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Personal finance · free calculator

Loan early payoff savings calculator

See how an extra monthly principal payment shortens a fixed-rate loan and exactly how much interest it saves.

Interest saved

9 months faster payoff

Show the work

  • Scheduled payment$304.22
  • Payment with extra$404.22
  • Baseline payoff36 mo
  • Accelerated payoff27 mo
  • Baseline interest$951.90
  • Accelerated interest$701.65

Extra principal works because interest is balance-driven

Amortizing loans charge interest on the remaining balance, not on the original amount forever. That means every extra principal payment does two things:

  1. It lowers next month's interest charge.
  2. It lets more of every later payment go to principal instead of interest.

The payment formula underneath

For a fixed-rate loan, the required monthly payment is:

  • Payment = P × r ÷ (1 - (1 + r)^-n)

Where:

  • P = current principal
  • r = monthly interest rate
  • n = remaining months

This calculator uses that payment, then simulates the balance month by month with and without your extra payment. That produces exact months saved and exact interest saved, including a smaller final payment in the payoff month.

When early payoff is strongest

  • High APR loans
  • Long remaining terms
  • Extra payments started early

The leverage is weaker when the balance is already small or the payoff date is close, because there are fewer future interest periods left to avoid.

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