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Remaining Loan Balance Calculator

Enter the loan amount, annual rate, term, and payments made to find the remaining balance.

How it is calculated

The tool assumes a fixed-rate loan with equal monthly payments. The monthly rate is r = annual rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12, and the payment is PMT = L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−N) for loan amount L and N months. After n payments the balance is B = L × (1 + r)n − PMT × ((1 + r)n − 1) ÷ r: the loan grown with interest, minus the payments grown the same way. It also shows the principal paid so far, L − B, and the monthly payment. At a rate of 0 the payment is simply L ÷ N. The loan amount must be above zero, the annual rate from 0 to 200, the term a whole number of months from 1 to 1,200, and payments made a whole number from 0 up to the term; anything else shows no result. The balance never shows below $0.00, and the amounts are in US dollars. Fees, insurance, escrow, extra payments and rate changes are not modelled, and the payment is not rounded to cents before use.

Worked example

A $250,000 loan at 6% a year over 360 months has a monthly rate of 0.5% and a payment of $1,498.88. After 60 payments, the loan grown by interest is 250,000 × 1.00560 = 337,212.54, and the 60 payments grown the same way come to 104,576.65. Their difference is the balance: $232,635.89. So after five years, 60 × 1,498.88 = $89,932.80 has been paid, but only $17,364.11 of it was principal, because most of it went to interest.

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Common mistakes

  • Subtracting payments from the loan amount. After 60 payments of $1,498.88 the balance is not 250,000 − 89,932.80; a large share of each early payment is interest, so the real balance is much higher.
  • Entering the term in years. The field is in months, so a 30-year loan is 360. Typing 30 describes a 30-month loan, and with 60 payments made that is more than the term, so no result appears.
  • Typing the annual rate as a decimal. For 6% enter 6, not 0.06, otherwise the loan is treated as nearly interest-free and the payment drops from $1,498.88 to $700.73.
  • Using the tool for a loan that is not fixed-rate or has extra payments. Adjustable rates, balloon payments and prepayments change the real balance.
  • Counting payments you have not made yet. The count is for payments already paid; a payoff quote from the lender can still differ because of accrued interest and fees.

About this calculator

The remaining balance on an amortizing loan — a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan — is not simply the original amount minus payments made, because a portion of every payment goes toward interest rather than principal, and that split shifts over the loan’s life. Early payments are interest-heavy; later payments are principal-heavy, so the balance doesn’t decline in a straight line.

The remaining balance after n payments is calculated from the loan’s original amortization schedule using the standard formula: B = P × [(1+r)^N − (1+r)^n] ÷ [(1+r)^N − 1], where P is the original principal, r is the periodic interest rate, N is the total number of payments, and n is payments already made. This figure is what a borrower actually owes if they want to refinance, sell the underlying asset, or pay off the loan early, and it’s what lenders report on a loan payoff statement.

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