Loan Term Calculator
How to use this calculator
This tool estimates how long it will take to pay off a loan based on a fixed payment amount. It also produces (1) a full payment-by-payment schedule and (2) a fiscal-year summary that splits interest and principal by your year-end.
Step 1 — Enter the basics
- Loan proceeds ($): the amount borrowed (opening balance).
- Annual interest rate (%): the stated annual rate (e.g., 7.5).
- Payment amount ($): the regular payment you plan to make.
Step 2 — Choose frequencies
- Interest compounding: how often interest is compounded (monthly / semi-annual / annual).
- Payment frequency: how often you pay (monthly / semi-annual / annual).
Example: A common Canadian setup is semi-annual compounding with monthly payments.
Step 3 — Add dates (optional but recommended)
- Loan proceeds date: the funding date (used as the starting point for the schedule).
- First fiscal year-end: your first year-end date for allocating interest/principal totals.
If you leave dates blank, the calculator uses today for the proceeds date and December 31 for the fiscal year-end.
Step 4 — Click “Calculate”
You’ll see: Calculated term (number of payments + months/years), a Payment schedule (each payment split into interest and principal), and a Fiscal-year summary (totals by year-end).
Print / PDF
Use Print / PDF to print the results or save them as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog.
Export CSV / Excel
Export CSV downloads the fiscal-year summary. Export Excel downloads both tables (Payments + Fiscal Summary) as separate sheets.
Important notes
- Your payment must be greater than the interest that accrues each payment period, or the balance will never decrease. If your payment is too low, the calculator will prompt you to increase it.
- The final payment is automatically adjusted to fully clear the remaining balance (plus the last period’s interest).
- Fiscal-year totals are allocated based on time when a payment period crosses a year-end date. This is helpful for estimating interest expense by year, but your lender’s exact statement timing may differ.