Example 1 — No interest
- Balance: 3,000
- Payment: 300
- Mode: no interest
~10 months
Pure arithmetic — with interest it would take longer.
Debt repayment
How long until one balance reaches zero at a fixed payment — with or without interest.
Payoff horizon for one debt. Not a replacement for Loan overpayment (scenario vs contract) or the Amortization schedule (full table). Amounts use the header currency.
Results
Enter data and click Calculate.
How results are calculated
No interest: months ≈ ceil(balance ÷ payment). Simplified arithmetic.
With interest: each month interest = balance × (rate/12); payment covers interest first, remainder reduces principal. Fixed-rate estimate — not an official bank schedule.
If payment ≤ monthly interest, the balance does not fall — we show a warning.
How to use
- Enter balance and fixed monthly payment.
- Choose mode: no interest or with interest (enter %).
- Optionally add extra / one-time lump and a start date.
- For a full table — Amortization schedule; for overpayment vs a contractual loan — Loan overpayment.
Examples
Example 2 — With interest
- Balance: 12,000
- Payment: 400
- 18% annual
Longer than 12,000÷400
Interest > 0
Part of each payment goes to interest on the balance.
Example 3 — With extras
- Same as example 2
- +150/mo and +500 once
Shorter term
Less interest
Compared with payment 400 alone.
When to use this calculator
- Use Debt repayment when you have one debt balance and a fixed monthly payment, and want to know when the balance reaches zero.
- This tool is useful for payoff planning, but it is not meant for designing a new loan offer.
- If you want to size the instalment for a new loan, use Loan instalment.
- If you want to analyse overpayments on an existing amortizing loan, choose Loan overpayment or Repayment schedule.
Common mistake
- A payment that is too low relative to the interest rate may fail to reduce the debt meaningfully – that is why the “never payoff / too low payment” warning matters more than the raw nominal output.
FAQ
How does no-interest mode differ from interest mode?
No interest: balance ÷ payment. With interest: part of each payment covers interest on the balance first, then principal — a month-by-month estimate.
How is this different from Loan overpayment?
Here: “how long until zero?” at a fixed payment on one balance. Overpayment: compare extras against a contractual annuity loan.
Is this a full bank amortization schedule?
No. The full table is in the Amortization schedule.
What if the payment is too low with interest?
If the payment does not cover monthly interest, the balance never falls — you will see a warning.
Is this a multi-debt snowball?
No — one debt, one fixed payment.
Where does currency come from?
From the page header.