Car Payment Calculator (2026): Monthly Payment, Interest & Amortization
Updated · CarWhere Research
Your monthly car payment is the amount you finance times the monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12), divided by one minus (1 + monthly rate) raised to the negative number of months. For example, $35,000 financed at 7% APR for 60 months is $693.04 a month, and you pay $6,583 in interest over the loan.
The amount you finance is the out-the-door price — vehicle price plus sales tax and fees, minus rebates — less your down payment and trade-in equity. The payment only means something if the price underneath it is right, so pick a car below to start from what buyers actually pay.
The negotiated price, before tax and fees.
Manufacturer cash applied to the price.
Pick a state, or enter your combined rate.
National median in verified CarWhere deals.
Average new-car APR at US commercial banks: 7.54% (60-month), 7.17% (72-month) — Federal Reserve G.19, Q3 2026 (preliminary). Your rate depends on credit.
Estimated monthly payment
$653.04/mo
60 months at 7.5% APR
- Vehicle price
- $35,000
- Sales tax
- $2,100
- Fees
- $490
- Out-the-door price
- $37,590
- Down payment + trade equity
- $5,000
- Amount financed
- $32,590
- Total interest
- $6,592
- Total cost
- $44,182
Total cost = out-the-door price + interest. Estimate only; your lender's figures govern.
Amortization schedule
Early payments are mostly interest; each payment shifts more toward principal as the balance falls.
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,581 | $2,255 | $27,009 |
| 2 | $6,015 | $1,822 | $20,994 |
| 3 | $6,482 | $1,355 | $14,512 |
| 4 | $6,985 | $852 | $7,527 |
| 5 | $7,527 | $309 | $0 |
Want the full out-the-door build-up for your state? Use the out-the-door price calculator.
How car payments are calculated
Auto loans are fully amortizing: the payment is fixed, and every month it covers that month's interest first, with the rest paying down the balance. The standard formula is:
Payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)
- P — amount financed (out-the-door price − down payment − trade-in equity; negative equity adds to it)
- r — monthly rate = APR ÷ 12 (7% APR → 0.5833% a month)
- n — number of monthly payments (60 for a 5-year loan)
At 0% APR there is no interest, so the payment is simply P ÷ n. In the first month of the $35,000 / 7% / 60-month example, interest is $204.17 and principal is $488.88; by the last payment almost all of it is principal.
How APR and loan term change what you pay
Monthly payment and total interest on $35,000 financed (computed with the formula above):
| APR | 48 months | 60 months | 72 months | 84 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | $806/mo $3,689 interest | $660/mo $4,630 interest | $564/mo $5,584 interest | $495/mo $6,554 interest |
| 7% | $838/mo $5,230 interest | $693/mo $6,583 interest | $597/mo $7,963 interest | $528/mo $9,372 interest |
| 9% | $871/mo $6,807 interest | $727/mo $8,593 interest | $631/mo $10,424 interest | $563/mo $12,302 interest |
Going from 60 to 84 months at 7% lowers the payment by $165 but adds $2,790 of interest. Two points of APR on a 60-month loan is worth about $2,010 — which is why it pays to arrive with a pre-approval and to know how dealer rate markups work.
Current average auto loan rates
The Federal Reserve's G.19 consumer credit release (published November 6, 2026) reports an average APR on new-car loans at commercial banks of 7.54% for 60 months and 7.17% for 72 months in Q3 2026 (preliminary), versus 7.14% and 6.97% in Q2 2026. These are averages of each bank's most common rate; your rate depends on your credit, the lender, new vs. used, and any manufacturer promotional financing.
How much to put down
A bigger down payment lowers the amount financed, the payment and the interest — and protects you from owing more than the car is worth early on, when depreciation is steepest. A common rule of thumb is about 20% down on a new car and 10% on a used one, or enough to cover tax and fees so you are not financing them. If you owe more on your trade-in than it is worth, that negative equity is added to the new loan; the calculator shows it, and paying it down in cash is usually cheaper than financing it again.
Payment vs. total price: negotiate the price first
“What monthly payment are you looking for?” is the question that lets a dealer move numbers around: a longer term or a slightly higher rate can absorb a higher price or add-ons while the payment stays put. Settle the out-the-door price in writing first (the out-the-door price calculator itemizes tax, title, registration and doc fees by state), then compare financing offers on that fixed number. To know whether the price itself is good, check what people paid, new-car prices by model and used car prices.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my car payment?
Multiply the amount you finance by the monthly interest rate (APR ÷ 12), then divide by 1 − (1 + monthly rate)^−months. The amount financed is the out-the-door price (price + tax + fees − rebates) minus your down payment and trade-in equity. Example: $35,000 financed at 7% APR for 60 months is about $693.04 a month, with $6,583 in total interest.
What is a good car payment?
A good car payment is one that comes from a good price, a competitive APR and a term you can pay off before the car loses most of its value — not just a low monthly number. Dealers can hit almost any monthly target by stretching the term, so agree on the out-the-door price first, then compare financing. A common budgeting guideline keeps total car costs (payment, insurance, fuel) to roughly 10–15% of take-home pay.
How much car can I afford?
Work backwards from the payment you can comfortably make. Pick your APR and a term of 60 months or less, find the loan amount that payment supports, then add your down payment and trade-in equity and subtract tax and fees — what is left is the vehicle price you can afford. Use the calculator above: adjust the price until the payment fits.
Is a 72-month loan a good idea?
Usually only if the APR is very low. A longer term lowers the payment but raises total interest and keeps you owing more than the car is worth for longer. At 7% on $35,000, a 60-month loan costs $6,583 in interest; stretching to 84 months cuts the payment from $693 to $528 but raises interest to $9,372.
How is car loan interest calculated?
Most US auto loans use simple interest on the remaining balance: each month, interest = balance × APR ÷ 12, and the rest of your fixed payment reduces the principal. Early payments are mostly interest; later payments are mostly principal. Paying extra toward principal lowers the interest charged in every month after it.
Sources & methodology
- Average new-car loan APRs: Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit — Terms of Credit (released November 6, 2026; Q3 2026 (preliminary)).
- New-car prices in “Pick a car” (73 models): what verified CarWhere buyers paid — the median MSRP less the median discount off MSRP in approved new-car purchase deals (leases excluded; at least 5 deals per model), as of Nov 8, 2026. See what people paid.
- Used-car prices (100 models): median asking price across active used and certified listings at US dealers from licensed vehicle-data providers, all model years, updated Nov 7, 2026. Asking prices, not sale prices. See used car prices.
- State sales tax rates, trade-in tax credit rules, tax caps, doc-fee caps, and title/registration fees: CarWhere's state car-buying data, reviewed against each state's revenue and motor-vehicle agency (the same data behind the out-the-door price calculator). Statewide rates only — county and city taxes may add to them.
- Default doc fees: median doc fee by state in 4,147 verified CarWhere deals (national median $490), capped at the state limit where one exists. See the dealer fee study.
- Method: standard fixed-rate amortization, payments monthly. Tax is applied to the pre-rebate price (minus the trade-in value where the state allows); fees are treated as paid through the loan unless covered by your down payment. Results are estimates — your lender's Truth in Lending disclosure governs.