Daily and monthly interest on a card balance from its APR, and the total until paid off
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 5 Oct 2026.A card APR of 24% is a daily periodic rate of about 0.0658%, or 2% a month: on a $6,000 balance that is $120 of interest in the first month alone. Paying $250 a month clears it in 34 months with $2,255.59 of interest in total.
| APR | $150 a month | $250 a month | $500 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18% | 47 months, $1,984 interest | 24 months, $989 interest | 11 months, $458 interest |
| 22% | 52 months, $2,798 interest | 26 months, $1,286 interest | 12 months, $574 interest |
| 25% | 58 months, $3,626 interest | 27 months, $1,535 interest | 12 months, $666 interest |
| 29% | 69 months, $5,287 interest | 28 months, $1,914 interest | 12 months, $794 interest |
Rates and rules read from 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), repayment information on card statements (CARD Act) on 5 Oct 2026; they may have changed since.
Enter the balance and the APR printed on your statement.
Read the daily periodic rate (APR ÷ 365) and the first month’s interest under the result.
Enter your monthly payment to see the total interest until the balance reaches zero.
Open "Year by year" to see how much of each year’s payments went to interest.
Enter your balance, APR and payment to see the interest month by month and in total.
This calculator follows a credit card balance month by month until it reaches zero, and shows three ways of paying it side by side: the fixed amount you choose, the card's minimum payment, and the payment that clears it in 36 months.
How the interest works. A card's APR is turned into a daily periodic rate, the APR divided by 365: 24% is about 0.0658% a day. Over an average billing cycle of 30.4 days that is the APR divided by 12, so a month's interest here is the balance times APR ÷ 12, rounded to the cent. The interest is added first and your payment comes off the new balance. A payment that does not beat the month's interest never clears the balance, and the page says so instead of showing a date.
The 36-month figure. Under 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), added by the CARD Act, a US card statement must show a minimum payment warning, how long minimum payments alone would take, their total cost, and the monthly payment that clears the balance in 36 months. This page works out the same figures so you can check them before the statement arrives.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about Credit Card Payoff Calculator, are on the Credit Card Payoff Calculator page.
The time depends on the balance, the APR and the payment. A $6,000 balance at 24% APR takes 34 months on $250 a month, 24 months on $317.23, and 216 months on a minimum of 1% plus interest. Once the payment barely covers the month's interest, a small extra amount saves years.
Card issuers turn the APR into a daily periodic rate, the APR divided by 365, and charge it on the balance each day of the billing cycle. Over an average 30.4-day cycle that is close to the APR divided by 12: a 24% APR charges about 2% a month, or $120 on a $6,000 balance.
Federal law, 15 U.S.C. §1637(b)(11), requires US card statements to show the monthly payment that would clear the balance in 36 months with no new charges, and its total cost. For $6,000 at 24% APR that payment is $235.40 a month. The calculator shows the same figure next to the minimum-payment path.
A payment no larger than the month's interest leaves the balance where it was or makes it grow. At 24% APR, a $6,000 balance charges $120 of interest in the first month, so a $120 payment never clears it. The calculator shows the smallest payment that makes progress and flags a payment below it.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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