What is the minimum payment?

Most U.S. credit card issuers set the minimum payment as a small percentage of the balance (typically 1–3%), with a dollar floor of $25–$35. The exact formula varies — a common variant is "1% of balance plus any interest and fees charged this period," which works out to roughly 2–3% of the balance in practice.

Why does it take so long to pay off?

At a 22%+ APR, nearly all of the first month's minimum payment goes to interest, not principal. As the balance shrinks, the minimum payment also shrinks (since it is a percentage), so progress slows further. The combined effect is that a $5,000 balance at minimum payments can take 20+ years to clear and cost more in interest than the original balance.

How can I pay off faster?

Commit to a fixed dollar payment above the minimum and set autopay for that amount. Even $50–$100 extra per month often cuts the payoff timeline by years. For larger balances, also consider a balance transfer to a 0% APR card (if you can qualify and pay off most of the balance during the intro period) or a fixed-rate personal loan to consolidate at a lower interest rate.

What is the minimum payment warning on my statement?

The CARD Act of 2009 requires credit card statements to include a box showing how long it will take to pay off the current balance making only the minimum payment, and how much you will pay total. It also shows the payment needed to pay off in 36 months. If the total cost line is shocking, that is the math from this calculator made personal.

Does paying only the minimum hurt my credit score?

Paying only the minimum is not itself a negative score factor — on-time payment of any required amount is what matters for payment history (35% of FICO score). However, carrying high balances raises your credit utilization (30% of FICO score), which lowers your score. Paying more than the minimum reduces utilization faster and improves the score.

Minimum Payment Calculator

Find out the true cost of making only minimum payments on your credit card. See how many years it takes to become debt-free and how much total interest you will pay.

Last updated: July 28, 2026Reviewed by the CalcMountain editorial team

About this calculator

The minimum payment on a credit card is the smallest amount you can pay each month without triggering a late fee or a penalty APR. It is also one of the most expensive financial products in widespread use — at a typical 22% APR and a 2% minimum, a $5,000 balance can take more than two decades to pay off and cost roughly as much in interest as the original balance itself.

The minimum is structured to keep you in revolving debt indefinitely. Issuers calculate it as a small percentage of the outstanding balance (commonly 1–3%) with a dollar floor (usually $25–$35). Because the minimum scales down as the balance shrinks, the absolute dollar payment also shrinks each month, slowing progress further. The math compounds against you: most of each early minimum payment goes to interest, not principal.

This calculator runs the actual amortization month by month so you can see what minimum-payment-only costs in time and dollars. The result is almost always shocking. The fix is equally simple: pay a fixed dollar amount above the minimum, set up autopay so the temptation to revert to the minimum disappears, and treat the credit card balance like the high-interest emergency it is.

Formula

Monthly minimum payment: Min_pmt = max(Floor, Balance × Min_pct) Where: Floor = Dollar floor (typically $25–$35) Min_pct = Minimum payment percentage (typically 1–3%) Monthly interest accrual: Interest = Balance × (APR ÷ 12) Each month: Pmt = max(Floor, Balance × Min_pct) Interest = Balance × (APR ÷ 12) New Balance = Balance + Interest − Pmt Repeat until Balance = 0. Total interest paid: Sum of all monthly Interest values across the life of the payoff. Months to payoff: Number of iterations needed for Balance to reach zero. Example: $5,000 balance at 22% APR, 2% minimum with $25 floor Month 1: Interest = $5,000 × (0.22 / 12) ≈ $91.67. Min payment = max(25, $100) = $100. Principal paid: $100 − $91.67 = $8.33. New balance: $4,991.67. Over time: balance and required minimum both shrink, the payment hits the $25 floor, and total payoff takes roughly 25+ years. Total interest paid: ≈ $5,800 — more than the original balance.

How to use this calculator

Enter your current credit card balance. Use the statement balance, not the available credit limit.
Enter the annual interest rate (APR) the card charges on revolving balances. This is on every statement under "interest charge calculation"; most U.S. cards are 18–28%.
Enter the minimum payment percentage. Most issuers use 1–3% of the balance; a common formula is "1% of balance + interest charged this period," which approximates 2–3% in total.
Enter the minimum payment floor — the dollar minimum below which the calculation does not drop. $25 is the most common floor.
Look at three results together: total months to payoff (often 250–400+ for high balances), total interest paid (often equal to or more than the principal), and the breakeven where the payment hits the floor (where progress slows dramatically).
Then run the credit-card-payoff calculator with a fixed payment above the minimum to see how dramatic the difference is. Adding even $25–$50 per month to the minimum often cuts the payoff timeline in half.
If the balance is from accumulated essentials and minimum-only is your actual capacity, look at the balance-transfer calculator (move the debt to 0% APR temporarily) or debt-consolidation calculator (replace with a fixed-rate personal loan) — both can dramatically reduce the interest cost.

Worked examples

The classic $5,000 balance

Balance: $5,000 APR: 22% Minimum: 2% of balance, $25 floor Months to payoff: ≈ 280 (about 23 years) Total interest paid: ≈ $5,800 Total amount paid: ≈ $10,800 You paid roughly twice the original balance, over the equivalent of an entire mortgage term. This is the structural reason credit cards are profitable.

Add a fixed $100 above the minimum

Same $5,000 at 22%, but pay max(min payment, $200) every month. Months to payoff: ≈ 32 (under 3 years) Total interest paid: ≈ $1,500 A $100/month commitment above the minimum cuts the timeline by 20+ years and saves $4,300 in interest. The leverage of "above the minimum" is enormous because every extra dollar attacks principal directly.

High-balance, high-rate trap

Balance: $12,000 APR: 26% Minimum: 2.5% of balance, $35 floor Months to payoff: ≈ 340 (about 28 years) Total interest paid: ≈ $16,700 Total amount paid: ≈ $28,700 A $12,000 balance at minimum payments costs roughly $28,700 over nearly three decades. This is the worst-case scenario the CARD Act of 2009 was designed to make visible — credit card statements now include a "minimum payment warning" showing exactly this math.

When to use this calculator

Use this calculator any time you are tempted to make only the minimum payment, or any time you want to understand what your "manageable monthly payment" actually costs in absolute dollars and time. It is one of the most behavior-changing pieces of personal finance math available — the result is almost always so much worse than people expect that paying the minimum stops feeling like a neutral choice.

Pair it with the credit-card-payoff calculator (which shows the impact of a fixed monthly payment well above the minimum), the balance-transfer calculator (which compares a 0% promo card), and the debt-snowball calculator (which optimizes across multiple cards). For most people in revolving debt, some combination of "pay more than the minimum" and "lower the rate via transfer or consolidation" is the path out.

It is not useful as a budget tool. The minimum is what you can pay; the calculator tells you what that costs. The budget tool is a fixed-payment-above-minimum approach, which is what the credit-card-payoff calculator is for.

Common mistakes to avoid

Paying the minimum because "it's what the bill asks for." The minimum is the issuer's preferred outcome, not yours. Treat it as the legal floor, not the target.
Believing the minimum will eventually pay off the card. It does — over 20–30 years on most balances. Practically, the card is paid off in a meaningful time only if you commit to a fixed dollar amount above the minimum.
Letting the payment auto-shrink as the balance drops. As the balance shrinks, the minimum payment shrinks too, and progress slows. Setting up autopay for a fixed dollar amount (instead of "minimum due") solves this.
Ignoring the CARD Act minimum-payment warning. Federal law requires the box on your statement: "If you make only the minimum payment, you will pay X dollars and take Y years." If the X exceeds the original balance, that is the calculator output staring you in the face.
Adding new charges while paying the minimum. Every new dollar of spending adds interest at the same APR, and the minimum-payment math now applies to a higher balance — payoff time gets pushed back further than the spending alone suggests.
Confusing the minimum payment with the "interest charge." The minimum is a small percentage of the balance; the interest charge is what the bank earns on the balance. On a $5,000 balance at 22%, the minimum is ~$100 and the interest charge is ~$92 — virtually the entire minimum goes to interest in the first month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & further reading

Paying down credit card debt — strategies and tools — U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act — U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Federal Reserve credit card data and consumer credit reports — Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve

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Minimum Payment Calculator

Find out the true cost of making only minimum payments on your credit card. See how many years it takes to become debt-free and how much total interest you will pay.

Inputs

Credit Card Balance

Annual Interest Rate (APR)

Minimum Payment %

Minimum Payment Floor

Results

Time to Pay Off

80.7 years

Total Interest Paid

$43,419

Total Amount Paid

$48,419

Months to Pay Off

968

Payment Schedule

Month	Payment	Principal	Interest	Balance
1	$100.00	$8.33	$91.67	$4,991.67
12	$98.18	$8.18	$90.00	$4,900.91
24	$96.24	$8.02	$88.22	$4,803.79
36	$94.33	$7.86	$86.47	$4,708.59
48	$92.46	$7.70	$84.75	$4,615.27
60	$90.63	$7.55	$83.07	$4,523.81
72	$88.83	$7.40	$81.43	$4,434.16
84	$87.07	$7.26	$79.81	$4,346.28
96	$85.35	$7.11	$78.23	$4,260.15
108	$83.65	$6.97	$76.68	$4,175.72
120	$82.00	$6.83	$75.16	$4,092.97
132	$80.37	$6.70	$73.67	$4,011.86