Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
Discover how many years it takes to clear a credit card balance by paying only the minimum each month. Eye-opening results show exactly how much interest you'll pay over time.
Last updated: September 2026
Formula below · 1 source (CFPB) · Updated Sep 2026
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About this calculator
Credit card issuers set the minimum payment in one of a few ways, and this calculator simulates the method you choose month by month until the balance reaches zero. Percentage of Balance: the minimum is the entered % of the current balance, with a $25 floor, so it shrinks as the balance falls. Fixed Amount: you pay the same dollar amount every month. Interest + Fixed Amount: you pay the month's interest plus the entered dollar amount of principal. Each month interest = balance × APR / 12 is added and the payment is subtracted. With a shrinking percentage minimum, the payment falls along with the balance, so most of each payment is interest and payoff stretches out for decades; that is why paying a fixed amount (even the first month's minimum) is so much faster. If the payment does not cover the month's interest the balance never falls, and the calculator says so. Real cards compound daily and often use interest + 1% as the minimum, so results can differ slightly.
How to use
Say you have a $5,000 balance at 22% APR with a 3% minimum payment ($25 floor). Month 1: interest = 5,000 × 0.22 / 12 ≈ $91.67 and the minimum is max(5,000 × 3%, $25) = $150. As the balance falls the minimum falls too, and the simulation needs 205 months (about 17 years) to reach zero, with about $7,014 of interest. At a 2% minimum the payment barely exceeds the interest and payoff takes 968 months — effectively never. Choose Fixed Amount and enter 150 to keep paying the first month's $150: the balance is gone in 52 months.
Frequently asked questions
Why does paying only the minimum on a credit card take so long to pay off?
When you pay only the minimum, typically 1–2% of the balance, the vast majority of that payment covers interest rather than reducing principal. As the balance barely shrinks each month, the next month's interest charge is nearly as large, creating a cycle that barely moves the needle. Worse, because the minimum payment itself decreases as the balance falls, your payoff momentum slows further over time. This is why a $5,000 balance can take over a decade to eliminate at minimum payments.
How much interest do you save by paying more than the credit card minimum each month?
The savings from even a small additional payment are dramatic because extra dollars go entirely to principal, shrinking the base on which interest is calculated each month. Paying $50 over the minimum on a $5,000 balance at 22% APR can cut your payoff time from nearly 12 years to under 3 years, saving thousands in interest. Use this calculator to compare your current minimum against a fixed monthly amount you choose to see the exact savings in both months and dollars.
What is the difference between minimum payment percentage and fixed minimum payment methods?
Some issuers set the minimum as a percentage of your current balance (commonly 1–3%), so the payment shrinks every month as you pay down debt. Others use a fixed dollar amount, say $25 or $35, regardless of the balance — but in practice always require at least that floor. Percentage-based minimums are more common and more damaging because they create an ever-shrinking payment that barely covers interest in later months. A fixed extra payment on top of either method dramatically accelerates payoff.