Auto Loan Calculator
Your monthly car payment depends on the loan amount, interest rate (APR) and term — a longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest you pay. Enter your figures to see your monthly payment, total interest and full amortization schedule.
Work out your monthly car payment from the price, or how much car you can afford from a monthly payment you have in mind — over any term up to 84 months. It folds in your trade-in, cash incentives, sales tax and fees, shows the upfront cost and total interest, and lays out the full amortization schedule payment by payment. Lenders also weigh your debt-to-income ratio before approving a car loan, so it pays to compare a few auto loan quotes and terms before you sign.
Works for any car and any currency — enter your own price, rate, tax and fees. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Choose a tab — Total Price or Monthly Payment — fill in the details, then press Calculate.
Loan breakdown
Find the average tax rate and fees in your state →Amortization schedule
How each payment splits between interest and principal until the balance reaches zero.
How your car payment is calculated
The amount financed starts from the car's price, then takes off your down payment, trade-in and any cash incentives, and adds back anything you still owe on the trade-in. Sales tax is charged on the price less the trade-in (the rule in most states). You then choose whether the tax and fees are rolled into the loan or paid upfront — the monthly payment comes from the financed amount, the interest rate and the term.
Rolling tax and fees into the loan
Ticking Include taxes and fees in loan keeps more cash in your pocket today, but you then borrow — and pay interest on — the tax and fees too, so the monthly payment and total interest both rise. Leaving it off makes the upfront cost higher but the loan cheaper. Try it both ways to see the trade-off in real numbers.
Not sure of your local rate? Edmunds keeps a state-by-state guide to car sales tax and fees. When you have the car sorted, the refinance calculator helps with the next step.
Estimates only — not financial advice. Dealers may apply extra charges, and tax rules vary by state and country.
The costs beyond the sticker price
The Title & Fees box above is a catch-all for the one-off charges a dealer stacks on top of the price. The usual ones:
- Sales tax — charged by most states as a percentage of the price; a few states charge none at all.
- Title & registration — what the state charges to put the car in your name.
- Documentation fee — the dealer's charge for handling the paperwork.
- Destination fee — shipping the car from the factory to the lot, often several hundred up to around $1,500.
- Advertising fee — sometimes itemised, sometimes already built into the price.
Full-coverage insurance is usually required before you can drive a financed car away, but it is an ongoing cost rather than part of the loan, so budget for it separately.
How trade-ins and rebates are taxed
This calculator uses the most common rule: sales tax is worked out on the price after the trade-in is taken off, but before any cash rebate. So a $50,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in at 8% is taxed on $40,000 rather than $50,000 — roughly $800 less. A handful of states do it differently — some tax the full price with no trade-in break, and some leave rebates untaxed — so if that is your state, adjust the Sales Tax figure to match. Edmunds' state-by-state guide is the quickest way to check.
The formula behind it
Once the amount financed is known, the monthly payment is the standard amortization (annuity) formula — and running it backwards turns a monthly payment into the price you can afford.
Monthly payment from the amount financed
- L amount financed i monthly rate (APR ÷ 12) n number of months
Worked example — $50,000 car, $10,000 down, 7% sales tax, $2,000 fees, 5% APR over 60 months, tax & fees paid upfront:
amount financed = 50000 − 10000 = $40,000
M = 40000 × (0.05/12) / (1 − (1 + 0.05/12)^−60) = $754.85 / month
sales tax = 7% × 50000 = $3,500 · upfront = 10000 + 3500 + 2000 = $15,500
total interest = $5,290.96 · total cost = $60,790.96
Monthly payment by car loan amount
Roughly what common amounts financed cost per month at a 7% APR over 5 years (60 months). Enter your own price, rate and term above for an exact figure.
| Amount financed | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $396.02 | $3,761 |
| $25,000 | $495.03 | $4,702 |
| $30,000 | $594.04 | $5,642 |
| $40,000 | $792.05 | $7,523 |
| $50,000 | $990.06 | $9,404 |
Getting a better deal
Line up financing first. A pre-approved rate from your own bank or credit union gives you a figure to beat and real leverage at the dealer, whose in-house financing is convenient but not always the cheapest. Manufacturers also run low-rate promotions on new cars — sometimes near 0% — so it is worth asking.
Your credit does the heavy lifting. Your credit score is the single biggest influence on the rate you are offered, so it pays to check and tidy it up before you borrow.
Cash rebate or low rate? Makers often make you pick one. A rebate cuts the price today; a lower rate trims interest across the whole term — run both through the calculator and keep whichever total cost is lower.
Pay early, or think used. Overpaying or clearing the loan early saves interest (check for prepayment penalties first) — put a figure in the Extra Payment box above to see exactly how many months and how much interest a little extra each month cuts from the loan. And because a new car loses value the moment it leaves the lot, a lightly used one can finance for far less. Carrying other balances alongside the car? The debt payoff calculator turns them into one clear plan, and the personal loan calculator compares another financing route.
How to use it & key terms
Enter the car price, down payment, trade-in, rate and term, then press Calculate for your monthly payment and total cost.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Amount financed | Price minus down payment and trade-in, plus anything still owed on the trade-in. |
| APR | The yearly rate including fees, for comparing loans. |
| Term | The loan length in months; longer lowers payments but adds interest. |
| Down payment | Cash paid upfront, reducing the amount financed. |
| Trade-in | Your old car's value applied to the purchase (and often taxed favourably). |
| Title & fees | One-off charges (tax, registration, doc fee) at purchase. |
Sources & methodology
The amount financed is the price minus down payment, trade-in and cash incentives, plus any balance owed on the trade-in, with sales tax (on price minus trade-in) and fees either added to the loan or paid upfront. The monthly payment uses the standard amortization formula, and the amortization schedule is built one month at a time with the final payment trimmed to clear the balance. Any extra payment is added to each month’s principal in the same month-by-month simulation, which is how the early-payoff time and interest saved are worked out. The Monthly Payment mode inverts the same equations to solve for the affordable price.
Sources: Standard loan amortization (annuity) formula; common state practice of taxing price net of trade-in.
Negative equity: when you owe more than the car is worth
A car loan runs a quiet race between two curves: how fast you pay the loan down, and how fast the car loses value. For the first stretch of a longer loan, depreciation usually wins. New vehicles shed a large share of their value in the earliest years, while amortization chips at the balance slowly at first because so much of each early payment is interest. When the loan balance sits above the car's market value, you are underwater, or in negative equity — you owe more than you could sell the car for.
Two choices push you deeper into that gap: a long term and a small down payment. Stretching to seventy-two or eighty-four months lowers the monthly figure but keeps the balance high for years, and putting little or nothing down means you begin the loan already owing close to the full price of a car that started depreciating on day one. The result is a long window in which selling or trading the car would leave a shortfall you still have to cover out of pocket.
Negative equity bites in two everyday situations. If the car is stolen or written off in a crash, a standard insurance payout covers only the car's current value — not your loan balance — so you could still owe the difference. And if you trade in while underwater, dealers will often roll the shortfall into your next loan, so you drive off already behind on the new car. Both quietly raise the true cost of the vehicle well beyond the interest this calculator shows.
The defences are simple: put more down, choose the shortest term whose payment you can comfortably afford, and favour a car that holds its value — the car depreciation calculator shows how quickly different vehicles lose value. A larger down payment or trade-in closes the gap from the start, and a shorter term lets your balance fall faster than the car depreciates. If a long term is unavoidable, it is worth understanding gap coverage, which pays the difference between the loan balance and the car's value if it is written off. Enter a bigger down payment and a shorter term above and watch how quickly the loan amount — and the time you spend underwater — shrinks.
Frequently asked questions
How is a car loan payment calculated?
The amount financed is the vehicle price minus your down payment, trade-in and any cash incentives, plus money still owed on the trade-in, and optionally the sales tax and fees. The monthly payment comes from that amount, the interest rate and the term using the standard amortization formula.
What's the difference between the Total Price and Monthly Payment tabs?
Total Price starts from the car's price and returns the monthly payment. Monthly Payment starts from a payment you can afford and returns the vehicle price that fits it. Pick whichever number you already know.
Should I include taxes and fees in the loan?
Rolling taxes and fees into the loan lowers your upfront cash but raises the amount financed, so you pay interest on them and the monthly payment is higher. Paying them upfront keeps the loan and interest smaller. The checkbox lets you compare both.
How does a trade-in affect the loan?
A trade-in reduces the amount you finance and, in most states, the amount that is taxed. If you still owe money on the trade-in, that balance is added back to the new loan.
Do cash incentives or rebates lower my loan?
Yes. A cash rebate or dealer incentive comes straight off the amount you finance, reducing both the monthly payment and total interest.
Can I use this outside the US or in another currency?
Yes. The maths is the same everywhere, so just enter your own price, rate, term, tax and fees. The currency symbol is only a label.
Does a trade-in lower my sales tax?
In most states, yes — sales tax is charged on the price after the trade-in is deducted, which is how this calculator works. A few states tax the full price with no trade-in reduction, so check your local rule and adjust the Sales Tax figure if you are in one of them.
Should I take the cash rebate or the low interest rate?
It depends on your numbers. A rebate lowers the price straight away, while a low rate saves interest across the term. Enter each option in the calculator and compare the total cost — the lower one wins.
How much car can I afford on a set monthly budget?
Use the Monthly Payment tab: enter a payment that fits your budget and the calculator returns the vehicle price you can afford, plus the loan amount, total interest and upfront cost.
Can it show the payment schedule over 84 months?
Yes. Enter any term up to 84 months, then open the amortization schedule to see every payment split into interest and principal until the balance reaches zero.
Can I add extra payments to pay the car loan off early?
Yes. Enter an amount in the Extra Payment box and it is added to every monthly payment, going straight to the loan balance. The calculator then shows how many months sooner the loan is cleared and how much interest you save. Check your loan agreement for a prepayment penalty first.
How much do extra payments save on a car loan?
Because each extra dollar comes off the principal, it stops all future interest on that amount, so even a small monthly top-up can shorten the term by several months. Enter a figure in the Extra Payment box to see the exact interest saved and the new payoff time.
What debt-to-income ratio do I need to buy a car?
Lenders usually want your total monthly debts, including the new car payment, below about 43% to 50% of your gross income, and many prefer the car payment alone under 10% to 15%. A lower debt-to-income ratio helps you qualify at a better rate, which lowers the payment shown here.
How can I get a lower car loan rate?
Compare quotes from a few lenders and your own bank or credit union before visiting the dealer, improve your credit score, add a larger down payment or trade-in, and choose a shorter term. Enter each rate and term here to see how much interest you save.