Minimum Payment Calculator
See how long a credit card balance lasts on minimum payments, and what keeping the first payment fixed saves.
Free · No sign-up · Your inputs stay in your browser
Your numbers
See where minimums lead
Your projection
18y 3m paying only the minimum
Interest, minimums only
$10,437
Keep paying $180 instead
4y 8m
$3,985 interest.
Interest avoided
$6,452
Your statement carries a minimum payment warning showing this same comparison with your issuer's own formula, because the Credit CARD Act of 2009 requires it.
About this tool
Method, assumptions, practical next steps, and limits.
Why minimums take so long
Minimum payments are usually a small percentage of the balance. As the balance falls, the payment falls with it, and most of each payment goes to interest for years.
How the calculation works
Each month, interest of balance × APR ÷ 12 is added, then the minimum is paid: here, 1% of the balance plus that month’s interest, with a $35 floor.
A $6,000 balance at 23.99% APR starts with a minimum of about $180. Paying only the minimum takes 219 months, more than 18 years, and costs about $10,437 in interest. Keeping the payment at $180 every month clears it in about four years and eight months for about $3,983 of interest.
Check your own statement
The Credit CARD Act of 2009 requires every statement to show how long minimum payments would take and the payment needed to clear the balance in three years, using the issuer’s own formula.
