Credit-card payoff planning

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Estimate how long a fixed payment may take, compare an extra monthly amount, and calculate the payment needed for a target payoff period.

Current credit-card balance

Purchase APR

Use one APR for the balance being modeled. Cash advances, transfers, and promotions may use different rates.

Planned fixed monthly payment Enter the amount you expect to pay consistently, not a changing minimum-payment formula.

Additional monthly payment Added to the planned payment each month.

Target payoff years

Additional target months The target section calculates the fixed payment needed for this period.

Results will appear after valid values are entered.

Your planned payment

This scenario assumes the same payment is made every month, no new purchases are added, and the entered APR remains unchanged.

Planned payment — Fixed amount used each month

Estimated payoff — Estimated payoff duration

Estimated interest — Interest through payoff

Estimated total paid — Current balance plus estimated interest

First-month principal — Planned payment after estimated first-month interest

Add an extra monthly payment

The extra-payment scenario keeps the same APR and adds the entered amount to every planned monthly payment.

Payment with extra — Planned payment plus the extra amount

Payoff with extra — Estimated payoff duration

Time saved — Compared with the planned payment

Interest with extra — Estimated interest through accelerated payoff

Interest saved — Difference between the two payoff estimates

Pay off the balance within a target period

The target section calculates the fixed monthly payment needed to reach a zero balance within the entered number of years and months.

Payment needed — Estimated fixed payment for the target

Target payoff — Entered target period

Interest at target payment — Estimated interest through the target payoff

Change from planned payment — Difference from the entered planned payment

How this credit-card payoff calculator works

The calculator applies one month of estimated interest, subtracts the fixed payment, and repeats until the balance reaches zero. The target payment uses the same monthly-rate assumption.

Estimated monthly interest


                        Current balance × APR ÷ 12

First-month principal


                        Monthly payment - first-month interest

Many card issuers calculate interest daily using an average daily balance or another daily-balance method. Statements may also contain separate balances with different APRs. Those details can produce a different result from this monthly estimate.

The calculator does not model changing minimum payments, new purchases, cash advances, balance transfers, annual fees, late fees, promotional expiration, deferred interest, or payment allocation among multiple APR categories.

Use the current statement for the actual minimum payment, applicable APRs, and issuer-provided payoff disclosures.

For educational purposes only. Results are monthly estimates and may differ from the card issuer’s figures because of daily balance methods, posting dates, changing minimums, multiple APRs, fees, new transactions, and account-specific terms. Review the Calculator Methodology for shared assumptions, rounding, payoff timing, and privacy-conscious analytics details.