Auto Loan Calculator

Estimate your monthly car payment with sales tax, fees, down payment and trade-in — including negative equity — and compare how much interest a shorter or longer loan costs.

$494.83 a month

60 monthly payments at 6.5% APR on $25,290.00 financed

Amount financed

$25,290.00

Total interest

$4,399.67

Total cost

$38,689.67

price + tax + fees + interest

Due at signing

$4,000.00

down payment

Sales tax

$1,440.00

6% of $24,000.00

Compare loan terms

Same amount and APR, one year shorter and one year longer. Amounts marked + are the extra interest compared with the shortest term. Total cost is in the results above.

Monthly payment, total interest and total cost for three loan terms; extra interest is compared with 48 months
Term	Monthly payment	Total interest	Total cost
48 months	$599.75	$3,498.06	$37,788.06
60 months (yours)	$494.83	$4,399.67+$901.61	$38,689.67
72 months	$425.12	$5,318.86+$1,820.80	$39,608.86

Working

Taxable amount: $32,000.00 price − $8,000.00 trade-in = $24,000.00. Sales tax: $24,000.00 × 6% = $1,440.00.
Trade-in equity: $8,000.00 value − $3,000.00 still owed = $5,000.00, which reduces the loan.
Amount financed: $32,000.00 price + $1,440.00 tax + $850.00 fees − $4,000.00 down payment − $5,000.00 trade-in equity = $25,290.00.
Monthly rate: r = 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.54166667% = 0.0054166667; number of payments n = 60.
Payment: M = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) = $25,290.00 × 0.0054166667 × 1.3828173 ÷ 0.38281732 = $494.83.
Total of payments: $29,689.67; total interest: $29,689.67 − $25,290.00 = $4,399.67.
Total cost: $32,000.00 price + $1,440.00 tax + $850.00 fees + $4,399.67 interest = $38,689.67.

Amortization schedule by year

Amortization schedule by year
Year	Payments	Paid	Principal	Interest	Balance
1	1–12	$5,937.93	$4,424.35	$1,513.58	$20,865.65
2	13–24	$5,937.93	$4,720.66	$1,217.28	$16,144.99
3	25–36	$5,937.93	$5,036.81	$901.13	$11,108.18
4	37–48	$5,937.93	$5,374.13	$563.80	$5,734.05
5	49–60	$5,937.93	$5,734.05	$203.89	$0.00
Total	1–60	$29,689.67	$25,290.00	$4,399.67

How to use the auto loan calculator

Enter the vehicle’s price, your down payment and, if you are trading in a car, what the dealer is giving you for it and how much you still owe on it. Add your combined state and local sales tax rate and choose whether it applies to the price minus your trade-in or to the full price. Enter title, registration and documentation fees and say whether you are financing them or paying them in cash. Finally, enter the APR from your loan offer and the term — type any number of months or tap 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84.

The monthly payment, amount financed, total interest and total cost update as you type, along with the working, a three-term comparison and a year-by-year payoff schedule. Blank optional boxes count as $0. Your numbers stay in your browser and in the page address, so you can bookmark or share an estimate.

How the numbers are calculated

sales tax       = (price − trade-in value) × tax rate     or  price × tax rate
trade-in equity = trade-in value − amount still owed
amount financed = price + sales tax + financed fees − down payment − trade-in equity
payment M       = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1)     r = APR ÷ 12, n = months
total cost      = price + tax + fees + negative equity + total interest

When the equity is negative — you owe more than the car is worth — subtracting it adds the shortfall to the loan. At 0% APR the payment is simply the amount financed ÷ n. Each month, interest is charged on the remaining balance and the rest of the payment reduces it, which is why early payments are mostly interest, as the CFPB’s explanation of amortization describes.

Worked example

The calculator opens with a $32,000 car, $4,000 down and a trade-in worth $8,000 with $3,000 still owed on it. Sales tax is 6% on the price minus the trade-in, fees of $850 are financed, and the loan is 60 months at 6.5% APR.

Sales tax: ($32,000 − $8,000) × 6% = $1,440. Taxing the full price would make it $1,920.
Trade-in equity: $8,000 − $3,000 = $5,000.
Amount financed: $32,000 + $1,440 + $850 − $4,000 − $5,000 = $25,290.
Payment: r = 0.065 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.0054167 and (1 + r)^60 ≈ 1.3828173, so M = $25,290 × 0.0054167 × 1.3828173 ÷ 0.3828173 = $494.83 a month.
Total repaid over 60 payments: $29,689.67 (the unrounded payment × 60), so total interest is $29,689.67 − $25,290 = $4,399.67. Total cost: $32,000 + $1,440 + $850 + $4,399.67 = $38,689.67.

If the dealer’s state taxed the full price instead, the amount financed would rise to $25,770 and the payment to $504.22. And if you owed $11,000 on the trade-in instead of $3,000, the $3,000 of negative equity would push the amount financed to $33,290 and the payment to $651.36.

Sales tax and your trade-in

Many states let you subtract your trade-in’s value from the taxable price, which is this calculator’s default; others tax the full price no matter what you trade. The rules also differ on local sales taxes, caps on the trade-in credit, whether manufacturer rebates reduce the taxable price and whether dealer fees are taxable (this calculator doesn’t tax fees). Some states charge a separate vehicle excise or title tax instead of sales tax. Because of this, the page doesn’t list state rates: use the rate on your buyer’s order or from your state’s department of revenue or motor vehicle agency.

Shorter vs longer loans

The comparison table shows the trade-off the CFPB warns about: a longer term lowers the monthly payment but increases the total interest. In the example, 72 months instead of 48 saves $174.63 a month but costs $1,820.80 more in interest. The CFPB’s auto loan guide makes the same point with a $20,000 loan at 4.75%: $1,498 of interest over three years against $3,024 over six — figures you can reproduce here ($1,498.32 and $3,024.48 before rounding to dollars). A longer loan also pays the balance down more slowly, so it is more likely you’ll owe more than the car is worth if you need to sell or trade it. If only a long term makes the payment affordable, a less expensive car may be the better fix.

Tips before you sign

Compare total cost, not just the payment. A dealer can hit any monthly target by stretching the term.
Shop the APR separately. A preapproval from a bank or credit union gives you a rate to compare with the dealer’s financing.
0% offers vs rebates. Some deals make you choose between 0% APR and a cash rebate. Run both — enter the rebate as a lower price with your own lender’s APR — and pick the lower total cost.
Add-ons raise the loan. Extended warranties, service contracts and GAP products financed into the loan increase the amount financed and the interest; add them to the fees to see the effect.
Small differences from your contract are normal. Lenders round each payment to the cent, and many auto loans accrue interest daily, so their figures can differ from these by a few cents to a few dollars.

For a personal loan or any loan without a trade-in or sales tax, use the loan calculator; for a home, the mortgage calculator. To see whether a payment fits your budget, start from your take-home pay with the salary calculator. These figures are estimates for planning, not financial advice or a loan offer.

Frequently asked questions

How is a car payment calculated?

Work out the amount financed (price + sales tax + any fees you finance − down payment − trade-in equity), then apply the standard loan formula M = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1), where r is the APR ÷ 12 and n is the number of months. Financing $30,000 at 6% APR for 60 months gives r = 0.005 and a payment of $579.98 a month, with $4,799.04 of interest in total.

Do I pay sales tax on the full price if I trade in a car?

It depends on your state. Many states tax only the difference between the new vehicle’s price and your trade-in’s value, which can save hundreds of dollars; others tax the full price. Local taxes, caps on the trade-in credit and the treatment of rebates and dealer fees also vary. Use the Tax on switch to see both, and check your state’s department of revenue or motor vehicle agency for the rule that applies to you.

What happens if I owe more on my trade-in than it’s worth?

The difference is called negative equity. The dealer pays off your old loan, and the shortfall is usually added to your new loan, so you borrow more, pay interest on it and start out owing more than the new car is worth. The CFPB suggests checking exactly how the negative equity is handled in your contract before you sign; paying it down first, or waiting to trade, avoids carrying it forward.

Is a 72- or 84-month car loan a bad idea?

It lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest, and you stay “underwater” (owing more than the car is worth) for longer. In this page’s example, stretching $25,290 at 6.5% APR from 48 to 72 months cuts the payment from $599.75 to $425.12 but adds $1,820.80 of interest. The CFPB recommends comparing loans by total cost, not just the monthly payment.

Should I pay the fees and taxes up front or roll them into the loan?

Paying them in cash means you borrow less and pay no interest on them. In the example on this page, financing $850 of fees at 6.5% for 60 months adds $147.87 of interest ($4,399.67 instead of $4,251.80). Switch Fees to “Pay upfront” to compare; if you pay the sales tax in cash too, add it to your down payment.

Is the APR the same as the interest rate?

Not always. The APR includes the interest rate plus certain lender charges, so it can be slightly higher — the CFPB explains the difference. Lenders must disclose the APR, which makes it the best number for comparing offers. This calculator applies the rate you enter monthly (rate ÷ 12).

Sources

Last reviewed 24 September 2026 · Built and checked by the Reeliy team · How we test our tools