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Credit Card Interest Calculator

How long a card balance takes to clear and what it costs, with the effective annual rate spelled out. A 3.5% monthly rate is not 42% a year, it is over 51%.

Also called: credit card payoff calculator, card interest.

₹
₹
%
Months to clear it
35

35 months at 5,000 a month, costing ₹74,989 in interest. The annual rate is 51.11%, not 3.5%, because it compounds monthly.

Total interest
₹74,989
Total paid
₹1,74,989
Effective annual rate
51.11%
The minimum payment
₹5,000
Paying only the minimum
You are paying close to the minimum, which is set near the interest charge and clears a balance very slowly.
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for India change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Card rates are quoted monthly and compound monthly, so the annual rate is one plus the monthly rate raised to the twelfth, not twelve times it. At 3.5% a month that is the difference between 42% and 51.1%. The simulation then runs the balance down month by month, and separately checks whether the payment even covers the interest, because a payment below it means the balance never falls at all.

a monthly card rate compounds: the annual rate is not twelve times it
r_m
Monthly rate (decimal)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

a lakh at three and a half percent a month

Balance owed
₹1,00,000
Monthly interest rate
3.5
You pay each month
₹5,000
Minimum payment as a share of balance
5%

Months to clear it35

1.035^12 - 1, the figure card statements do not show

Open this example

a zero rate clears by division

Balance owed
₹1,00,000
Monthly interest rate
0
You pay each month
₹5,000
Minimum payment as a share of balance
5%

Months to clear it20

boundary

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • No new spending on the card, and interest charged on the full balance monthly.

What it deliberately does not model

  • The interest-free period on new purchases is lost once a balance is revolved, which this assumes has already happened.
  • Late fees, over-limit fees and any tax charged on the interest are not included. In India that is GST on the interest and the fees both.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · India · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is my annual rate higher than twelve times the monthly one?
Because interest is charged on interest. Compounding twelve times turns 3.5% a month into 51.1% a year rather than 42%.
What happens if I only pay the minimum?
The balance falls extremely slowly and can take decades to clear, because the minimum is set close to the interest charge. This page warns when your payment barely covers it.