How long until the loan is gone? See your payoff date, total interest, and what extra payments save.
Each month, interest is charged on the remaining balance (balance × yearly rate ÷ 12); the rest of your payment reduces the balance. The calculator walks month by month until the balance reaches zero. The payoff accelerates near the end: as the balance shrinks, less of each payment is eaten by interest.
A $5,000 balance at 6% with a $200 monthly payment is gone in 27 months and costs $354.69 in interest. Add $100 extra per month and it is paid off in 18 months with $233.93 in interest — 9 months sooner and $120.76 cheaper.
Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, permanently reducing the base on which future interest is charged. The earlier in the loan you pay extra, the bigger the effect. Family loans rarely carry prepayment penalties — but if you are the borrower, tell the lender, so both sides’ records stay in sync.
If the monthly payment is less than or equal to one month’s interest on the balance, the balance never falls. The warning shows the interest-only threshold — anything above it will eventually clear the loan.
Almost always, yes — family loans rarely carry prepayment penalties. Agree on it with the other side and record the extra payments, so the remaining balance is beyond dispute. A tracker both sides can see makes this painless.
In this calculator they shorten the loan while the payment stays the same — the variant that saves the most interest. Some lenders instead recalculate a lower payment over the same term; that helps monthly cash flow but saves less.
It assumes payments arrive on schedule and the rate stays fixed. Real life drifts — a payment skipped here, an extra one there. That is exactly why we built a tracker that recalculates the real payoff date after every recorded payment.
Family Loan Tracker turns your numbers into a live loan: payment schedule, balance tracking, automatic reminders, and a clear history both sides can see.
Time to payoff
2 yr 3 mo
Paid off by Oct 2028
Total interest
$355
Total paid
$5,355
Lending this money for real?
Estimates for information only — not financial advice. Calculations run entirely in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to us.