250.00$168.17$81.83$3,923.39
15 $250.00$171.53$78.47$3,751.86
16 $250.00$174.96$75.04$3,576.89
17 $250.00$178.46$71.54$3,398.43
18 $250.00$182.03$67.97$3,216.40
19 $250.00$185.67$64.33$3,030.73
20 $250.00$189.39$60.61$2,841.34
21 $250.00$193.17$56.83$2,648.17
22 $250.00$197.04$52.96$2,451.13
23 $250.00$200.98$49.02$2,250.15
24 $250.00$205.00$45.00$2,045.16
25 $250.00$209.10$40.90$1,836.06
26 $250.00$213.28$36.72$1,622.78
27 $250.00$217.54$32.46$1,405.24
28 $250.00$221.90$28.10$1,183.34
29 $250.00$226.33$23.67$957.01
30 $250.00$230.86$19.14$726.15
31 $250.00$235.48$14.52$490.67
32 $250.00$240.19$9.81$250.49
33 $250.00$244.99$5.01$5.50
34 $5.61$5.50$0.11$0.00

How the payoff is calculated

Each month, interest is added to the balance at the APR divided by 12, and then your payment is subtracted. What is left over after interest is what actually reduces the debt. In the example, the first month's interest on $6,000.00 at 24% is $120.00, so only $130.00 of the $250.00 payment goes toward the balance. As the balance falls, more of each payment goes to principal. At that payment the card is paid off in 2 years, 10 months with $2,255.61 of interest.

Why small payments take so long

Lowering the payment to $150.00 stretches the same balance to 6 years, 10 months and $6,191.39 of interest, because far less of each payment is left after interest. If a payment does not cover the month's interest, the balance never goes down.

Card issuers set their own minimum-payment formulas, and a minimum often falls as the balance falls, which stretches payoff further. Your statement's minimum payment warning shows how long paying only the minimum would take and, when that is more than three years, the monthly payment that would pay off the balance in three years (CFPB: the repayment box on your bill). To compare, enter your current minimum as the monthly payment (the calculator keeps it fixed), or choose a set time of 36 months.

What paying extra does

Adding $100.00 a month to the example payment clears the card in 1 year, 10 months instead of 2 years, 10 months and saves $834.37 in interest. Every extra dollar goes straight to the balance, so it also lowers the interest charged in every later month.

Planning a debt-free date

Choose I want to be debt-free by a set time to work backward: the calculator finds the fixed monthly payment that clears the balance in exactly that many months. For the example card, being debt-free in 2 years takes $317.23 a month and $1,613.44 of interest. The comparison table shows the payment needed for other dates.

If you are considering moving the balance to a loan, compare its true cost with our personal loan calculator, which accounts for origination fees.

Assumptions and limitations

  • Interest is charged monthly at the APR divided by 12 on the balance. Many issuers charge a daily periodic rate on your average daily balance instead (CFPB: how card interest is calculated), so your actual interest can differ slightly.
  • No new purchases, cash advances, fees or penalty rates are added, and the APR stays the same.
  • Promotional rates, balance-transfer offers and issuer minimum-payment formulas are not modeled.
  • Your payment is the same every month and is applied to this balance.
  • Results are estimates, not financial advice. Your card issuer's statement is the authoritative record.

Methodology and testing

The payoff engine simulates the balance month by month. For a target date it solves the payment with the same tested formula as our loan payment calculator. Automated tests check payoff time against the closed-form formula, interest against an independent simulation, and that every target date is met exactly, across balances, APRs and terms. Your inputs stay in your browser. How we build and test calculators.

Sources

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    Net savings after the transfer fee, the balance left when the intro rate ends, and the payment that clears it in time.

  • Personal Loan Calculator

    Payment, cash received after an origination fee, fee-adjusted APR, cost of borrowing, term comparison and amortization.

  • Loan Payment Calculator

    Monthly payment, total interest, term comparison, extra-payment savings and a full amortization schedule.