Repayment Calculator
Find how long a fixed monthly payment takes to clear your loan and the interest it costs. Compare payment amounts to clear the debt faster.
Time to payoff
36 months
≈ 3.0 years
Total interest
₹29,231
Total paid
₹1,79,231
Final payment ₹4,231
Assumes interest is charged monthly on the outstanding balance. If your payment does not cover the monthly interest, the balance keeps growing — the calculator flags this instead of showing a result.
Last updated: March 2026
How this calculator is verified
Checked by True Calculator automated test suite on
- Formula verified against a published worked example in the automated test suite
- Edge cases (zero, negative, boundary and unit-mismatch inputs) covered by unit tests
The full verification method is on our how we verify page. Found an error? Tell us and we will re-check it.
When to Use This Calculator
Use the repayment calculator when you already have a loan or card balance and want to plan how to clear it. It answers the practical question banks never show you: exactly how long a fixed monthly amount takes, and what that patience costs in interest. Loan officers and apps usually display the EMI for a new loan, not the payoff path for an existing balance, so this fills the gap for personal loans, auto loans and credit card dues. It is also the right tool for a debt review — try a few monthly amounts and pick the one that clears the balance in a realistic time without squeezing your budget. If the calculator refuses to show a result, that is itself useful information: your payment is below the monthly interest, and the balance is growing even while you pay.
How to Use This Calculator
- Step 1: Enter your current outstanding balance — the figure from your latest statement.
- Step 2: Enter the annual interest rate on that loan or card.
- Step 3: Enter the fixed amount you can pay every month towards the balance.
- Step 4: Check the months to payoff, total interest and the final (smaller) payment in the last month.
Worked Example
Rahul has an outstanding balance of ₹1,50,000 on a personal loan at 12% p.a. He decides to pay ₹5,000 every month. The loan clears in exactly 36 months, he pays ₹1,79,231 in total and ₹29,231 of that is interest — roughly 19% of his original balance. If he raised the payment to ₹6,000 a month, the tenure would shrink to around 29 months and the interest would drop sharply, because every extra rupee reduces the balance on which interest is charged.
Tips and Common Mistakes
- •Tip 1: Round your payment up to the nearest thousand — a small increase dramatically shortens the tenure.
- •Tip 2: If your payment does not cover monthly interest, the calculator warns you — never let a loan run like that.
- •Tip 3: Mark the payoff month on your calendar and treat the final payment as a bonus month, since it is smaller than usual.
- ✗Mistake 1: Do not use the minimum payment on a high-rate card and expect progress — at some rates it barely covers interest.
- ✗Mistake 2: Do not keep multiple loans running when prepaying the highest-rate one saves you the most interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many months will it take to repay my loan?
It tells you how many months a fixed monthly payment takes to clear your outstanding balance, along with the total interest you will pay. You enter the balance, the interest rate and the amount you can pay each month.
Why does my balance grow instead of shrink?
If your monthly payment is lower than the monthly interest on the balance, the unpaid interest is added to the principal. The calculator flags this case instead of showing a result — you need a higher payment or a lower rate.
What happens if I pay extra some months?
Any amount above the fixed payment goes directly to the principal and shortens the tenure. This calculator assumes a constant payment; paying extra occasionally will clear the loan faster than shown.
Is a longer tenure always a bad idea?
Not always — a longer tenure lowers the monthly burden but increases total interest. Use the total interest figure to compare tenures: reducing a 5-year loan to 3 years often cuts the interest by nearly a third.
Can I use this for a credit card balance?
Roughly, yes — credit cards in India charge 30–42% annually. Set the rate and your monthly payment, but note that cards add charges on missed payments and the effective rate can be even higher.
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