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Loan term from a given payment calculator

Enter the loan amount, annual rate and the maximum monthly payment you're willing to make. The calculator works out how many months it takes to fully repay the loan.

Result

Loan term

Your inputs are stored in this browser, so everything is still here next time. Nothing is sent to a server.

This calculation is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Formulas and rates may not fit your exact situation — double-check the figures before making decisions.

How it is calculated

Loan term under an annuity schedule = −ln(1 − monthly rate × loan amount ÷ payment) ÷ ln(1 + monthly rate) — the annuity formula solved for the number of periods instead of the payment. At a zero rate it simplifies to term = loan amount ÷ payment.

If the payment is less than or equal to the first month's interest (monthly rate × loan amount), the principal never shrinks — the loan won't be repaid in any amount of time, and the calculator shows that the payment doesn't cover the debt.

The result is a fractional number of months: in practice a payment schedule rounds to whole months, so the actual term in the contract may be one month longer than calculated here, with a smaller final payment.

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