Credit card payoff calculator

Enter a balance, the card's APR and the amount you can pay each month to see when the balance reaches zero and how much interest it costs along the way.

How this calculator works

Credit card interest is calculated on the average daily balance, but a monthly model is accurate enough to show how a fixed payment behaves. The trap is the minimum payment: card issuers usually calculate it as about 1–3% of the balance, so as the balance falls the minimum falls with it. Paying only the minimum can stretch a few thousand dollars over a decade or more.

This calculator assumes you pay the same amount every month and stop using the card. If the payment is less than the interest charged in the first month, the balance grows and the card will never be repaid — the tool says so explicitly.

The formula

Each month the interest charge is balance × APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100, the balance becomes balance + interest − payment, and the process repeats until the balance reaches zero. There is no single closed-form payment for a chosen number of months, so the calculator loops the monthly step directly — the same way your statement does.

Worked example

A 5,000 balance at 22% APR with a 200 monthly payment clears in 34 months. By the time it is paid off you will have paid $1,749.88 in interest and $6,749.88 in total, assuming you never add new charges.

Common mistakes

• Paying only the minimum. Minimum payments fall as the balance falls, which keeps the loan alive for years. Fix a payment amount instead.
• Using the card again. Every new charge is usually at the highest rate on the card. A payoff plan only works if the balance stops growing.
• Ignoring a 0% promotional rate expiry. The standard purchase APR returns when the promo ends, and often on the whole remaining balance. Calculate with the rate that will apply, not the teaser rate.