Loan Calculator

An installment-loan payment only has meaning when the amount, annual rate, term, and fees describe the same offer. Enter the amount you expect to owe, the rate used to calculate the scheduled payment, and the number of months. If an origination fee is deducted from the proceeds, enter it separately so the page can show why the amount received can differ from the amount repaid.

This page is designed for a fixed-rate, equal-payment scenario. It is not a lender portal and cannot know whether a fee is financed, deducted, optional, refundable, or legally included in a disclosed APR. Use the result to organize a comparison, then review the actual disclosure. For a focused fee-and-rate view, use the APR Calculator.

The core payment equation uses P for the balance, r for the annual rate divided by 12, and n for the number of monthly payments:

After the payment is calculated, each row in the schedule first calculates interest from that month's opening balance. The rest of the scheduled payment is principal. A lower balance means later interest is calculated on a smaller number, so the principal share grows in a typical fixed-rate schedule.

Suppose a borrower models $12,000 at a fixed 10% annual rate for 36 months. With r = 0.10 / 12 and n = 36, the payment equation gives $387.21 per month. Multiplying that payment by 36 produces about $13,939.42 of scheduled payments, so the modeled interest is about $1,939.42 before any separately entered fee.

The point of the example is not that 10% is a suitable rate. It is that the result can be checked from the inputs. If the lender deducts a fee from the $12,000 proceeds, the borrower may receive less cash while making payments calculated on the full $12,000 balance. Enter that fee visibly and compare the cash received, payment, and stated APR rather than looking at one figure alone.

For the same principal and rate, a longer term spreads repayment over more months. That generally reduces the monthly payment but can increase total modeled interest because the balance stays outstanding longer. A shorter term raises the payment and can shorten the interest path. Neither output answers whether the payment fits your budget or whether the credit is available.

Run at least two terms using the same amount and rate. Then compare the payment with a real household budget, not only with a lender's maximum. The Budget Calculator is a separate place to record recurring obligations, and the Amortization Calculator can show the schedule behind one selected term.

When a fee is deducted from proceeds, this page models an effective annualized rate by solving for the monthly rate that makes the payment stream equal the smaller amount received. That is useful for understanding the direction of the fee effect, but it is not a substitute for the lender's disclosed APR or a legal calculation under every credit rule.

Extra payment fields are also scenario tools. The page adds an extra monthly or one-time amount to modeled principal after calculating that month's interest. Confirm whether the lender accepts extra payments, how it posts them, whether it advances the due date, and whether any agreement terms apply. Do not rely on a general schedule to override a contract.

The CFPB explains that a Truth-in-Lending disclosure can identify APR, finance charge, amount financed, payment, and other important terms. The exact document and rules differ by transaction, but the comparison habit is useful: line up like-for-like amount received, fees, rate, term, payment, and total required payments.

Use this calculator to detect a question, not to supply an answer the offer itself must provide. If a formula, label, or calculation path appears inconsistent, report it through the issue form with non-sensitive sample inputs only.