Credit card interest calculator
How long it takes to clear a credit card balance paying only the minimum due, and what it costs. ₹50,000 at 3.5% a month, paying a 5% minimum, takes 23 years 1 month and ₹1,81,036 in interest and GST. Paying ₹5,000 a month clears it in 14 months, for ₹15,832.
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Your figures
The monthly rate from your card’s statement or its most important terms. Not the yearly figure.
The smallest minimum due your card asks for.
Results
Time to clear it paying only the minimum
23 years 1 month
- Interest and GST you pay
- ₹1,81,036
- Total you pay
- ₹2,31,036
- First minimum due
- ₹2,603.25
At this minimum, the payment doesn’t cover the interest, so the balance never falls. Pay more than the minimum.
Paying ₹5,000 a month instead
- Time to clear it
- 1 year 2 months
- Interest and GST
- ₹15,832
- You’d save
- ₹1,65,204
That doesn’t cover the interest either.
42% a year, before GST. No new spending is assumed.
Fix the figure marked above, and the results will follow.
The link keeps your figures after its # sign, a part browsers never send to a server.
What you owe over time
- Paying ₹5,000 a month
- Paying the minimum
Year by year
| Year | Minimum only: interest and GST so far | Minimum only: still owed | ₹5,000 a month: interest and GST so far | ₹5,000 a month: still owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹23,364 | ₹43,910 | ₹15,569 | ₹5,569 |
| 2 | ₹43,883 | ₹38,562 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 3 | ₹61,902 | ₹33,865 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 4 | ₹77,727 | ₹29,740 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 5 | ₹91,624 | ₹26,118 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 6 | ₹1,03,828 | ₹22,937 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 7 | ₹1,14,546 | ₹20,143 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 8 | ₹1,23,959 | ₹17,690 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 9 | ₹1,32,225 | ₹15,535 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 10 | ₹1,39,484 | ₹13,643 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 11 | ₹1,45,859 | ₹11,981 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 12 | ₹1,51,458 | ₹10,522 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 13 | ₹1,56,375 | ₹9,240 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 14 | ₹1,60,693 | ₹8,115 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 15 | ₹1,64,485 | ₹7,126 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 16 | ₹1,67,815 | ₹6,258 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 17 | ₹1,70,739 | ₹5,496 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 18 | ₹1,73,307 | ₹4,827 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 19 | ₹1,75,563 | ₹4,239 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 20 | ₹1,77,544 | ₹3,716 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 21 | ₹1,79,240 | ₹3,012 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 22 | ₹1,80,495 | ₹1,868 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 23 | ₹1,81,036 | ₹8 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
| 24 | ₹1,81,036 | ₹0 | ₹15,832 | ₹0 |
How this is calculated
Month by month, with no new spending on the card:
- Interest: the balance × the monthly rate. At 3.5% a month, ₹50,000 adds ₹1,750.
- GST on the interest, at 18%, if you leave it on: ₹315 on ₹1,750.
- The minimum due: your percentage of the new balance, or the smallest minimum, whichever is more (never more than you owe). It’s paid, and what’s left carries on to next month.
This repeats until the card is clear.
- Interest rate: enter your card’s monthly rate. Many cards in India charge about 3% to 3.75% a month (roughly 36% to 45% a year). Your card’s statement, or its Most Important Terms and Conditions, gives its rate.
- Real cards often cost more. Banks charge interest daily, from the date of each purchase, and once you carry a balance, new purchases lose their interest-free days. Late fees and EMIs on the card aren’t counted here.
- Minimum due: banks set it their own way, often a small percentage of the balance plus any EMIs and fees. Enter what your statement shows.
Questions
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
Most of each minimum payment goes on that month’s interest and its GST, so the balance falls slowly. As it falls, the minimum falls too, and each payment clears even less. Any amount above the minimum goes straight to the balance, which is why paying a little more shortens it so much.
What if the minimum doesn’t cover the interest?
Then the balance never goes down. The calculator says so. If that’s your card, pay more than the minimum, or move the balance to a cheaper loan.
Is converting the balance to an EMI cheaper?
Often, yes: card EMIs usually charge a lower rate than revolving credit, though there may be a processing fee and GST on it. Compare the EMI’s total cost with this calculator’s figures, using the EMI calculator.
Does paying only the minimum hurt my credit score?
Paying at least the minimum on time keeps the account in good standing. But a high balance compared with your limit can weigh on your score, and the interest is expensive.
Quilleaf reads your card statements for you
Quilleaf is a free app for Android that keeps your money ledger on your phone, with no sign-up. A card statement SMS becomes the card’s bill: the total, the minimum due and the due date.
- The bank’s bill sits next to Quilleaf’s own figure, so a missing spend stands out. Pay bill offers the total, the minimum or another amount.
- Available credit and how much of the limit you’ve used, with a nudge to keep each bill under 30% of the limit.
- The Debt plan puts your cards, loans and money you owe side by side: Avalanche, Snowball or minimum only, with an extra amount each month.
More calculators
EMI calculator
Your monthly EMI, the total interest, and the full schedule, with prepayments.
Loan prepayment calculator
How much interest a part-payment saves, and whether to cut the tenure or the EMI.
50/30/20 budget calculator
Split your take-home pay into needs, wants and savings, and see how you compare.
Emergency fund calculator
How much to keep aside for a rainy day, and how long it takes to get there.
These figures are estimates to help you plan, not financial advice. Banks, lenders and fund houses round and time things their own way, and rates change: check with them before you decide.