Debt Payoff Calculator

How it works

Every month, two things happen to a debt: interest gets added, and your payment gets subtracted. The calculator replays that tug-of-war month by month. Interest each month is your balance times the APR divided by 12, and whatever your payment covers beyond that interest actually shrinks the balance. The number of months until the balance hits zero follows this formula:

• B — starting balance
• i — monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12)
• P — your monthly payment
• n — months until the debt is gone

With the defaults above: on a $12,000 balance at 22% APR, the first month's interest is $220, so only $180 of a $400 payment touches the debt. Stick with it and the balance is gone after 44 payments, with about $5,581 going to interest along the way. That is the real price of the debt, and it is exactly the number worth shrinking.

✓ Every result is checked against independent reference math. See how we test the calculators →

Three ways to be debt-free sooner

• Add even a little. Every extra dollar goes straight to the balance, which shrinks all future interest. On the default example, paying $450 instead of $400 finishes 7 months sooner and saves about $956 in interest. Small numbers, outsized effect.
• Highest rate first. If you carry several debts, put every spare dollar toward the highest APR while paying minimums on the rest. It is called the avalanche method, and it is mathematically unbeatable. If you need quick wins to stay motivated, paying the smallest balance first (the snowball) also works. The best method is the one you stick with.
• Stop the balance growing. A debt you keep adding to is a treadmill. Pause new spending on the card while you attack it, and be careful with 0% balance transfer offers: they help only if the fee is small and you can clear the balance inside the promotional window.

Finding the extra payment

The calculator shows what an extra payment does. The harder question is where that money comes from, and the answer is usually a mix of small, repeatable moves rather than one big sacrifice.

• Trim one recurring cost. A forgotten subscription, an overpriced plan, or one fewer takeaway a week frees up cash that repeats every month, which is exactly what a debt payoff rewards.
• Point windfalls at the balance. A tax refund, a bonus, or a birthday gift can knock months off the plan in one move without touching your regular budget at all.
• Round the payment up. Paying $420 instead of $400 barely registers day to day, but the calculator will show it pulling the payoff date forward and shaving real interest off the total.

Whatever you free up, send it straight to the debt before it drifts back into everyday spending. Automating the higher payment makes the choice once instead of every month.

After the last payment

The month the debt clears, a chunk of your income suddenly has no home. That freed-up payment is the real prize, and where it goes next decides whether you stay out of debt for good.

• Redirect the whole payment. You were living without that money already, so keep it working: send it to the next debt, or once you are debt-free, to savings and investing.
• Build a buffer first. A small emergency fund is what keeps the next surprise from going back on the card. Most people who slide back into debt do so because they had nothing else to reach for.
• Keep the habit, drop the pressure. The discipline that cleared the debt is worth keeping, but you can finally aim it at goals you actually enjoy.