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Amortization Calculator

View your complete loan amortization schedule showing every payment broken into principal and interest.

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What is Amortization Calculator?

An amortization calculator generates a complete payment-by-payment schedule for a fixed loan, showing exactly how much of each payment goes toward interest and how much reduces your principal balance. The key insight amortization tables reveal is front-loaded interest: in the early years of a mortgage, the vast majority of each payment is interest. On a $400,000 30-year mortgage at 7%, the first payment applies roughly $330 to principal and $2,333 to interest. By year 25, the ratio flips — most of each payment reduces principal. Understanding this schedule helps you see how extra payments build equity faster, where total interest accumulates, and when you cross the midpoint of repayment.

How to use

  1. Enter the loan amount, annual interest rate, and loan term in years.
  2. Optionally enter an extra monthly payment amount to see how it shortens the loan and reduces total interest.
  3. Click Calculate to generate the complete amortization schedule and summary totals.
  4. Review the summary: total interest paid, payoff date, and total loan cost.
  5. Examine the year-by-year table to see how the interest-to-principal ratio shifts over time.
  6. Experiment with extra payment amounts to find your ideal balance between payment size and long-term savings.

Why it matters

Most homeowners are surprised to discover how little principal their early payments reduce. In the first year of a 30-year mortgage at 7%, over 85% of each payment goes to interest. Extra payments made early have an outsized impact because they reduce the balance on which all future interest is calculated — the savings compound over the remaining loan life. Making one extra mortgage payment per year typically shortens a 30-year loan by 4–5 years and saves tens of thousands of dollars in interest. The amortization table makes this math concrete and helps you decide whether extra payments represent the best use of your money.

Pro tip

Confirm with your loan servicer how extra payments are applied. Some servicers apply extra funds to the next scheduled payment (saving only one month of interest), while others apply them directly to principal (reducing the balance and saving interest over the full remaining term). Always specify 'apply to principal' in writing when making extra payments — it is the default at some servicers but not all, and the difference in savings can be substantial.

Frequently Asked Questions

An amortization schedule is a complete table of every loan payment, showing how much goes to interest, how much reduces the principal, and what the remaining balance is after each payment. It lets you see exactly how your debt decreases over time.
Amortization is the process of spreading loan payments over time. Early payments are mostly interest; later payments are mostly principal.
Interest is calculated on the remaining loan balance. At the start of a loan, the balance is at its highest, so the interest portion of each payment is largest. As you pay down the principal, the balance drops, interest charges shrink, and more of each payment goes to principal.
Your interest payment is calculated on the remaining balance. Early on, your balance is high, so more of each payment goes to interest. As the balance decreases, more goes to principal.
Extra payments go directly toward your principal balance, which reduces future interest charges. This shortens your loan term and can save a substantial amount in total interest, especially if extra payments are made early in the loan when the balance is highest.
Negative amortization occurs when your monthly payment is less than the interest owed, causing your loan balance to grow rather than shrink. This can happen with certain adjustable-rate mortgages or income-based repayment plans. Standard fixed-rate loans do not have negative amortization.
Each row represents one payment period. The columns typically show the payment number, total payment amount, the portion applied to interest, the portion applied to principal, and the remaining balance. Reading down the table shows how your balance steadily decreases with each payment.
Yes. The amortization calculator works for any fixed-rate installment loan — mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, student loans, and more. Just enter the loan amount, annual interest rate, and term in months.
Amortization refers to the scheduled repayment of a loan over time. Depreciation is an accounting concept that spreads the cost of a physical asset (like a car or equipment) over its useful life. Though the words sound similar, they apply to very different situations.
Multiply your monthly payment by the total number of payments, then subtract the original loan principal. The difference is your total interest cost. The amortization calculator does this automatically and displays the total in the summary above the schedule.