Credit Card Payoff Calculator
See how long it takes to pay off a credit card balance at a fixed monthly payment, and the total interest it costs.
- Total interest paid
- $1,511
- Total amount paid
- $6,511
This calculator provides estimates only. It is general information, not financial or taxation advice, and doesn't account for your full personal circumstances. Confirm figures with your lender or a licensed adviser before making a decision.
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How this calculator works
Credit cards charge interest on the outstanding balance every month, and if you only pay the minimum, most of your payment goes to interest rather than reducing what you owe — sometimes taking years to clear a balance that could be paid off much faster with a bigger fixed payment.
Enter your current balance, the card's interest rate, and a fixed monthly payment amount. The calculator simulates paying down the balance month by month at that payment and shows how long it takes and how much interest you'll pay in total.
Worked example: a $5,000 balance at 19.9% p.a., paid down at a fixed $200 a month, takes 33 months (2 years 9 months) to clear and costs $1,511.27 in interest — nearly a third of the original balance, just in interest.
If your payment doesn't even cover the interest charged each month, the balance will never go down — this calculator flags that case rather than showing a payoff time that will never actually happen. Increasing your payment, even by a modest amount, has an outsized effect on both the payoff time and total interest, because credit card rates are high relative to most other debt.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the minimum payment take so long to clear a balance?
- Minimum payments are often calculated as a small percentage of the balance (or interest plus a small amount), so early on nearly all of it covers interest. As the balance slowly falls, more goes to principal — but it can take many years and a large amount of interest to clear this way.
- Would a balance transfer card help?
- A 0% or low-rate balance transfer period can dramatically cut the interest cost while you pay down the balance, provided you clear it (or transfer again) before the promotional rate ends and it reverts to a much higher rate.
- Does this account for new spending on the card?
- No — this assumes no new purchases are added to the balance while you're paying it off. Continuing to spend on the card will extend the payoff time and increase the total interest beyond what's shown here.