acalculator

When do minimum payments end?

Type your card balance, APR, and how your card sets the minimum payment (from your card agreement). The minimum payment calculator shows how long paying only the minimum takes, what it costs in interest, and what paying it off in 3 years takes instead.

Your numbers

Minimum payment is
Months to pay it off
230

Paying only the minimum on $5,000.00 at 22% APR takes 230 months and costs $8,099.77 in interest.

Balance paid off $5,000.00Total interest $8,099.77
38% balance paid off62% total interest
Time to pay it off
19 years, 2 months
Balance paid off
$5,000.00
Total interest
$8,099.77
Total paid
$13,099.77
First minimum payment
$141.67
Payment to pay it off in 3 years
$190.95
Interest paying it off in 3 years
$1,874.28
Interest saved in 3 years
$6,225.49
Months
230

Months to pay it off: 230. Paying only the minimum on $5,000.00 at 22% APR takes 230 months and costs $8,099.77 in interest.

How fast does the balance fall on the minimum?

How much more than the balance will you pay?

What does every minimum 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

Shows how long a credit card balance takes to pay off with only the minimum payment, the total interest, the first minimum, and the fixed payment that clears it in 36 months.

Example with the default inputs (Card balance $5,000.00, APR 22%, Minimum payment is % of balance + interest, Percent of the balance 1%, Lowest minimum $25.00): Paying only the minimum on $5,000.00 at 22% APR takes 230 months and costs $8,099.77 in interest.

Method: Each month: interest = balance × APR ÷ 12; minimum = max(floor, % × balance + interest) or max(floor, % × balance), at most balance + interest; balance = balance + interest − minimum, until 0. 36-month payment = B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−36).

  • You make no new purchases and pay exactly the minimum on time each month. No fees, and the APR does not change.
  • Interest is the monthly rate APR ÷ 12 on the balance, with months of equal length; card issuers use the daily balance, so real interest differs a little.
  • The last payment is whatever is left. Values are not rounded to the cent between months.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Card balance $1,000.00, APR 12%, Minimum payment is % of balance + interest, Percent of the balance 1%, Lowest minimum $25.00 gives First minimum payment $25.00, Months to pay it off 52, Total interest $283.47, Payment to pay it off in 3 years $33.21, Interest saved in 3 years $87.75.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Appendix M1 to Part 1026, Repayment Disclosures (the minimum payment repayment estimate assumes only minimum payments, months of equal length, and a final payment that pays the account in full; the 36-month estimate). https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/m1/
  2. Card balance $5,000.00, APR 22%, Minimum payment is % of balance + interest, Percent of the balance 1%, Lowest minimum $25.00 gives First minimum payment $141.67, Months to pay it off 230, Total interest $8,099.77, Payment to pay it off in 3 years $190.95.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How does my credit card company calculate the amount of interest I owe? https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-does-my-credit-card-company-calculate-the-amount-of-interest-i-owe-en-51/
  3. Card balance $300.00, APR 0%, Minimum payment is % of balance, Percent of the balance 2%, Lowest minimum $25.00 gives Months to pay it off 12, Total interest $0.00, First minimum payment $25.00, Total paid $300.00.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Appendix M1 to Part 1026, Repayment Disclosures (the minimum payment repayment estimate assumes only minimum payments, months of equal length, and a final payment that pays the account in full; the 36-month estimate). https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/m1/

How it works

Start with the balance B and the monthly rate r = APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100. Each month, until the balance is 0:

  1. Interest I = B × r.
  2. Minimum = max(floor, p × B + I) for "% of balance + interest", or max(floor, p × B) for "% of balance", where p is the percent ÷ 100 and B is the balance at the start of the month.
  3. Payment = the smaller of the minimum and B + I (the last payment clears what is left).
  4. New balance = B + I − payment (0 after the last payment).
  • Months to pay it off is the number of payments; time is that in years and months.
  • Total interest = the sum of I. Total paid = the balance + total interest. Balance paid off = the starting balance.
  • First minimum payment = the first month’s payment.
  • Payment to pay it off in 3 years = B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−36), or B ÷ 36 when the APR is 0. Interest paying it off in 3 years = 36 × that payment − B. Interest saved = total interest − that interest, shown only when it is more than $0.

Rules

  • Balance more than $0 and at most $10,000,000; APR from 0% to 100%; percent from 0% to 100%; floor from $1 to $100,000.
  • If paying only the minimum takes more than 1,200 months (100 years), there is no answer.
  • No new purchases or fees, and money is not rounded to the cent between months.

Output format. Money to the cent (halves up); months as a whole number.

Worked examples by hand

$1,000 at 12% APR, 1% + interest, at least $25. r = 1%. Month 1: interest $10, minimum max(25, 10 + 10) = $25. The 1% + interest stays under $25 the whole way, so each payment is $25 until the last: 52 months, total interest $283.47 (a month-by-month loop in Python 3). The 36-month payment is 1,000 × 0.01 ÷ (1 − 1.01^−36) = $33.21, with $195.72 of interest, so paying it off in 3 years saves $87.75.

$5,000 at 22% APR, 1% + interest, at least $25. Month 1: interest 5,000 × 0.22 ÷ 12 = $91.67, plus 1% of $5,000 = $50, so the first minimum is $141.67. Paying only the minimum takes 230 months and $8,099.77 of interest. The 36-month payment is $190.95.

$300 at 0% APR, 2% of balance, at least $25. 2% of $300 is $6, so the $25 floor applies every month: 300 ÷ 25 = 12 months and $0 of interest.

Other questions people ask

How is a credit card minimum payment calculated?

Card agreements use a formula, often a percent of the balance (such as 1%) plus the month’s interest and fees, or a percent of the balance alone (such as 2%), with a dollar floor such as $25 or $35, whichever is greater. Your agreement or statement shows your card’s formula.

How long does it take to pay off a card with minimum payments?

Often years. $5,000 at 22% APR, with a minimum of 1% of the balance plus interest and at least $25, takes 230 months (19 years and 2 months) and costs about $8,100 in interest.

Why does paying the minimum take so long?

The minimum falls as the balance falls, so the part that pays down the balance shrinks too. With 1% plus interest, only about 1% of the balance goes to it each month until the dollar floor takes over.

What is the 3-year payment on my statement?

Card statements show the fixed monthly payment that would pay the balance off in 36 months, and how much you would save. This page works it out with the amortized payment B × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−36), r = APR ÷ 12.

What if the minimum does not cover the interest?

With a percent-of-balance minimum below the monthly interest rate and a low floor, the balance can grow or never reach 0. If paying the minimum takes more than 100 years, the page says so instead of giving an answer.

Why might my statement’s numbers differ a little?

Card issuers charge interest on the average daily balance and add fees. This page uses APR ÷ 12 each month and no fees, so its months and interest can differ slightly.