Credit Card Payoff Calculator
How long your card really takes to clear, what the interest actually costs, and how much you save by paying a fixed amount or hitting a target date instead of drifting along on minimum payments.
Balance over time
Your plan versus paying only the minimum. The gap is the trap.
Where your money goes
Of everything you pay under your plan, how much clears the balance versus how much is pure interest.
Month-by-month schedule
Every payment under your plan: interest, principal, and remaining balance.
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|
How this is calculated
How minimum payments work
Most Canadian issuers set the minimum at the greater of a percentage of your balance (commonly around 3%) or a flat floor (often $10), plus any interest and fees. Because the percentage is applied to a shrinking balance, the minimum falls every month, which is exactly why minimum-only payoff drags on for years. This tool recomputes the minimum each month as max(pct × balance, $10), so you see the real trajectory, not a fixed guess. Quebec's Consumer Protection Act has phased in a higher floor, reaching a required minimum of at least 5% of the balance in August 2025, flip the Quebec toggle to model it.
Interest: daily accrual and the grace period
Card issuers charge interest daily on your average daily balance at the daily rate APR ÷ 365, then post it once a month. New purchases are interest-free during the statement grace period only if you paid the previous statement in full; the moment you carry a balance, new purchases start accruing interest from the transaction date and the grace period is lost until you pay in full again. To keep the math transparent, this tool uses a monthly rate of APR ÷ 12, within a few dollars of the daily method over a typical payoff, and assumes no new purchases are added.
Payment strategies
Fixed $ applies the same amount each month; the final payment is trimmed so you never overpay. By a date solves the standard annuity formula for the payment that clears the balance in exactly N months: payment = B × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)⁻ⁿ), where i = APR ÷ 12 ÷ 100. If a fixed payment is ≤ the first month's interest, the balance can never fall and the tool flags it instead of pretending it clears.
The minimum-payment trap
Every result is shown next to the minimum-only scenario so the cost of drifting is unmissable. Interest as a percent of your balance divides total interest by the original balance, carry a card long enough and you pay more in interest than you borrowed.
Cheaper alternatives
Turn on the balance transfer comparison to model moving your balance to a promo rate (often 0%–3.99% for 6–12 months). A one-time transfer fee of 1%–3% of the balance is added up front, and after the promo window the rate reverts to the high APR you set. Keeping the same monthly payment, the tool runs interest at the promo rate during the promo and the revert rate afterward, then compares total interest against staying put, a transfer only wins if you clear most of the balance before the promo ends. A low-rate card at around 12.99% (versus 20.99% purchases or 22.99% cash advances) permanently cuts the interest on carried balances; drop your APR to that level to model it directly.
What this doesn't model
New purchases, annual fees, over-limit or late fees, cash-advance rates (typically 22.99% with no grace period), variable-rate changes, or the exact day-count of daily compounding. Fighting several debts at once? Try the debt consolidation calculator, or build the cushion that keeps you off the card with the emergency fund calculator.
Common questions
How is a Canadian credit card minimum payment calculated?
Most Canadian issuers set the minimum at the greater of a percentage of the balance (commonly around 3%) or a flat floor such as $10, plus any interest and fees. Because that percentage shrinks as the balance falls, minimum-only payoff stretches on for years. In Quebec, a law phased in since 2019 requires the minimum to be at least 5% of the balance, reaching that level in August 2025.
How is credit card interest charged in Canada?
Issuers charge interest daily on your average daily balance at the daily rate (APR divided by 365), then post it monthly. New purchases enjoy an interest-free grace period only if you pay the previous statement in full; once you carry a balance, new purchases are charged interest from the transaction date. This calculator uses a monthly rate of APR divided by 12, which is very close to the daily method.
What is a typical credit card APR in Canada in 2026?
Standard purchase APRs are typically 19.99% to 20.99%, cash advances around 22.99%, and low-rate cards about 12.99%. Store cards can run higher. This tool defaults to 20.99%, a common purchase rate.
Does making only the minimum payment ever pay off the card?
Only if the minimum exceeds the monthly interest. With a percentage-based minimum it does eventually clear, but can take 20 or more years and cost more in interest than the original balance. If a fixed payment is less than or equal to the monthly interest, the balance never goes down at all.
Is a balance transfer worth it?
A promotional balance transfer (often 0% to 3.99% for 6 to 12 months) can cut interest sharply, but most charge a one-time transfer fee of 1% to 3% of the amount moved. It pays off only if the interest you avoid during the promo exceeds the fee and you clear the balance before the promo rate ends and jumps back up.