Minimum Payment Calculator
What your minimum payment really does: how much covers interest and how slowly the balance falls.
Minimum payments feel safe — until you see how much of each payment is interest. This calculator shows the first month’s split and why minimum-only payments stretch debts for decades.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Current balance, Annual interest rate, Minimum payment (% of balance), Minimum floor amount
- What you get
- First minimum payment, Interest charged this month, Goes toward the balance
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Minimum Payment Calculator
- 1 Enter Current balance
- 2 Enter Annual interest rate
- 3 Enter Minimum payment (% of balance)
- 4 Enter Minimum floor amount — Many cards charge at least this much.
- 5 Press Calculate. You get First minimum payment, Interest charged this month, Goes toward the balance, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 6 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$4,000 at 22% with a 2% minimum
The classic credit-card minimum, well above the floor.
You enter
- Current balance
- $4,000.00
- Annual interest rate
- 22%
- Minimum payment (% of balance)
- 2%
- Minimum floor amount
- $25.00
You get
- First minimum payment
- $80.00
- Interest charged this month
- $73.33
- Goes toward the balance
- $6.67
The first minimum is $80, and $73.33 of it is interest — only $6.67 actually reduces the balance. Left untouched, $4,000 at 22% costs $880 in interest over a year, which is why minimum-only payments take so long.
$600 at 24% where the $35 floor decides the payment
A smaller balance on a higher rate, with a floor above the percentage.
You enter
- Current balance
- $600.00
- Annual interest rate
- 24%
- Minimum payment (% of balance)
- 1.50%
- Minimum floor amount
- $35.00
You get
- First minimum payment
- $35.00
- Interest charged this month
- $12.00
- Goes toward the balance
- $23.00
At 1.5% of $600 the percentage would ask for only $9, so the $35 floor sets the payment. Interest is $12 and $23 still reaches the balance — a far better split than the first example, despite the higher rate.
Guides that go with it
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Frequently asked questions
Why is so little of my minimum payment going to the balance?
Because interest is charged on the balance every month before your payment is applied. At a high rate the interest can swallow almost the whole minimum: the “interest charged this month” line is taken first, and only what remains — the “goes toward the balance” line — reduces what you owe. Anything you pay above the minimum goes entirely to the balance, which is why the split improves so quickly with a small increase.
What is the minimum floor for?
Many accounts charge at least a fixed amount per month regardless of how small the balance is; the floor field models that rule. The calculator takes whichever is larger — the floor or the percentage of the balance — so set the floor to the smallest payment your statement actually allows. On a small balance the floor usually wins, and on a large one the percentage usually wins, so both fields matter.
Does this tell me how long the debt will take to clear?
No — it shows one month, not the whole repayment. That limit matters, because a percentage-based minimum shrinks as the balance falls, so each month reduces the debt a little less and the tail becomes very long. To model a fixed payment and get an end date, use the Debt Payoff Calculator.
Is paying more than the minimum worth it?
Every extra dollar goes to the balance and stops accruing interest, so paying more is the one lever here that changes the split — but how much it helps depends on your rate, your other debts and what the money would otherwise do. The “interest per year” line shows what the balance costs over twelve months at its current size. For a large or complicated debt picture, a free debt counselling service or an independent adviser can check the options with you.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.