Auto loan early payoff calculator

Compare your remaining loan schedule with a plan that adds principal payments. Enter a current balance, APR, and remaining term, then add a recurring extra payment or an immediate lump sum. The result shows repayment months and interest savings. It assumes extra money reduces principal and that the contract has no prepayment charge.

Starting inputs use official educational examples. Zero tax, fees, cash contributions, and extra payments mean those items are excluded until you enter them. Replace these assumptions with your own transaction amounts.

Choose when the extra money applies

The lump sum is applied to the balance before the next month of interest is calculated. The recurring extra is applied with each scheduled monthly payment. Those are different timing assumptions: an immediate reduction avoids interest on that principal sooner. If you plan to pay a lump sum later, rerun the tool at that point with the balance then outstanding. This tool does not let you place a future one-time payment in an arbitrary month.

Keep the scheduled payment in the comparison

The calculator first finds the payment that would repay the entered balance over the remaining term. It then keeps that regular payment unchanged and adds your monthly extra. It does not lower the regular payment after the lump sum. This helps answer how quickly the balance can fall if you keep paying at that pace. Compare the estimated regular payment with the amount in your statement before using the result as a planning target.

Understand the final month

The last payment is limited to the remaining balance and that month's interest, so it can be smaller than the usual payment plus extra. Interest savings is the difference between the ordinary schedule and the accelerated schedule. Months saved compares the number of payment rows in each schedule. At zero interest, faster repayment can shorten the schedule but cannot save interest. If the immediate payment covers the full balance, the model shows no remaining payment months.

Confirm allocation and contract terms

This model assumes the extra amount is used to reduce principal at each scheduled payment. Confirm how additional money will be applied under your loan and whether it advances future due dates. CFPB notes that your contract and state law determine whether you can pay off your auto loan early. The displayed savings exclude prepayment penalties, account fees, and interest between payment dates. Read the agreement and ask for the current payoff amount before sending a final payment.

Use the schedule to check your plan

Open the monthly schedule and review the first balance reduction and final payment. It gives you a way to compare the ordinary and accelerated repayment paths without relying only on the savings figure. Download the CSV if you want to review it locally. Your actual balance may follow a different path if the loan uses daily interest, if a payment is delayed, or if charges are added. The tool is a monthly model rather than a statement of what your account will owe on a particular date.

Worked example

Official CFPB worked example: a $20,000 loan at 4.75% interest. The published figures are rounded to whole dollars. See the original example. The calculator uses unrounded values internally and displays cents.

How it works

P is the financed principal, r is the monthly rate, n is the number of monthly payments, and M is the regular payment. Each month, interest equals the previous balance multiplied by r. Principal repaid equals the payment minus that interest. The remaining balance falls by the principal repaid. These steps generate the schedule shown by the tool.

This is the standard fixed-payment amortization model described by CFPB auto loan amortization guidance. We use the entered APR as the annual rate for this estimate. APR can include fees; a contract payment based on a separate note interest rate can differ. Use the contract interest rate in the rate field for a closer payment match when it differs from APR. There are no balloon payments, late fees, missed payments, or daily interest adjustments in this model.

After any immediate lump sum, monthly interest = remaining balance x r. Each payment equals the smaller of the regular payment plus extra, or the balance plus that month's interest. The next balance equals the previous balance plus interest minus payment. Repeat until the balance reaches zero.