FINBIZTOOLS
General Loan Calculator
Calculate the monthly payment on any loan — personal, business or otherwise. Enter the amount, rate and term to see the regular payment, then add an optional extra monthly payment to see how much sooner the loan could be paid off and how much interest that could save.
Private by design · Inputs and downloads stay in your browser
Changes the currency symbol and number format only. Amounts are not converted.
The regular payment is a standard reducing-balance EMI over the full term. Any extra payment you enter is added every month, which can pay the loan off before the original term and save interest.
How to use the General Loan Calculator
- Enter the loan amount.
- Enter the annual interest rate as a percentage.
- Enter the loan term in whole months.
- Optionally enter an extra amount you plan to pay every month on top of the regular payment, then select Calculate.
Use the currency selector above the inputs to change the symbol. It changes the display only and does not convert amounts.
Why add an extra payment?
A loan's regular payment is fixed for the full term. Paying extra each month reduces the balance faster, so less interest accrues over the life of the loan and it can be paid off before the original term ends.
This calculator shows both figures side by side: the standard payoff with no extra payment, and the faster payoff (with the interest saved) when you add one.
How the calculation works
General loan formula
Regular payment = P × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)^(−n)]
With an extra payment: balance is reduced by (regular payment + extra − interest) every month until it reaches zero
- P is the loan amount.
- r is the monthly rate, the annual rate ÷ 1200.
- n is the loan term in months.
The regular payment is always calculated for the full original term. The extra payment is then simulated month by month, so the actual payoff time can be shorter than the original term.
General loan calculation example
Borrowing 1,000,000 at 8.5% for 120 months, with an extra 5,000 paid every month:
| Loan amount | 1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual interest rate | 8.5% |
| Loan term | 120 months |
| Extra monthly payment | 5,000 |
| Regular monthly payment | 12,398.57 |
|---|---|
| Payoff time with extra payments (months) | 75 months |
| Total interest with extra payments | 288,599.60 |
| Interest saved | 199,228.66 |
Without the extra payment, the loan would run the full 120 months and cost 487,828.27 in interest. 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
- A fixed nominal annual rate for the whole loan and a monthly reducing balance.
- The extra payment is the same fixed amount every month, starting from the first month.
- No fees, insurance or rate changes are modeled.
Limitations and why results can differ
- Some lenders charge a fee for early or extra payments, or apply extra payments differently (for example, to a future due date rather than the principal). Check your loan's actual terms.
- A variable-rate loan will not follow this fixed-rate projection if the rate changes.
- This is an illustration, not a lender's offer or an amortization schedule from your loan servicer.
Frequently asked questions
Does the extra payment change my regular monthly payment?
No. The regular payment stays the same; the extra amount is paid on top of it every month, which shortens the loan instead.
What if I don't want to enter an extra payment?
Leave it at 0. The calculator then shows a standard loan payoff with no acceleration.
Is this the same as the EMI Calculator?
It uses the same reducing-balance formula, with one addition: an optional extra payment and a comparison of the interest and time it could save.
Can extra payments always be applied to any loan?
Not always. Some loans restrict, cap or charge a fee for extra or early payments. Confirm with your lender before relying on this for planning.
Methodology
Inputs are validated: loan amount from 1 to 1,000,000,000, annual interest rate from 0% to 50%, term as a whole number of months from 1 to 600, and an optional extra monthly payment from 0 to 10,000,000.
The regular payment is computed with the standard reducing-balance EMI formula for the full term. With an extra payment, the engine then re-simulates the loan month by month (interest on the remaining balance, then regular payment plus extra applied to principal) until the balance reaches zero, which can finish before the original term. The year-wise table and the headline totals come from this same simulation. 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.