Loan Calculator
Loan amount ($), Interest rate (%), and Term (months) return a fixed monthly payment, the total paid, and the total interest. Taxes and insurance are not part of the arithmetic.
How to use
- Enter the principal you will pay interest on in Loan amount ($). The sample is 15000.
- Enter a yearly percent in Interest rate (%). The sample is 7.5. Calculate divides it by 100 and then by 12.
- Enter Term (months). The sample is 48. Do not type years here. A zero or empty term is treated as 1 month.
- Click Calculate. The large line is Monthly. The detail line is Total interest and Total paid.
When it helps
Use it when the amount is already the sum you borrowed: a personal loan, a refinance of a known balance, or a note that does not start from a purchase price. Total paid is the monthly payment times the month count. Total interest is total paid minus the loan amount.
A home price and a down payment, with the term stored in years, belong on the mortgage calculator. A vehicle price minus cash down and a trade-in belongs on the auto loan calculator. Both use level payments, but they subtract different amounts before the rate is applied.
Limits
No taxes and no insurance. The form also does not ask for origination, points, or a filing fee. A zero Interest rate (%) sets Monthly to loan amount divided by Term (months), so total interest is zero. Any other rate uses the standard payment: balance times the monthly rate times (1 + monthly rate) to the term, divided by that power minus one.
Treat the three figures as arithmetic, not a lender quote. The page will not shorten the term when you pay extra, and it will not raise the rate after a teaser period. What you type is the rate for every month in the term.
Questions
Is Term (months) already converted from years?
It is used as a month count with no further conversion. Four years is 48. Typing 4 runs a four-month loan, not a four-year loan.
Why is Total paid larger than Loan amount ($)?
Each month's payment covers interest on the remaining balance plus some principal. Adding those payments produces Total paid. The difference is Total interest. Fees you pay outside the payment are not in either number.
Can the payment include an escrow for tax and insurance?
No. Those costs are not fields on this form. Add them yourself after Calculate if you want a household budget figure. The Monthly line is principal and interest only.