FINBIZTOOLS
Auto Loan Calculator
Estimate the monthly payment on a car loan. Enter the vehicle price, down payment, trade-in value, sales tax rate, interest rate and term to see the amount financed, the monthly payment, total interest and the total cost of the loan.
Private by design · Inputs and downloads stay in your browser
Changes the currency symbol and number format only. Amounts are not converted.
Sales tax is calculated on the price after the trade-in credit, a common but not universal convention — check your local rule. Registration, insurance and dealer fees are not included.
How to use the Auto Loan Calculator
- Enter the vehicle price.
- Enter your down payment and any trade-in value.
- Enter the sales tax rate that applies to your purchase.
- Enter the annual interest rate and the loan term in whole months, then select Calculate.
Use the currency selector above the inputs to change the symbol. It changes the display only and does not convert amounts.
How an auto loan amount is worked out
The amount you actually finance is usually not the sticker price: it is the price plus sales tax, minus your down payment and any trade-in credit. This calculator works that out for you before applying the loan formula.
Because tax rules on trade-ins differ by jurisdiction, check whether your local rule matches this calculator's assumption before relying on the tax figure.
How the calculation works
Auto loan formula
Sales tax = (price − trade-in) × tax rate
Amount financed = price + sales tax − down payment − trade-in
Monthly payment = amount financed × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)^(−n)]
- r is the monthly rate, the annual rate ÷ 1200.
- n is the loan term in months.
Sales tax here is calculated on the price after the trade-in credit, a common but not universal convention. Amounts are shown without a currency symbol because the arithmetic is identical in any currency. The currency selector only changes the symbol and number format; it never converts amounts.
Auto loan calculation example
A 2,000,000 vehicle with a 200,000 down payment, no trade-in, 8% sales tax, a 9% annual interest rate and a 60-month term:
| Vehicle price | 2,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Down payment | 200,000 |
| Sales tax rate | 8% |
| Annual interest rate | 9% |
| Loan term | 60 months |
| Amount financed | 1,960,000 |
|---|---|
| Sales tax | 160,000 |
| Monthly payment | 40,686.38 |
| Total interest | 481,182.57 |
| Total cost of the loan | 2,441,182.57 |
Amounts are shown without a currency symbol because the arithmetic is identical in any currency. The currency selector only changes the symbol and number format; it never converts amounts.
Assumptions and limitations
Assumptions
- Sales tax is calculated on the price after the trade-in credit.
- A fixed nominal annual rate and a monthly reducing balance for the whole loan term.
- No registration, insurance, documentation or dealer fees are included.
Limitations and why results can differ
- Actual tax treatment of trade-ins varies by jurisdiction; some tax the full price instead of the price after trade-in.
- Dealer fees, extended warranties, insurance and add-ons are not included and can materially change the real monthly payment.
- This is an estimate, not a dealer or lender quote.
Frequently asked questions
Does the calculator include sales tax?
Yes. It is calculated on the vehicle price after the trade-in credit and added to the amount financed.
What if I have no trade-in?
Leave the trade-in value at 0; the calculation proceeds using the price and down payment only.
Are dealer fees included?
No. Documentation, registration and dealer fees are not modeled; add them to the price yourself if you want them reflected.
Is this an offer from a lender?
No. It is an informational estimate only, not a loan approval or a dealer quote.
Methodology
Inputs are validated: vehicle price from 1 to 100,000,000, down payment and trade-in value from 0 to 100,000,000, sales tax rate from 0% to 30%, annual interest rate from 0% to 50%, and term as a whole number of months from 1 to 600.
Sales tax is computed on the price after the trade-in credit, then the amount financed is price plus tax minus down payment minus trade-in. That amount is run through the same reducing-balance EMI formula and monthly amortization loop used by the other loan calculators. Rounding is applied only for display. The calculation runs in your browser and inputs are not sent to a server.
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Disclaimer
Results are estimates based on the assumptions you enter. Actual repayments depend on your lender’s terms, fees and rate structure. This page is for information only and is not lending or financial advice. Read the full Disclaimer.
Explore this topic
This tool is part of Loans and Mortgages.
A common order: check what you can afford, compare loan offers, then see how extra payments change total interest.