Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Find out how long it takes to pay off a balance at your current payment, or the payment needed to hit a target payoff date.

Your Balance

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Related Calculators

Two Ways to Plan a Payoff

By Fixed Payment — tell it what you're paying each month, and it calculates how many months that will take and how much interest you'll pay along the way.

By Payoff Date — tell it how many months you want to take, and it calculates the monthly payment required to hit that target.

This calculator assumes a fixed interest rate and no new charges added to the card. Real credit card terms, promotional rates and minimum payment rules vary — check your card's actual terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my payment need to be more than the interest charge?+

If your payment is less than or equal to the interest accruing each month, the balance will never go down — you'd be paying interest forever without touching the principal. Your payment has to exceed the monthly interest charge for the balance to shrink.

Why do minimum payments take so long to pay off a balance?+

Credit card minimum payments are often calculated as a small percentage of the balance (commonly 1-3%), which barely covers the interest early on. As the balance shrinks, the minimum payment shrinks too, stretching payoff out for years and multiplying the total interest paid.

Is it better to pay off the highest-interest card first?+

Mathematically, paying extra toward the highest-APR balance first (the "avalanche" method) minimizes total interest paid. Some people prefer paying off the smallest balance first (the "snowball" method) for the psychological win of closing an account sooner, even if it costs slightly more in interest.

Does this calculator account for new purchases?+

No. This assumes no new charges are added to the card — it only models paying down the balance you enter today. Continuing to add new purchases will extend the payoff timeline shown here.