LendingCalculators

Loan payoff calculator: compare extra-payment plans and see your real payoff date

By , LendingCalculators

Free loan payoff calculator for a loan you already have: start from today's balance and compare extra-payment plans side by side, no sign-up.

Your loan

From your statement, not the original loan amount.

From your statement or loan agreement.

What do you know?

Count the scheduled payments you have left.

Defaults to next month.

Extra payments

Applied to principal only.

Leave blank to skip. Adds a column showing the payment needed.

Options
Payment schedule

Biweekly here means half the monthly payment every two weeks, which is 13 monthly payments a year.

Try the $18,000 exampleAdd a $2,000 lump sumPay off in 36 months insteadTry a $15,000 personal loan

Estimates only. Your lender's statement is the number that counts. Read how we calculate.

Payoff schedule

Schedule view

This tool starts from what you owe today, not the original loan. Every extra dollar goes to principal, which shrinks the interest charged on every payment after it.

On this page

How it works

How to use this calculator

Enter the balance from your statement, the rate, and either the months left or your payment. The comparison table fills in with your current plan and each extra-payment plan you enter; the best plan is highlighted. Pick a plan above the schedule to see its rows, then print or download it.

Enter your balance and rate, plus either the months you have left or the payment you make; the page derives the other. With months left known, the payment is M = B × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−n). With the payment known, the months left are n = ln(M ÷ (M − B·i)) ÷ ln(1 + i). Both are the standard amortization formula (Calculator.net loan calculator, amortization schedule, Wikipedia).

The comparison table then runs the same month-by-month loop once for each plan from the same balance, rate, and next payment date: interest on the opening balance, then principal, then any extra you entered, until the balance hits zero. The best plan is the one with the least total interest, and the savings tiles compare it to your current plan.

Why earlier dollars save more. A dollar paid in month three stops interest for every remaining month; a dollar paid in month forty stops it for a few. That is why a lump sum early in a loan usually beats the same total spread over later months, and why the table lets you see both.

Biweekly means two different things. The version that saves money is accelerated biweekly: half your monthly payment every two weeks, which is 26 half-payments a year, or 13 monthly payments instead of 12. That is what this calculator models. A loan that simply splits the same annual total across 26 payments saves nothing. One more catch: some lenders hold a half payment until the second half arrives, which removes the benefit, so ask before you switch.

Pay off in N months instead solves for the payment that clears the balance in that many months, M = B × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−N), and shows the extra needed as a column. Payoff amount today is your balance plus interest since your last payment at the daily rate (annual rate ÷ 365); lenders quote an official payoff figure that may add fees, and that quote governs.

Sources

  1. Calculator.net loan calculator
  2. amortization schedule, Wikipedia

Worked examples

An $18,000 loan at 8% with 48 months left, computed with this page's engine
PaymentPaymentsTotal interestInterest savedTime cut
Current plan$439.4348$3,092.76
Extra $100 a month$539.4338$2,427.39$665.3710 months
Extra $1,000 each December$439.43 + $1,000 yearly39$2,437.97$654.799 months
$2,000 lump sum in payment 3$439.4342$2,440.70$652.066 months
Accelerated biweekly$219.72 every two weeks95 periods (about 44 months)$2,772.39$320.37about 4 months
Pay off in 36 months instead$564.05 (extra $124.62)36computed by the toolcomputed by the tool12 months

If you only knew a $500 payment on this loan, the derived term would be 41.3 months, shown as 42 payments with a smaller final one. Daily interest on this balance is $3.95, so the payoff amount 20 days after the last payment is about $18,079.

Cedrick Reese built this calculator. Each comparison column reruns the same amortization loop from the same balance, so the plans are directly comparable. The loop is the standard amortization formula, and its $250,000 base case matches figures published by several independent calculators to the cent, so the $18,000 example rests on the same verified arithmetic. The page uses no live rate data; you enter the rate from your own statement. Report any mismatch with your lender's figures through the contact page and include your inputs.

Last reviewed: .

FAQ

How does paying extra reduce the interest I pay?

Interest is charged each month on the balance you still owe. An extra payment lowers that balance right away, so every month after it is charged a little less interest and a little more of your regular payment goes to principal. The effect compounds: on an $18,000 loan at 8% with 48 months left, $100 extra a month saves about $665 and ten months.

Is it better to pay extra every month or make one lump sum?

Earlier dollars save more than later ones, because they stop interest for more months. The comparison table shows both on your own numbers: a $2,000 lump sum in month three versus $100 a month for the rest of the loan, for example, cost about the same over four years but land differently. Neither is right for everyone; the table shows the arithmetic and you decide.

Should I pay off a loan early or invest the money?

That depends on the loan's rate against what the money could earn elsewhere and how much risk you want. Paying down a loan is a guaranteed return equal to its interest rate. This page shows what the payoff side of that comparison is worth; it does not give investment advice, and nothing here should be read as a recommendation.

How do biweekly payments work, and do they save money?

Accelerated biweekly means half your monthly payment every two weeks. That is 26 half-payments a year, which equals 13 monthly payments instead of 12. The extra payment is what shortens the loan. Splitting the same annual total into 26 pieces saves nothing. Some lenders also hold a half payment until the second one arrives, so ask how yours handles it.

Will my lender apply extra payments to principal?

Usually only if you say so. Many lenders apply an unmarked extra amount to next month's payment or to interest first. When you send extra, mark it as principal-only, whether that is a checkbox in the app, a memo line on a check, or a phone call. Then check the next statement to confirm the balance dropped by the full amount.

Is there a penalty for paying off a loan early?

Some loans carry a prepayment penalty and most do not. It will be in the loan agreement, sometimes under a heading like prepayment or early payoff. If you cannot find it, ask the lender in writing. A penalty does not always make early payoff a bad idea, but it changes the arithmetic, so subtract it from the interest saved shown here.

What is a payoff amount, and why is it more than my balance?

The balance on your statement is what you owed on the statement date. Interest keeps accruing daily after that, so the amount that actually clears the loan today is the balance plus the interest since your last payment, and sometimes a fee. The tile above estimates the daily interest; your lender's written payoff quote is the figure that counts.

How do I find my months left or my current payment?

Both are on your latest statement or in the lender's app or portal. If you only have one of them, enter it and the page derives the other. If the derived payment does not match what you actually pay, click the link under it and type your real payment; the page will recompute the remaining term from that.

Does this work for personal, car, and student loans?

Yes for any fixed-rate loan with a regular monthly payment. Federal student loans on income-driven plans and loans with variable rates will not match, because the payment or rate changes. Car loans with precomputed interest are also different; the car loan payoff page explains that case.

Can I use this as a personal loan payoff calculator?

Yes. Personal loans are fixed-rate installment loans, which is exactly what this calculator models. Enter the balance from your lender's app or statement, the rate, and the months left. For example, a $15,000 personal loan balance at 12% with 48 months left has a $395.01 payment; adding $100 a month clears it 11 months sooner and saves $1,000.56 in interest. The 12% is an example, not a quoted rate. Check your agreement for a prepayment penalty first.