Credit Card Payoff Calculator
How long it takes to clear a card balance at a fixed monthly payment.
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Why credit card debt behaves differently
Credit cards typically charge between 30% and 45% annually, applied monthly to the outstanding balance. At those rates, a balance left to run does not decline gently — it barely moves, because a large share of each payment is consumed by the interest that accrued since the last one.
This calculator shows the two things that matter: how long a balance takes to clear at a given monthly payment, and how much of your total outgo is interest rather than debt repayment.
The minimum payment trap
Card issuers set a minimum payment of around 5% of the balance. Paying it keeps your account in good standing and your credit score intact, which is why it feels like an acceptable option. It is not a repayment strategy.
On a 1,00,000 balance at 36%, a 5% minimum payment starts at 5,000 and falls as the balance falls. Because the minimum shrinks alongside the balance, the payoff period stretches out for years and the interest paid can approach or exceed the original balance. Paying a fixed amount instead — even the same 5,000 every month rather than a shrinking 5% — clears the balance in roughly two years and cuts the interest dramatically.
A worked example
Take a 1,00,000 balance at 36% APR. Pay 6,000 a month and you will be clear in about 23 months, having paid roughly 1,37,000 in total — 37,000 of it interest. Raise the payment to 10,000 and the balance clears in about 12 months with interest closer to 19,000. Nearly halving the timeline halves the cost.
Drop the payment to 3,000 and the picture changes completely: the balance takes over five years to clear and interest exceeds the original amount borrowed. There is also a threshold below which the balance never clears at all — if your payment is less than the monthly interest charge, the debt grows no matter how long you keep paying. The calculator flags this case explicitly.
Getting out faster
- Stop using the card. The calculator assumes no new charges. Adding spending while repaying makes the projection meaningless.
- Pay a fixed amount, not the minimum. Set the highest figure you can sustain and hold it constant as the balance falls.
- Consider conversion to EMI. Most issuers will convert a large balance into a fixed-term instalment plan at 12–18% — a substantial saving against 36%, though it usually comes with a processing fee.
- Balance transfer. Some issuers offer a low or zero-interest window of three to six months on transferred balances. Useful only if you can clear most of it within the window, since the rate afterwards is typically high.
- A personal loan at 11–16% to clear card debt is arithmetically sound, but only if the cards then stay unused. Otherwise you end up with both.
If the payment is unaffordable
If you cannot cover the minimum, contact the issuer before missing a payment rather than after. Hardship arrangements, restructured plans, and reduced settlements all exist, and issuers are considerably more flexible with borrowers who approach them early. Missed payments damage your credit record for years, and that damage raises the cost of every loan you take afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my credit card balance barely going down?
Because at typical rates of 30–45% annually, a large share of each payment covers the interest accrued since your last one. Only the remainder reduces the balance. The smaller your payment relative to the balance, the larger that share becomes.
What happens if I only pay the minimum?
The account stays in good standing, but because the minimum is a percentage of a shrinking balance, the payoff period extends for years and total interest can approach or exceed the amount originally borrowed.
Can a balance ever fail to clear?
Yes. If your monthly payment is smaller than the interest charged that month, the balance grows regardless of how long you pay. This calculator will tell you when your inputs fall into that situation.
Is converting a card balance to EMI worth it?
Usually yes. Issuers typically convert at 12–18% against a card rate of 30–45%, which is a large saving. Check the processing fee and confirm whether the converted amount still blocks your credit limit.
Should I take a personal loan to clear card debt?
The arithmetic favours it — personal loans generally run 11–16% against card rates above 30%. The risk is behavioural: if the cleared cards get used again, you now carry both debts. Only do it alongside a firm decision to stop using the cards.
Does carrying a balance help my credit score?
No. This is a persistent myth. Paying in full each month builds an equally strong payment history, and a high utilisation ratio actively lowers your score.