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Amortization Calculator

Free amortization calculator with full payment schedule: enter loan amount, rate and term to see your monthly payment, total interest and year-by-year breakdown.

About this tool

Amortization is the slow, scheduled death of a loan: every month you pay the same amount, but the split between interest and principal shifts. Early on, most of your payment is interest; near the end, almost all of it attacks the principal. An amortization calculator lays this entire journey out in a year-by-year table.

Seeing the schedule changes how you think about borrowing. On a typical 30-year loan, the total interest can exceed half the amount borrowed - yet a slightly shorter term or small extra payments erase years of payments. This tool shows you exactly where your money goes, year after year.

How to use

Enter the loan amount, the annual interest rate (APR), and the term in years, then press Calculate Amortization.

You get the fixed monthly payment, the lifetime total interest, and the grand total repaid - followed by a year-by-year schedule table showing interest paid, principal repaid, and remaining balance for every year. Compare a 30-year term against a 15-year term to see the brutal, beautiful power of a shorter loan.

The math behind it

Monthly payment M = P x r / (1 - (1+r)^-n), where P is the loan amount, r the monthly rate (APR/12), and n the number of payments. Each month: interest = balance x r; principal = M - interest; new balance = balance - principal.

Because interest is charged on the shrinking balance, the principal portion grows every month even though the payment never changes - that accelerating payoff curve is what the schedule table visualises.

Frequently asked questions

Why is so much of my early mortgage payment interest?
Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, which is largest at the start. On a $200,000 loan at 6%, the first $1,199 payment contains about $1,000 of interest and only $199 of principal - the schedule table above shows this split flipping over time.
Does making extra payments really help?
Enormously. Extra payments go 100% to principal, which shrinks every future interest charge. Even $100 extra a month on a 30-year mortgage can cut 5+ years and tens of thousands in interest.
What is the difference between APR and interest rate?
The interest rate is what the lender charges on the balance; APR includes fees and costs spread over the term, so it is slightly higher. Use the APR here for the truest comparison between loan offers.

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