Car Loan Calculator

How to calculate your monthly car payment

A car loan calculator turns three inputs — the amount financed, the interest rate, and the loan term — into a single fixed monthly payment. The amount financed starts from the vehicle price and is reduced by any down payment and trade-in, then increased by sales tax if it is rolled into the loan. With those pieces, the auto loan calculator applies the standard amortization formula and returns what you will pay each month.

The car payment calculator above does it instantly. Enter the price, term, and APR, and it acts as a complete car loan payment calculator and auto loan payment calculator at once. Whether you think of it as a vehicle loan payment calculator, an automobile loan calculator, an auto financing calculator, or a car finance payment calculator, the math is identical — only the name changes.

It also works as an online car loan calculator and online auto loan calculator you can return to for any deal. If you just want to calculate my auto payment quickly, figure out car loan payment size for a specific price, or estimate car payment calculator results before visiting a dealer, enter your numbers and the auto car payment calculator returns the figure right away. Old-school shoppers who call the loan a "note" can treat it as a vehicle note calculator or auto note calculator just the same.

Car loan vs auto loan

"Car loan" and "auto loan" mean exactly the same thing: a loan used to buy a vehicle, repaid in fixed monthly installments over a set term, with the vehicle itself serving as collateral. Likewise, a car payment and an auto payment are the same monthly amount — the wording is just a matter of habit and regional preference.

Because the terms are interchangeable, this tool is both a car loan calculator and an auto loan calculator, and the result it shows is your car payment or auto payment, whichever you prefer to call it. There is no difference in the underlying calculation, the interest rate, or the way the balance amortizes.

How sales tax and trade-in affect your loan

Sales tax and a trade-in both change the amount you actually finance. A trade-in works like an extra down payment: its value is subtracted from the price, lowering the loan balance and therefore the monthly payment. In most U.S. states the trade-in also reduces the taxable amount — known as the trade-in tax credit — so sales tax is charged on the vehicle price minus the trade-in value, not the full sticker price.

This calculator follows that rule. Enter a sales tax percentage and it becomes an auto loan calculator with sales tax built in, computing tax on the price after the trade-in and rolling it into the financed amount. Used that way it is equally a car loan calculator with sales tax and a car payment calculator with sales tax — the optional fields let you model the down payment, trade-in, and tax exactly as your local deal is structured. Leave the sales tax field blank and no tax is applied.

Car loan amortization explained

Amortization is how a fixed-payment loan is split between interest and principal over its life. Each month the lender charges interest on the current balance; whatever is left of your payment reduces the principal. Because the balance is largest at the start, early payments are mostly interest, and the principal share grows steadily as the loan winds down.

The amortization schedule above lists every payment from the first month to the last, alongside a chart that shows the principal and interest split shifting over time. You can expand the table from the first year to the full term to see exactly how the balance falls to zero by the final payment.