Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
How long a card takes to clear and what it costs in interest if you only ever pay the minimum, set by your card's own rule, beside a fixed payment you choose.
Result…
How it's calculated
Each month: interest = balance × APR ÷ 12; statement = balance + interest Minimum = max(floor, % × statement [+ interest]), or the whole statement if smaller Balance = statement − payment, repeated until it reaches zero
A card's minimum payment falls as the balance falls, so paying only the minimum stretches the debt out for years and most of what you pay early on is interest. Set the rule your card uses (its percentage, whether interest is added on top, and the floor) and compare it with a fixed amount each month. To plan a fixed payment or a payoff date on its own, use the credit card payoff calculator.
Your numbers, step by step
About the Credit Card Minimum Payment calculator
This credit card minimum payment calculator shows how long a balance lasts, and how much interest it costs, if you only ever pay the minimum. Card issuers set the minimum with their own rule, so you enter it: a percentage of the statement balance, whether that month's interest is added on top, and the floor amount the minimum never drops below. The calculator then works through the card month by month. Each month interest is added, the minimum is worked out from the new balance, and the payment comes off. Because the minimum shrinks as the balance shrinks, the debt stretches out for years. Enter a fixed monthly payment to see the same balance cleared at a steady pace and the interest that saves. The first month is shown step by step with your numbers, so you can check it against your statement.
How to use it
- Enter the “Card balance” and the “Card APR” from your statement.
- Enter “Minimum: share of the balance” from your card terms, and choose whether it is “Plus that month's interest?”.
- Enter the “Minimum: floor amount”, the smallest minimum the card ever asks for.
- Enter a payment in “Compare with a fixed payment”, or 0 to skip it.
- Read the months to pay off on the minimum, the total interest and the interest a fixed payment saves.
Worked example
A 5,000 balance at 22% APR, with a minimum of 1% of the statement balance plus that month's interest and a floor of 25. Month 1 adds 91.67 of interest, so the first minimum is 50.92 + 91.67 = 142.58. Paying only the minimum takes 227 months (18 years 11 months) and costs 7,963.68 in interest, 12,963.68 in all. A fixed 200 a month clears it in 34 months with 1,749.88 of interest, saving 6,213.80.
Updated
Questions people ask
How is a credit card minimum payment calculated?
Most cards take the larger of a fixed floor amount and a percentage of the statement balance, and some add that month's interest and fees on top. The exact rule is in your card terms and differs by issuer and country.
How long does it take to pay off a card with minimum payments only?
Usually many years, because the minimum falls as the balance falls and much of each payment goes on interest. Enter your balance, rate and rule to see the months and total interest for your card.
Why does my minimum payment keep going down?
It is a share of a balance that is shrinking, so the payment shrinks too until it reaches the floor. That is why a fixed payment, which does not fall, clears the card much sooner.
What happens if the minimum payment does not cover the interest?
The balance would never fall, so the calculator stops and says so. That can happen on a rule with a low percentage and no interest added, at a high APR.
Is this exactly what my card will charge?
No. It assumes no new spending, a fixed APR and interest worked out monthly at APR ÷ 12, while issuers may compound daily, round the minimum and add fees. Use it to compare plans, and ask your card issuer or a debt adviser if the payments are a struggle. To plan a fixed payment or a payoff date, use the credit card payoff calculator or the debt snowball calculator for several cards.