Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator: Payoff Time 2026

How credit card minimum payments are worked out

A credit card minimum payment is the month’s interest plus a sliver of the balance, or a small share of the balance, whichever the card’s rule says — and never less than the floor. The monthly interest is the balance times the APR divided by 12. Under the interest-plus-1% rule the minimum is the larger of the floor and the interest plus 1% of the balance; under the 2%-of-balance rule it is the larger of the floor and 2% of the balance. The balance is then simulated month by month, with unrounded running values, until it reaches zero — the last payment is just the balance plus that month’s interest.

At the defaults — $5,000 balance, 24.99% APR, interest + 1% rule, $35 floor — the first month’s interest is $5,000 × 24.99% ÷ 12 = $104.13, and the first payment is the larger of $35 and $104.13 + $50.00, which is $154.13. Only $50.00 of that payment touches the balance, so the balance falls slowly, and the payment shrinks with it. After 203 months (16 yr 11 mo) the card is paid off, having cost $8,824.08 of interest and $13,824.08 in all for a $5,000 balance.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: $5,000 balance, 24.99% APR, interest + 1% rule, $35 floor.

Line 1 — the first month’s interest. $5,000 × 24.99% ÷ 12 = $104.13 of interest in month 1.

Line 2 — the first payment. The larger of $35 and $104.13 + 1% of $5,000 ($50.00) is $154.13.

Line 3 — the balance after month 1. $5,000 + $104.13 − $154.13 = $4,950.00. Only $50.00 of the payment touched the balance.

Line 4 — the long tail. Each month the interest and the payment both shrink with the balance, so the balance falls slower and slower. Month after month, the card takes 203 months (16 yr 11 mo) to reach zero.

Line 5 — the totals. The interest over all 203 months is $8,824.08, and the total paid is $5,000 + $8,824.08 = $13,824.08.

Every branch, checked

$2,500 balance: the first month’s interest is $2,500 × 24.99% ÷ 12 = $52.06, and the first payment is $52.06 + $25.00 = $77.06. It takes 134 months (11 yr 2 mo), with $3,617.84 of interest and $6,117.84 paid in all. Half the balance takes two-thirds of the time, because the payment shrinks with the balance.

18% APR: the first month’s interest is $5,000 × 18% ÷ 12 = $75.00, and the first payment is $75.00 + $50.00 = $125.00. It takes 189 months (15 yr 9 mo), with $6,153.99 of interest and $11,153.99 paid in all. A lower APR saves $2,670.09 of interest, but the minimum still takes nearly 16 years.

$10,000 balance: the first month’s interest is $10,000 × 24.99% ÷ 12 = $208.25, and the first payment is $208.25 + $100.00 = $308.25. It takes 272 months (22 yr 8 mo), with $19,236.57 of interest and $29,236.57 paid in all. Twice the balance takes a third longer, and costs more than twice the interest.

$1,000 balance: the first month’s interest is $1,000 × 24.99% ÷ 12 = $20.83, and $20.83 + $10.00 = $30.83, which is below the $35 floor — so the first payment is $35.00. The floor binds: the payment is the floor, not the rule. It takes 44 months (3 yr 8 mo), with $534.91 of interest and $1,534.91 paid in all.

$25 floor: the first payment is still $154.13, because the rule beats the floor at the start. But as the balance shrinks, the $25 floor lets the payment fall further than the $35 floor did, so it takes 236 months (19 yr 8 mo), with $9,278.01 of interest and $14,278.01 paid in all. A lower floor costs $453.93 more interest and 33 more months.

Fixed $200 a month: the payment never shrinks, so the balance falls fast. It takes 36 months (3 yr), with $2,135.16 of interest and $7,135.16 paid in all. Paying $200 fixed instead of the minimum saves $6,688.92 of interest and 167 months.

2% rule at 24.99%: the first payment is 2% of $5,000 = $100.00, but the first month’s interest is $104.13 — so the payment is below the interest, and the balance grows. After 12 months the balance is $5,049.73. It never pays off: every month the interest is more than the payment, so the card only gets bigger. Pay more than the interest every month, or the card never shrinks.

2% rule at 18%: the first payment is still $100.00, but the first month’s interest is only $75.00, so $25.00 touches the balance and it does pay off — in 303 months (25 yr 3 mo), with $11,258.89 of interest and $16,258.89 paid in all. The same rule, a lower APR, and the card still takes a quarter of a century.

Fixed $250 a month: the payment never shrinks, so the balance falls faster still. It takes 27 months (2 yr 3 mo), with $1,534.53 of interest and $6,534.53 paid in all. Fifty dollars more a month than the $200 fixed payment saves 9 months and $600.63 of interest.

Reverse — the fixed payments: a fixed payment of $266.84 a month pays the $5,000 balance off in 24 months ($267.00 pays it off in 24 months; $266.00 takes 25 months). At $200 a month, the biggest balance gone in 12 months is $2,104.39. A fixed $250 a month takes 27 months.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes no new charges, no fees, no late charges, and an APR that never changes, so the balance only moves by the interest and the payment. It assumes the minimum is worked out by the rule you pick, with the floor as the smallest payment, and it simulates month by month with unrounded running values, rounding only for display. It leaves out promotional APRs, balance transfers, and the card’s own rounding of the payment to whole dollars, which are real but small next to the interest. Rounding convention: money is rounded to cents, months are whole numbers, and all figures are computed from unrounded values, rounded only for display.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The cardholder paying only the minimum: they learn a $5,000 balance at 24.99% APR takes 203 months and costs $8,824.08 of interest — so they know the minimum is a 17-year plan, and they check the fixed $200 a month case at 36 months before paying the minimum again.
• The cardholder with a small balance: they learn a $1,000 balance takes 44 months and costs $534.91 of interest — so they know even a small balance takes nearly 4 years on minimums, and they check the $35 floor before assuming the payment is the rule.
• The cardholder on a 2% rule card: they learn the 2% rule at 24.99% never pays off, because the $100.00 payment is below the $104.13 interest — so they know to pay more than the interest every month, and they check the 2% rule at 18% (303 months) before trusting the rule.
• The cardholder picking a fixed payment: they learn $266.84 a month clears the card in 24 months, and $250 a month takes 27 months — so they know the fixed payment that fits their budget, and they check the $2,104.39 maximum balance for 12 months at $200 a month before setting the amount.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is exact for the numbers you enter: the monthly interest is the balance times the APR divided by 12, the minimum is the larger of the floor and the rule, and the balance is simulated month by month with unrounded running values until it reaches zero. What the model cannot do is read your statement for you: check the APR, the minimum-payment rule and the floor on the statement, because a 2% rule and an interest-plus-1% rule give very different answers. It assumes no new charges, no fees, no late charges, and an APR that never changes, and it leaves out promotional APRs, balance transfers, and the card’s own rounding of the payment. For paying the card off faster, see how to pay off credit card debt; for the full payoff plan, see credit card payoff calculator.