Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Evaluating the Risk of Credit Card Debt

Credit cards are a common form of payment used across the globe. Credit cards have many advantages, including fraud protection, rewards, easy access to credit, purchase protection, and other perks. However, they traditionally come with extremely high fees and interest rates.

Financial experts recommend that individuals monitor and minimize the balance on their credit cards to avoid going into debt. In the United States alone, the total consumer credit card debt exceeds $900 billion. Unfortunately, most minimum payments recommended by credit card companies are designed to maximize profits and keep their customers paying on their balances for decades.

Example

Ted lost his job three months ago. He didn’t have any savings and needed to pay his living expenses with his credit card until he could find new employment. Over the last three months, Ted has accrued a balance of $7,000. His credit card charges 18% APR. While this may not seem like a large sum, it will take over 26 years to pay off by paying the recommended minimum. In addition, the total interest cost will exceed $26,000 (nearly four times the amount spent initially!).

As you can see from this example, it’s easy for credit card debt to spiral out of control quickly. Fortunately, online tools like this credit card calculator can help credit card users minimize their risk of debt.

Understanding the Credit Card Interest Formula

Credit card balances can frequently change during the month, especially if you use your card for daily purchases. For this reason, the formula for calculating interest charges can get extremely complex. Since interest is charged against the balance on the card, the credit card company must first calculate your average daily balance (or ADB).

The formula to calculate the average daily balance is:

ADB = (B1 + B2 + B3, etc.) / D

• ADB = Average daily balance
• B = Balance on each day (B1 equals the balance on day 1, etc.)
• D = Number of days in a given month

Next, the credit card company must calculate the amount of interest to charge for each day of the month. This is calculated by dividing the published APR by the number of days in a year.

The formula to calculate the daily interest rate (or Daily Periodic Rate) is:

DPR = APR / 365

• DPR = Daily Periodic Rate
• APR = Annual percentage rate

Finally, the daily periodic rate (DPR) is multiplied by the month’s average daily balance (ADB) to establish the amount of interest that will be added during the billing period. To make matters more complicated, the credit card company also has to factor in payments made during the month.

How to Use the Credit Card Payback Calculator

As you can see, calculating credit card interest and payoffs manually is nearly impossible. Fortunately, our online credit interest calculator simplifies the process with just a few data points.

• Step 1: Enter the credit card balance and interest rate into the fields.
• Step 2: Enter the amount you wish to pay on your bill. The calculator gives you a few options, including making a minimum payment, paying a fixed amount, or paying the interest plus a set percentage (1%, 2%, etc.).
• Step 3: Click “Calculate” and review the results. When you click calculate, the results will tell you how long it will take to pay off your credit card and the total amount of interest that you will incur. The results also provide the principal-to-interest breakdown and a balance payoff graph.

(Optional) Payback Timeframe Calculator

Individuals trying to pay off their credit card debt quickly may want to know how much they need to pay to complete their payoff by a certain date. Below the standard credit card rate calculator, you can enter the balance, interest rate, and payback period. The results will tell you how much you will need to pay monthly to accomplish your goal.

Real Example

Let’s assume you have $15,000 on your credit card. Your credit card company charges a 15% APR. You want to calculate how long it will take to pay it off by making $200 payments each month.

To run this calculation, enter the following values into the credit card payback calculator:

• Credit Card Balance: $15,000
• Interest Rate: 15%
• Minimum Payment: $200

Once you hit the Calculate button, you’ll see that it will take 18 years and 8 months to pay off the balance. In addition, the results will show that the total amount of interest paid during this time will exceed $29,000.

Key Benefits and Helpful Tips

Knowing how to leverage this credit card calculator effectively can save you thousands. Here are some key benefits and helpful tips for making the most of our credit card calculator.

Key Benefits

• No Memorizing Formulas - The credit card interest calculation is too complex to memorize. Using our credit card interest calculator, you can easily make decisions about your credit card debt without spending hours trying to figure out the interest calculations.
• Make Smart Financial Decisions - Credit cards can be the most dangerous type of debt due to high-interest rates and easy access to credit. Individuals working on getting out of debt will likely want to pay off their high-interest credit card debt first. This calculator can help you figure out the best way to minimize the cost of interest and pay off your credit card balance as quickly as possible.

Helpful Tips

• Statement Balance - Most credit card companies have a certain date each month for applying new interest to your account (often referred to as the statement date). Interest will only be applied to the balance that remains on this date. You can reduce the amount of interest added to the account by making a payment before the statement date. Savvy individuals will pay off their entire statement balance monthly to avoid interest charges altogether.
• Low Monthly Payment - If your regular payment is less than the interest being accrued each month, your balance will continue to grow and become impossible to pay off. Fortunately, our credit card fee calculator will alert you with red text if you have selected a payment that is too low.
• Compare Payment Amounts - If you enter an amount in both the minimum payment field and the fixed amount field, the calculator will show the results for both. This will help you compare two different payment options simultaneously.