Car Loan Payment Calculator

Enter Calculation

Car Price ($)

Sales Tax (%)

Down Payment ($)

Trade-In Value ($)

Loan Term

Loan Term Unit months years

Interest Rate (% annual)

Formula

Show calculation steps (1)

1. Monthly Payment

   

   Standard amortizing loan payment, where i is the monthly rate and n is the number of months.

Results

Monthly Payment

$549.15

per month

Actual Loan Amount	$29,100.00
Sales Tax Amount	$2,100.00
Total of Payments	$32,949.17
Total Interest	$3,849.17

What is the Car Loan Payment Calculator?

This tool estimates the monthly payment for an auto loan and the actual amount you will finance. It accounts for the car price, sales tax, your down payment, any trade-in credit, the loan term and the annual interest rate. Sales tax handling follows the common US convention (tax applied to the full car price), but the underlying amortization math is universal and works for any currency.

The amount financed equals price plus sales tax minus down payment and trade-in value.

How to use it

Enter the car price and your local sales tax rate as a percent. Add your down payment and trade-in value (leave blank if none). Choose the loan term and whether it is in months or years, then enter the annual interest rate. The calculator returns your monthly payment along with the financed loan amount, sales tax charged, total of all payments and total interest paid.

The formula explained

First, the financed principal is computed as \(L = \text{price} \times (1 + t) - \text{down payment} - \text{trade-in}\), where t is the tax rate as a fraction. The monthly interest rate is \(i = (\text{annual rate} / 100) / 12\) and the number of payments is \(n\) months. The monthly payment uses the amortizing loan formula

$$M = \frac{L \cdot i \cdot (1+i)^n}{(1+i)^n - 1}$$

When the interest rate is zero, the payment is simply \(L / n\).

Each payment covers part of the principal plus interest on the remaining balance.

Worked example

Car price $30,000, sales tax 7%, down payment $3,000, no trade-in, 60-month term at 5% annual interest. Tax = $2,100, so \(L = 30{,}000 + 2{,}100 - 3{,}000 = 29{,}100\). With \(i = 0.0041667\) and \(n = 60\), the monthly payment is about $549.16. Total of payments ≈ $32,949.17 and total interest ≈ $3,849.17.

FAQ

Is sales tax reduced by my trade-in? Not in this tool — tax is charged on the full car price. Some US states tax price minus trade-in, so check your state's rules.

What if my down payment and trade-in cover the car? If the financed amount is zero or negative, the loan amount and monthly payment are shown as zero.

Does this include fees or insurance? No. It covers price, tax and financing only. Add dealer fees to the price field if you want them financed.