Calculator
Credit Card Payoff Calculator
The amount you currently owe on the card.
Most Indian cards charge about 45% a year (3.75% a month); a few premium cards charge less.
The fixed amount you pay every month.
How your payments clear the debt
- Principal
- Interest
View yearly breakdown
| Year | Principal | Interest | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y1 | ₹33,327 | ₹38,673 | ₹72,000 |
| Y2 | ₹51,839 | ₹20,161 | ₹72,000 |
| Y3 | ₹14,834 | ₹1,049 | ₹15,882 |
Assumes a fixed APR, the same payment every month, and no new spends on the card. If your payment is less than or equal to one month of interest, the balance never reduces and the result shows 0. Excludes late fees, GST on interest and charges, and any over-limit fees.
Credit card debt is the most expensive borrowing most Indians ever take on — most Indian cards charge about 3.75% a month, or 45% a year. This calculator shows how many months it takes to clear an outstanding balance if you pay a fixed amount each month, and how much interest that costs you. Enter your balance, the card APR, and the monthly payment you can manage to see your debt-free date and the true price of carrying a balance. The result makes one thing obvious: paying only the minimum keeps you in debt for years, so always pay as much as you can. It is built for Indian cards — enter the APR your issuer charges (SBI Card, HDFC, ICICI, Axis and the rest) and all amounts in ₹.
What your result means
- Credit cards charge about 45% a year (3.75% a month) — the most expensive everyday debt there is — so this balance should be your first target, ahead of almost everything.
- Paying only the minimum-due can stretch a payoff to a decade or more; the result here shows why paying in full is non-negotiable.
- If you cannot clear it at once, converting to an EMI or a lower-rate balance transfer beats letting it revolve at full card rates.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your current outstanding card balance from the latest statement.
- Enter the card APR — check your statement or card terms; most Indian cards charge about 45% a year.
- Enter the fixed amount you can pay every month, above the minimum due.
- Read the time to clear and the total interest — that is what carrying the balance costs.
- Raise the monthly payment to see how quickly the debt disappears and how much interest you save.
The formula
Months n = ln[ M ÷ (M − B × i) ] ÷ ln(1 + i), where B = balance, i = monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100), and M = monthly payment. Valid only when M > B × i. If i = 0, then n = B ÷ M. Total repaid = M × n, and total interest = (M × n) − B.
Worked example
On a ₹1,00,000 balance at 45% APR, paying ₹6,000 a month: i = 0.0375/month, so the first month alone charges ₹3,750 in interest. The balance clears in about 27 months and you pay roughly ₹1,59,900 in total — about ₹59,900 of pure interest. Now compare paying only a 5% minimum (about ₹5,000, falling each month): the balance would take many years to clear and cost far more in interest. Paying ₹10,000 a month instead clears it in about 13 months with interest of roughly ₹27,700.
When to use it
- Seeing how long a card balance lasts if you only ever pay a fixed amount.
- Comparing paying the minimum due against paying a larger fixed sum each month.
- Deciding whether a balance transfer to a lower rate is worth the transfer fee.
- Setting a realistic debt-free date and the monthly payment needed to hit it.
Frequently Asked Questions
References & sources
How this calculator was checked: The months-to-clear formula (n = ln[M / (M - B x i)] / ln(1 + i), the standard fixed-payment amortisation formula) was checked against its derivation and against a direct month-by-month simulation on 2026-07-27 -- both agree with each other but not with the example text, which significantly understated the real cost: it claimed ~20 months and ~Rs19,000 interest at Rs6,000/month, when the formula actually gives ~23 months and ~Rs40,700 interest (interest was understated by more than half). Corrected both worked scenarios to match the calculator's actual output. Not reviewed by a registered lending adviser. On 2026-09-16 the default APR moved from 36% to 45%, matching the 3.75% a month in the SBI Card, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank MITCs, and the worked example was re-run at the new default.