Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Calculate the time it will take to pay off credit card debt using the payoff calculator below.
Card Payoff Summary:
| Estimated Payoff Date: | May 2026
|
| Time to Pay Off: | 1 yr and 6 mos
|
| Total Interest: | $1,130.37
|
| Total Payments: | $8,630.37
|
On this page:
Joseph Rich holds a Master's degree in finance and a Bachelor's degree in economics. He specializes in economics and investing analysis.
Laura started her career in Finance a decade ago and provides strategic financial management consulting. She has an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor's in Economics.
How to Calculate Credit Card Payoff Date
Before racking up a credit card balance, you may want to plan how much your monthly payment will be, how much you’ll pay in interest, and how much time you can expect to spend paying it off.
Just like a traditional loan, auto loan, student loan, or mortgage, the payoff time period for a credit card depends on the amount of principal that is paid off each month. Paying off more principal shortens the total payoff time, while paying less principal means it takes longer to pay off.
You can calculate the payoff date by iterating through each payment and calculating the amount of principal that is paid off, then reducing the balance by that amount. To do this, you’ll need a few formulas.
Credit Card Payment Formula
Once you know the monthly payment, you can determine what portion of the payment goes towards interest and what portion goes towards the principal.
The formula to calculate monthly interest is:
interest = P × r
Where:
P = remaining principal balance
r = periodic interest rate
The interest portion of the card payment is equal to the remaining principal multiplied by the periodic rate. The periodic interest rate is the interest rate for the payment period, and it’s equal to the annual interest rate divided by the number of payment periods (usually 12 for monthly payments).
Then, you can calculate the principal portion of the payment using this formula:
principal = PMT − (P × r)
Where:
PMT = payment amount
P = remaining principal balance
r = periodic interest rate
The principal payment is equal to the monthly payment minus the interest payment.
Steps to Calculate the Payoff Time
To calculate the time to pay off a credit card, start with using these formulas to calculate the interest and principal for the first payment.
Then, subtract the principal paid from the principal balance to find the remaining balance.
With the remaining balance, or new principal balance, calculate the interest for the new period and use these formulas to find the new remaining balance.
Continue these steps continuously until the remaining principal balance is equal to zero.
The number of times you iterated through these steps is the number of payments made. Assuming a monthly payment, that’s the number of months it will take to pay off the credit card.
For example, let’s calculate the payoff time for a credit card with a balance of $15,000, a monthly payment of $600, and an annual interest rate of 18%.
Let’s start by finding the periodic rate:
periodic rate = annual rate ÷ 12 = 1.5%
Then, find the principal and interest for the first month:
interest = $15,000 × 1.5% = $225
principal = $600 − ($15,000 × 1.5%)
principal = $600 – $225
principal = $375
Now, let’s find the remaining principal balance:
remaining principal = $15,000 – $375
remaining principal = $14,625
So, after the first payment, there will be $14,625 remaining on the credit card.
We can repeat these steps to see that it will take 32 months for the principal to reach zero and pay off the card. This assumes that you will not be making any new charges each month.
How to Payoff Credit Card Debt Quicker
There are a few ways that you can pay off a credit card quicker: pay extra each month or reduce the interest rate. Both of these options increase the payment amount that goes towards principal, thus reducing the amount of time it takes to pay it off.
The first method involves paying more than was originally planned.
The second method is to lower the interest rate. You can do this in a couple different ways.
First, you could ask your lender for a lower rate. If you always make your payments on time and have a great credit score, this could work.
A more common approach to achieve this, though, is to transfer the balance to another credit card that offers a lower interest rate. It’s a good idea to compare balance transfer credit cards and see if you can find one offering a 0% introductory interest rate for a certain period of time.
To really speed things up, you can try to do both: pay extra each month and transfer the balance to another credit card that offers a lower interest rate.
Overall, when using a credit card it’s important to understand how long it will take to pay off purchases and how much interest is paid each period. This will ensure you’re able to properly plan for the payments and afford the purchases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to pay off a credit card in full or to pay more than the minimum monthly payment each month?
It’s usually better to pay off a credit card in full, if you can, to avoid paying interest each month. However, one option may be more beneficial than the other depending on your personal financial situation.
Should you consolidate multiple cards into a single card or loan?
Some people prefer to consolidate their debt and it could be beneficial if you consolidate to a card or loan with a lower interest rate since you may pay less interest. If you choose to use a debt consolidation company, make sure that you use a legitimate and verified company as there are some illegitimate companies out there.
Will your credit score go up if you pay off all your credit card debt?
Lowering your credit card debt is a great way to increase your credit score. However, there are other factors, like making payments on time, mortgages, loans, etc, that also impact your credit score.