Amortization Calculator
Enter the loan, rate and term — get the payment, the full amortization schedule (table grouped by year, expandable to every month), the month principal finally beats interest, and what extra payments really save.
📌 First payment truth: of your $1,896.20, only $271.20 reduces the debt — $1,625.00 is interest.
Amortization schedule (by year)
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ▾ Year 1 | $3,353 | $19,401 | $296,647 |
| #1 | $271.20 | $1,625.00 | $299,728.80 |
| #2 | $272.67 | $1,623.53 | $299,456.12 |
| #3 | $274.15 | $1,622.05 | $299,181.97 |
| #4 | $275.64 | $1,620.57 | $298,906.34 |
| #5 | $277.13 | $1,619.08 | $298,629.21 |
| #6 | $278.63 | $1,617.57 | $298,350.58 |
| #7 | $280.14 | $1,616.07 | $298,070.44 |
| #8 | $281.66 | $1,614.55 | $297,788.79 |
| #9 | $283.18 | $1,613.02 | $297,505.60 |
| #10 | $284.72 | $1,611.49 | $297,220.89 |
| #11 | $286.26 | $1,609.95 | $296,934.63 |
| #12 | $287.81 | $1,608.40 | $296,646.82 |
| ▸ Year 2 | $3,578 | $19,177 | $293,069 |
| ▸ Year 3 | $3,817 | $18,937 | $289,252 |
| ▸ Year 4 | $4,073 | $18,681 | $285,179 |
| ▸ Year 5 | $4,346 | $18,409 | $280,833 |
| ▸ Year 6 | $4,637 | $18,118 | $276,196 |
| ▸ Year 7 | $4,947 | $17,807 | $271,249 |
| ▸ Year 8 | $5,279 | $17,476 | $265,970 |
| ▸ Year 9 | $5,632 | $17,122 | $260,338 |
| ▸ Year 10 | $6,009 | $16,745 | $254,328 |
| ▸ Year 11 | $6,412 | $16,343 | $247,916 |
| ▸ Year 12 | $6,841 | $15,913 | $241,075 |
| ▸ Year 13 | $7,299 | $15,455 | $233,776 |
| ▸ Year 14 | $7,788 | $14,966 | $225,987 |
| ▸ Year 15 | $8,310 | $14,445 | $217,677 |
| ▸ Year 16 | $8,866 | $13,888 | $208,811 |
| ▸ Year 17 | $9,460 | $13,294 | $199,351 |
| ▸ Year 18 | $10,094 | $12,661 | $189,257 |
| ▸ Year 19 | $10,770 | $11,985 | $178,487 |
| ▸ Year 20 | $11,491 | $11,263 | $166,996 |
| ▸ Year 21 | $12,261 | $10,494 | $154,735 |
| ▸ Year 22 | $13,082 | $9,673 | $141,653 |
| ▸ Year 23 | $13,958 | $8,797 | $127,695 |
| ▸ Year 24 | $14,893 | $7,862 | $112,803 |
| ▸ Year 25 | $15,890 | $6,864 | $96,912 |
| ▸ Year 26 | $16,954 | $5,800 | $79,958 |
| ▸ Year 27 | $18,090 | $4,665 | $61,868 |
| ▸ Year 28 | $19,301 | $3,453 | $42,567 |
| ▸ Year 29 | $20,594 | $2,161 | $21,973 |
| ▸ Year 30 | $21,973 | $781 | $0 |
Spotted a mistake or have an idea? — errors get fixed and credited publicly.
Last reviewed: July 20, 2026 · Formulas verified by automated tests before every release.
How does loan amortization work?
Each fixed payment first covers the interest accrued on the outstanding balance; the remainder reduces the balance itself. Payment = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1): borrow $300,000 at 6.5% for 30 years and the payment is $1,896 — but the first one carries about $1,625 of interest against $271 of principal. The split flips slowly; the schedule above shows every row and the exact crossover month.
The crossover month: the loan's real halfway point
There is a month in every amortized loan when, for the first time, more of your payment reduces the debt than feeds the interest. Banks never highlight it, but it's the psychological summit: on a 30-year loan at 6.5% it arrives around month 233 — more than nineteen years in. A lower rate or a shorter term pulls it dramatically closer, which is one honest way to compare offers beyond the monthly payment. The calculator marks your crossover automatically.
Extra payments: small money, outsized math
An extra payment doesn't just shorten the end of the loan — it shrinks the balance that every future interest charge is computed on, so the effect compounds in your favor. The earlier the extra dollars arrive, the harder they work: $100 a month from day one on that same $300,000 loan removes roughly five years and about $70,000 of interest. Enter any extra amount above and the whole schedule — including the crossover — recomputes instantly. Just check your loan for prepayment penalties first; most US mortgages no longer have them, but some personal and auto loans still do.
Schedule, table — same thing, and here's how to read one
An amortization table and an amortization schedule are the same row-by-row breakdown. Read any row as three questions: how much of this payment was rent on the debt (interest), how much bought the debt down (principal), and what's left to go (balance). For the payment itself, the loan calculator gives the quick totals; for a home purchase the mortgage calculator adds taxes and insurance, and PMI shows the insurance you're paying until equity hits 20% — the schedule here tells you exactly when that happens.
Sources, assumptions and limitations
- Assumptions: Fixed rate for the whole term (ARMs re-amortize at each reset and follow a different path).Monthly compounding aligned with payments; payment from the standard annuity formula.Extra payments are applied fully to principal from month one, with no prepayment penalty.Taxes, insurance and fees are excluded — this is the loan itself.Nothing you enter is stored or transmitted.
- Sources:
- Last reviewed: by the CalcNotebook team
Frequently asked questions
What is an amortization schedule?
A table listing every payment over the life of a loan, splitting each into interest and principal and showing the balance left afterwards. Lenders use it to set your fixed payment; borrowers use it to see the loan's real cost and where extra payments hit hardest. The calculator above builds yours instantly, grouped by year.
How do I calculate an amortization schedule by hand?
Work one row at a time: multiply the current balance by the monthly rate (annual ÷ 12) to get that month's interest; subtract the interest from your fixed payment to get the principal portion; subtract that principal from the balance. Repeat until zero. The fixed payment itself comes from M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1).
Are an amortization table and an amortization schedule the same thing?
Yes — the two terms are used interchangeably. Both mean the row-by-row breakdown of every payment into interest, principal and remaining balance. This page produces one automatically and lets you expand any year down to individual months.
Why does so little of my early payment reduce the loan?
Because interest is charged on the full outstanding balance, and early on the balance is at its largest. On a $300,000 loan at 6.5%, the first $1,896 payment carries about $1,625 of interest and only $271 of principal. As the balance falls, the split shifts — the calculator shows the exact month principal starts winning.
Do extra payments change the schedule?
Powerfully. Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, which shrinks the balance that all future interest is computed on. Even $100/month on a typical mortgage removes years from the term and five figures from total interest — enter an extra amount above and watch the schedule recompute.
What loans are amortized — and what aren't?
Fixed-rate mortgages, auto loans and most personal loans amortize: equal payments, shifting interest/principal split. Credit cards don't — they're revolving debt with no fixed end date. Interest-only and balloon loans amortize only partially or not at all.
Do you store my loan details?
No. Amounts, rates and the schedule exist only in this browser tab — nothing is uploaded, saved or shared. Print or copy if you need a record.