When will my loan payoff be done?
Find out when your loan will be paid off, or what to pay each month to clear it by a date you choose.
- Months to pay it off
- 30
Paying $450.00 a month clears $12,000.00 at 8% in 2 years, 6 months, with $1,257.12 of interest.
- Monthly payment
- $450.00
- Time to pay it off
- 2 years, 6 months
- Last payment
- February 2029
- Total interest
- $1,257.12
- Total of payments
- $13,257.12
- Interest saved by paying extra
- $412.64
- Months saved by paying extra
- 10
- Months
- 30
Answer for the example date Tuesday, September 29, 2026. It changes to today's date when the page loads.
Months to pay it off: 30. Paying $450.00 a month clears $12,000.00 at 8% in 2 years, 6 months, with $1,257.12 of interest.
How much more than the balance will you pay?
How fast does the balance fall?
What does every payment look like?
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Computes how many months a monthly payment takes to pay off a loan balance, and the interest saved by paying extra, or the payment that pays it off in a chosen number of months.
Example with the default inputs (Loan balance today $12,000.00, Interest rate (APR) 8%, What do you know? My payment, Monthly payment $350.00, Extra each month $100.00, Next payment month September 29, 2026) on the example date Tuesday, September 29, 2026: Paying $450.00 a month clears $12,000.00 at 8% in 2 years, 6 months, with $1,257.12 of interest.
Method: Each month, interest = balance × r (r = APR ÷ 12) and the payment minus the interest lowers the balance; the months to pay off are −ln(1 − B·r ÷ P) ÷ ln(1 + r) rounded up, and the payment for n months is B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n).
- The rate is fixed and interest is charged monthly at APR ÷ 12 on the balance.
- The balance is what you owe today; the first payment is at the end of the first month.
- Extra payments go straight to the balance. The last payment is whatever is left.
- No new charges are added to the balance.
- Values are not rounded to the cent between months; only the display is rounded.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Loan balance today $15,000.00, Interest rate (APR) 8%, What do you know? My payment, Monthly payment $350.00, Extra each month $100.00 gives Pay it off in (months) 38, Total interest $2,020.42, Interest saved by paying extra $703.45, Months saved by paying extra 13.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 in docs/progress/WP-31/python/loan_payoff.py
- Loan balance today $15,000.00, Interest rate (APR) 8%, What do you know? A payoff time, Pay it off in (months) 36 gives Monthly payment $470.05, Total interest $1,921.64, Time to pay it off 3 years.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 15,000 × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−36), r = 0.08 ÷ 12
- Loan balance today $2,400.00, Interest rate (APR) 0%, What do you know? My payment, Monthly payment $100.00, Next payment month 2026-11-01 gives Pay it off in (months) 24, Total interest $0.00, Last payment 2028-10-01.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 2,400 ÷ 100
How it works
Write B for the balance today, r for the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12, as a decimal), and P for the amount paid each month.
With "My payment": P is your monthly payment plus the extra amount.
- The exact number of months is n* = −ln(1 − B × r ÷ P) ÷ ln(1 + r) (at 0%, n* = B ÷ P). If P is not more than B × r, the balance never falls and there is no answer. The page also gives no answer when n* is more than 600 months (50 years).
- The number of payments is n* rounded up to a whole number (a value within 10^−9 of a whole number counts as that number).
- The schedule runs month by month: interest = balance × r; if this is the last payment, or P − interest is at least the balance, the payment is the balance plus the interest and the balance becomes 0; otherwise the balance falls by P − interest. So the last payment is usually smaller than P.
- When the extra amount is more than 0 and your payment alone repays the loan within 1,200 months, the page runs the same schedule with your payment alone. "Interest saved" is its interest minus the interest with the extra; "Months saved" is its number of payments minus yours.
With "A payoff time": for n months, P = B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n) (at 0%, P = B ÷ n), and the schedule runs as above for exactly n payments.
Both: total interest is the sum of the monthly interest (with "A payoff time" it is exactly n × P − B, since the last payment pays what is left); total of payments is B plus the interest. The time to pay it off is the number of payments shown in years and months. The first payment is in the month you enter, so the last payment is (number of payments − 1) months later.
Assumptions
- The rate is fixed, and interest is charged monthly at APR ÷ 12 on the balance.
- No new charges or fees are added to the balance.
- Values are not rounded to the cent between months; only the display is rounded.
Worked examples by hand
$15,000 at 8%, paying $350 plus $100 extra. r = 0.08 ÷ 12 = 0.0066667 and P = $450. B × r ÷ P = 100 ÷ 450 = 0.222222, so n* = −ln(0.777778) ÷ ln(1.0066667) = 0.251314 ÷ 0.0066445 = 37.82, which is 38 payments. The schedule's interest adds up to $2,020.42. With $350 alone, B × r ÷ P = 0.285714, n* = 0.336472 ÷ 0.0066445 = 50.64, so 51 payments with $2,723.88 of interest. The extra saves $703.45 and 13 months.
The payment to clear $15,000 at 8% in 36 months. (1 + r)^−36 = 0.787255, so P = 15,000 × 0.0066667 ÷ (1 − 0.787255) = $470.05. The interest is 36 × 470.0455 − 15,000 = $1,921.64, and the time is 3 years.
$2,400 at 0%, paying $100 a month from November 2026. n* = 2,400 ÷ 100 = 24 payments with no interest. The last payment is 23 months after November 2026: October 2028.
Other questions people ask
How do I work out when my loan will be paid off?
Each month the lender adds interest (the balance times the yearly rate ÷ 12) and your payment pays that interest first; the rest lowers the balance. The number of months is −ln(1 − B × r ÷ P) ÷ ln(1 + r), rounded up, where B is the balance, r the monthly rate, and P the monthly payment. $15,000 at 8% with $450 a month takes 38 payments.
How much does paying extra save?
Every extra dollar lowers the balance right away, so each later month charges less interest. On $15,000 at 8%, paying $450 instead of $350 a month ends the loan 13 months sooner and saves $703.45 of interest.
What payment do I need to be debt-free by a certain date?
Choose "A payoff time" and enter the number of months. The page uses the loan payment formula B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n). To clear $15,000 at 8% in 36 months you need $470.05 a month.
Why does the page say my payment never pays off the loan?
If the payment is not more than the first month's interest, the balance never goes down. Raise the payment above the balance × APR ÷ 12. The page also stops at 50 years.
Where do I find my balance and rate?
Your latest loan statement or your lender's website shows the principal balance and the interest rate. Use the principal balance, not a payoff quote, which can include interest up to a future date.
Is it better to pay off a loan early or save the money?
Paying extra earns you, in effect, the loan's interest rate with no risk. That is often a good deal for a high-rate loan. Keep an emergency fund first, and check that your loan has no prepayment penalty.