Payment Calculator

The general TVM engine behind loan payments: solve for the periodic payment given PV, FV, rate, and term.

Paying off $300,000.00 over 30 years at 6.5% requires a payment of $1,896.20 per period.

Payment per Period

$1,896.20

Total Paid

$682,633.47

Total Interest / Cost

$382,633.47

Balance

Estimates only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.

The payment calculation is the engine behind every loan and mortgage payment calculator: given a present value, a rate, and a term, what periodic payment fully amortizes the balance? This calculator generalizes that to also support a nonzero target ending balance, covering sinking funds and balloon payments, not just a standard payoff to $0.

Use it to check a lender's quoted payment, model a custom loan structure, or work out the payment needed to hit a specific ending balance rather than zero.

How does this calculator work?

Enter the present value (a loan amount you're borrowing, or a starting balance being paid down), the target ending balance (0 for a fully paid-off loan, or a positive amount for a balloon payment or reserved amount), the annual rate, the term in years, and how many payments occur per year.

The calculator solves for the exact periodic payment using the standard time-value-of-money payment formula.

The formula is the time-value-of-money backbone shared by every loan tool here, from an auto loan to a full amortization schedule. Solving for a different unknown, the rate or a starting balance, is handled by the interest rate and present value calculators.

Worked example

A $300,000 loan at 6.5% annual interest, paid off over 30 years with monthly payments.

Loan amount (present value): $300,000
Ending balance: $0 (fully paid off)
Rate / term: 6.5% / 30 years
Monthly payment: $1,896.20

How the numbers work

$1,896.20 per month for 360 months is the one fixed payment that exactly pays off $300,000 at 6.5% interest, with nothing left owed at the end. This is the same math behind any standard mortgage calculator.

Setting a nonzero ending balance instead, say $50,000, would lower the required monthly payment, since less of the loan needs to be paid off through payments alone; the remaining $50,000 would need to be paid separately as a balloon payment at the end.

This calculator's flexibility (a nonzero ending balance) is what separates it from a basic mortgage calculator. It's useful for modeling balloon loans, interest-only-style structures, or a savings plan that only needs to reach part of a goal through regular contributions.

Payment Calculator glossary

Present Value: The starting amount: a loan balance you owe, or a balance you're paying down or contributing toward.
Ending Balance: What remains at the end of the term. $0 for a fully amortized loan, or a positive amount for a balloon payment or partial payoff.
Amortization: The process of paying down a balance through a series of equal periodic payments, each covering interest plus a portion of principal.

Payment Calculator FAQs

How is this different from a mortgage calculator?+

The underlying math is identical. A standard mortgage or loan calculator is this same payment formula with the ending balance fixed at $0. This calculator adds the option of a nonzero ending balance for balloon-payment or partial-payoff structures.

What's a balloon payment?+

A loan structure where regular payments are calculated as if paying off a smaller balance than the full loan amount (or over a shorter effective schedule), leaving a large lump sum, the "balloon", due at the end. Set a positive ending balance here to model one.

Can I use this for a savings plan instead of a loan?+

Yes. Set the present value to your starting savings (or $0), and the ending balance to your target amount, to solve for the periodic contribution needed. The dedicated Savings Goal Calculator offers the same math with more consumer-friendly labeling and a growth chart.