Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Plan a payoff date for your card balance and see the payment required to hit it.
Inputs
How many months from today you want to be debt-free.
Required Monthly Payment
$233.43
Total Interest Paid
$1,102.31
Total Amount Paid
$5,602.31
First Month's Interest
$82.46
Interest Saved vs. Double the Time
$1,201.83
Interest you avoid by paying on the target schedule vs. taking twice as long.
Step by step
Monthly rate
21.99% ÷ 12
= 1.8325%
First month's interest
$4,500.00 × 1.8325%
= $82.46
Required payment (PMT formula)
$4,500.00 × 1.8325% ÷ (1 − (1 + 1.8325%)^−24)
= $233.43
Total paid over period
$233.43 × 24
= $5,602.31
Interest vs. paying over twice as long
$2,304 − $1,102
= $1,202 saved
Paying off in 24 months costs $1,102 in interest vs. $2,304 over 48 months.
How it works
The required payment to clear a balance by a chosen date is exactly the PMT (payment) formula used for amortizing loans — your credit card balance behaves like a loan with the target payoff date as the term. Setting a concrete target date transforms an open-ended revolving balance into an actionable plan.
Formula
Required monthly payment
Payment = Balance × monthly_rate / (1 − (1 + monthly_rate)^−n)
- M
- Required monthly payment
- B
- Current balance
- r
- Monthly rate = APR / 12
- n
- Target payoff months
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the required payment seems too high?
Extend your target period by a few months — the relationship is non-linear because interest costs fall faster than the payment drops. Alternatively, use the Debt Consolidation Calculator to check whether a personal loan at a lower rate could reduce the payment.
Does this account for ongoing purchases?
No. This calculator assumes you stop adding charges to the card during the payoff period. Every new purchase resets the math; tracking those separately is the most accurate approach.
How is this different from the Credit Card Calculator?
The Credit Card Calculator answers 'how long does it take to pay off if I pay $X/month?' This calculator answers the reverse: 'how much must I pay each month to be done by date Y?'