Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Enter your balance, APR, and payment approach — a fixed dollar amount, or a percentage-of-balance minimum payment — to see exactly how many months it takes to pay off and how much interest you'll pay along the way.
How the Credit Card Payoff formula works
Simulated month by month, since a percentage-of-balance payment shrinks every month:
Each month: interest = balance × (APR / 12) payment = fixed amount, OR max(floor, balance × min%) principal paid = payment − interest balance = balance − principal paid
Step-by-step calculation
- Each month, calculate interest on the current balance.
- For a fixed payment, use the same dollar amount every month. For a percentage-based minimum payment, recalculate the payment as a percentage of the current (shrinking) balance.
- Subtract interest from the payment to find principal paid, and reduce the balance accordingly.
- Repeat until the balance reaches zero, tracking total months and total interest paid.
Worked example
A $5,000 balance at 22% APR: paying a fixed $200/month pays it off in about 30 months with roughly $1,050 in interest. Paying only a 2% minimum payment (which shrinks every month) can stretch payoff past 20 years and cost several times the original balance in interest — this is the 'minimum payment trap.'
Frequently asked questions
Why does a percentage-based minimum payment take so much longer?
Because the payment shrinks along with the balance, progress slows dramatically as the balance gets smaller — early on, a large share of each smaller payment goes to interest rather than principal, which is why many cards' minimum payments barely make a dent for years.
What's a better strategy than paying the minimum?
Paying a fixed amount well above the minimum — or as much as you can consistently afford — dramatically cuts both the payoff time and total interest, since more of every payment goes toward principal from the start.