Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator

Estimate the first minimum payment, payoff time, total interest, and payoff date when a balance is repaid using a declining issuer-style minimum-payment formula.

Current balance APR (%)

Minimum payment rate (%) Minimum payment floor

Assumptions

This estimate uses a declining minimum payment each month based on the higher of the entered percentage of balance or the entered payment floor. It assumes a fixed APR and no new purchases or fees.

Display currency

Switch the money display without changing the payoff maths.

Currency

Result

$100.00

Estimated first minimum payment on a $5,000.00 balance at 20% APR.

Payoff time: 43 yr 8 mo
Total interest: $20,209.99
Total paid: $25,209.99
Payoff date: Nov 2069

Minimum payments keep the debt around for a long time At these assumptions, the balance takes 43 yr 8 mo to clear and costs $20,209.99 in interest before the final payment.

First-month interest and final payment

First-month interest is $83.33. The final payment falls to $14.85 once the remaining balance is small enough to clear in one statement cycle.

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Debt Payoff

Credit card minimum payment calculator guide: first minimum payment, payoff time, and long-run interest cost

A credit card minimum payment calculator shows what happens when a balance is repaid using only the minimum required each month. This version lets you enter the issuer-style minimum-payment percentage and floor, then simulates the declining minimum-payment path so you can see the first payment, payoff timeline, total interest, and eventual payoff date.

About this calculator

Reviewed 2026-03-21

Methodology

Uses a month-by-month simulation that applies monthly interest to the remaining balance, then uses the higher of the entered minimum-payment percentage of balance or the entered payment floor as the minimum payment for that month until the balance reaches zero.

Limitations

Assumes a fixed APR with no new purchases or fees.
Relies on the entered minimum-payment percentage and floor instead of a full issuer-specific formula.
Does not model promo APRs, penalty APRs, or statement-specific daily-balance methods.
This is an educational planning estimate, not a lender disclosure.

Disclaimer

Use this result as an estimate only. For the exact required payment on your account, rely on the card statement and card agreement.

Sources

CFPB — Understanding minimum payments — Official CFPB guidance on minimum payments, interest, and payoff time.
CFPB — Know Before You Owe: credit cards — Official CFPB guide to credit-card statements, costs, and repayment choices.

See our calculation methodology and editorial standards for how this estimate is produced.

Why minimum-payment paths last so long

Minimum payments usually fall as the balance falls. That means the payment starts small relative to the debt and becomes even smaller later, which leaves more of each month’s payment going to interest instead of principal. The result can be a payoff timeline measured in years or decades rather than months.

That is why a dedicated minimum-payment calculator is useful even if you already have a broader payoff calculator. It isolates the issuer-style minimum path so you can see the specific cost of paying only the minimum under the formula you enter.

Core minimum-payment maths

Each month begins with interest on the remaining balance. The calculator then applies the higher of the user-entered minimum-payment percentage of balance or the user-entered payment floor. Any amount above interest reduces principal; then the cycle repeats on the lower balance next month.

Because the minimum payment declines over time in this model, the later payoff path often gets slower even as the balance falls. That is the main reason minimum-payment-only strategies can become so expensive.

Monthly interest = Current balance x (APR / 12)

APR is converted into a monthly rate before the monthly finance charge is applied.

Minimum payment = Higher of (balance x minimum rate) or payment floor

This version lets you enter both the percentage-based rule and the floor used in the issuer-style estimate.

Principal paid = Minimum payment - monthly interest

Only the amount above interest reduces the balance and moves the account toward payoff.

Worked example: 1,000 at 20% APR with a 2%-or-25 minimum formula

Suppose the balance is 1,000, APR is 20%, and the minimum payment formula is the higher of 2% of balance or 25. The first minimum payment is 25 and the first month’s interest is about 16.67.

In this calculator, that path takes about 67 months to clear and costs about 661.66 in interest, with payoff around August 2031 from a January 2026 starting point. That is why minimum-payment warnings on credit-card statements matter: the long-run cost can be very large relative to the original balance.

What this estimate excludes

This page does not claim to reproduce every issuer formula exactly. It does not include fees, new purchases, penalty APRs, promo APRs, statement-specific daily-balance methods, or issuer rules that add interest and fees into the minimum calculation in a different way.

Use it as a planning estimate to understand the cost of minimum-only repayment. For exact required payments, the card agreement and statement disclosures still control.

Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator

$100.00

Credit card minimum payment calculator guide: first minimum payment, payoff time, and long-run interest cost

Why minimum-payment paths last so long

Core minimum-payment maths

Worked example: 1,000 at 20% APR with a 2%-or-25 minimum formula

What this estimate excludes

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