CalcVane

Car loan calculator

Car payments, out the door.

Calculate your monthly auto payment — or switch to Find my budget to work backward from a monthly target — with down payment, trade-in, loan payoff, state sales tax and fees.

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Common terms
Add extra paymentsOptional · set payment, monthly, yearly or lump sum

Pay a set monthly amount

Enter the monthly payment you want to make. Leave blank to use the required payment; we show how much extra you are paying and the time saved.

Scheduled or one-time extras

Extra amounts go straight to principal, starting from today forward unless you choose another month.

Monthly payment—
Amount financed—
Due at signing—
Sales tax—
Total interest—
Total cost—
Paid off—
Time saved—
Interest saved—
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What this includes. Monthly payments use fixed-rate amortization. Sales tax and fees are either added to the loan balance or paid upfront based on your toggle. Trade-in sales tax treatment varies by state. This toggle models either a full trade-in allowance deduction or none; it doesn’t model capped or partial credits, so check your state’s rules. A 0% sales tax rate doesn’t mean no vehicle taxes: Delaware charges a 5.25% document fee (Delaware DMV) and Oregon charges a 0.5% vehicle privilege tax on new vehicles (Oregon DOR); enter these in the fees field. Auto insurance, fuel, maintenance, manufacturer rebates, lender loan-to-value caps and daily simple-interest timing differences aren’t included.

Schedule

How a car loan is calculated

Unlike a plain personal loan, an auto purchase combines the sticker or negotiated vehicle price with cash down, any trade-in vehicle, an existing trade-in loan payoff, state and local sales tax, and title, registration and dealer documentation fees. What you actually borrow — the amount financed — is the net balance after those items are settled. From there, each monthly payment covers that month’s interest on the remaining balance first and puts the rest toward principal.

Formulas

Taxable price = max(0, price − trade-in) [with state trade-in tax credit] = price [without trade-in tax credit] Sales tax = taxable price × (tax rate ÷ 100) Net trade-in = trade-in value − amount owed on trade-in Amount financed P = price − down − net trade-in + (sales tax + fees, if rolled in) Monthly rate r = annual APR ÷ 12 Payment M = P × [r(1 + r)^n] ÷ [(1 + r)^n − 1] (at 0% APR: M = P ÷ n) Find my budget (from monthly payment M over n months): Max loan P = M × [1 − (1 + r)^(−n)] ÷ r (at 0% APR: P = M × n) Vehicle budget = [P + down + trade-in × (1 + tax) − owed − fees] ÷ (1 + tax) (adjusted when tax & fees are paid upfront or without tax credit)

Worked examples

Standard purchase: a $32,000 car with $4,000 down, 6% sales tax ($1,920.00) and $400 in fees rolled into the loan gives an amount financed of $30,320.00. At 6.5% APR over 60 months, the required payment is $593.25 / month, total interest is $5,274.74, total loan payments are $35,594.74, and total cost (including the $4,000 down payment) is $39,594.74.

Find my budget: if your budget is $550.00 / month for 60 months at 6.5% APR, you can support a $28,109.77 loan. With $4,000 down, an $8,000 trade-in with $3,000 still owed, 6.25% sales tax (with trade-in credit) and $400 in rolled-in fees, that translates to a maximum vehicle price of $35,020.96 ($1,688.81 in sales tax).

Existing auto loan & paying ahead: if that $30,320.00 loan at 6.5% APR started 24 months ago, setting Loan start date shows 24 of 60 payments made, a current balance of $19,356.11, $10,963.89 in principal and $3,274.01 in interest paid to date, and 36 payments left. On a new $30,320.00 loan, entering a set payment of $700.00 / month pays $106.75 extra per month, finishing in 50 months (saving 10 months) and cutting interest by $946.84.

Common questions

Does my trade-in lower the sales tax on a car?

Often, but not everywhere. Many states tax only the price minus your trade-in allowance, while others give no credit or a capped or partial credit, and rules can change. This calculator models either a full deduction or none, so check how your state treats trade-ins. States with no statewide sales tax (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon) can still charge vehicle taxes or fees, such as Delaware’s 5.25% document fee and Oregon’s 0.5% privilege tax on new vehicles.

Are my inputs sent anywhere?

Calculations run in your browser and aren’t sent to a server as you type. If you copy a share link, your inputs are included in that URL, so they go to whoever you share it with and appear in the host’s standard request logs when the link is opened.

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

When your current loan payoff exceeds your car’s trade-in value, the difference is called negative equity (being upside down). Unless you pay that gap in cash, the dealer rolls it into your new loan, raising the amount financed, your monthly payment and total interest. Note that state trade-in tax credits are based on the trade-in allowance itself, not your loan payoff.

Should I roll sales tax and fees into my auto loan or pay them upfront?

Rolling sales tax, title, registration and documentation fees into the loan lowers the cash due at signing, but you pay interest on those charges over the entire term and start out owing closer to — or more than — the car’s resale value. Uncheck “Roll sales tax and fees into the loan” to compare the upfront cash needed and the interest saved.

Why do 72- and 84-month car loans cost so much more?

Stretching an auto loan from 48 or 60 months to 72 or 84 months trims the monthly bill, but interest accrues for one to three extra years (and lenders often charge higher APRs on longer terms). Longer terms also increase how long you owe more than the car’s depreciated value.

How does “Find my budget” work?

Switch to Find my budget and enter the monthly payment you want to stay within. The calculator works backward from your rate and term to find the maximum loan principal, then accounts for your down payment, net trade-in, fees and state sales-tax rule to show the highest vehicle sticker price that fits.

When to use it

Sources

Last reviewed: . Results are for general information; check important figures yourself.