Auto Loan Calculator – Estimate Your Monthly Car Payment
Calculate your car payment including sales tax, trade-in value and fees.
About the Auto Loan Calculator
What is the Auto Loan Calculator?
An auto loan calculator works out the monthly payment on a car loan after your down payment, trade-in, sales tax and fees are applied.
Why use this calculator?
Cars are often financed over long terms, which makes the monthly payment look small while the interest quietly adds up. Seeing the true cost helps you negotiate on price and avoid over-lengthy terms.
How to use it
- Enter the negotiated vehicle price.
- Add your down payment and any trade-in value.
- Set your local sales tax rate.
- Enter the interest rate and the term in months.
- Review the monthly payment and the total cost including interest.
Formula
Monthly payment uses the amortizing loan formula on the financed amount; financed = price + tax − down payment − trade-in.
Dealer financing can differ from bank financing — always compare the APR from at least two sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I take a longer loan to lower the payment?
A longer term lowers the monthly cost but raises total interest and can leave you owing more than the car is worth for longer. A 48- to 60-month term is a common balance.
Is a manufacturer rebate or low-rate financing better?
Compare total cost, not the headline. A big cash rebate with a market-rate loan can beat a 0% loan if the rebate exceeds the extra interest you would pay.
What is the difference between principal and interest?
The principal is the amount you borrow. Interest is the fee charged for borrowing it, shown either as an annual rate (APR) or a periodic rate. Early payments go mostly toward interest; later payments go mostly toward principal.
How does the loan term affect my payment?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but increases the total interest you pay over the life of the loan. A shorter term raises the monthly payment but costs less overall.
What is an amortization schedule?
It is a table that breaks every payment into its principal and interest portions and shows the remaining balance after each payment.
Should I make extra payments?
Extra payments reduce principal directly, which shortens the loan and cuts total interest. Many loans have no prepayment penalty, but check your agreement first.
What is APR and how is it different from the interest rate?
The interest rate applies only to the balance. The APR (annual percentage rate) also includes fees and points, so it reflects the true yearly cost of the loan.
Is this calculator free to use?
Yes. Every calculator on this site is completely free, with no hidden fees, no subscriptions and no limits on how many times you can use it.
How accurate are the results?
We use standard, widely accepted formulas and calculate in your browser using double-precision arithmetic. Results are rounded for readability, so treat them as reliable estimates rather than a guarantee. Real-world factors can vary the true figure.
Can I add this calculator to my own website?
Yes. Open this calculator page and use the "Add to your website" box in the sidebar to copy a ready-made iframe snippet, then paste it into any HTML page.