Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
Estimate how a credit card minimum payment may be calculated, compare the estimate with the minimum shown on your statement, and see what can happen when the required payment shrinks as the balance falls.
Your numbers
Example loaded: $5,000 at 24% APR using a common estimate of 1% of the balance plus estimated interest. The estimate uses a $40 minimum-payment floor for today's minimum and the payoff projection unless you enter a different floor under Advanced.
Payment details
Statement details
Advanced / customize formula
What this calculator can show you
This tool estimates your current minimum, shows what drives it, and compares a declining minimum with keeping today's payment fixed and a 3-year payoff. Common estimates use a $40 minimum-payment floor unless you override it under Advanced, and an entered statement minimum is used for the fixed-payment comparison; issuer formulas can differ.
Results
Why this amount?
Current minimum payment breakdown
The bar estimates how today's selected payment is divided among interest, entered fees, and balance reduction. Formula floors, rounding, past-due amounts, and promotional requirements affect the required payment but are shown separately below. Actual issuer payment allocation can differ.
Minimum due vs. amount to avoid interest
The selected benchmark for this billing cycle.
Often the statement balance when a purchase grace period applies.
*Your card's terms control. Cash advances, balance transfers, carried balances, promotional offers, and a lost grace period can be treated differently.
How different payment strategies compare
Let the minimum decline
Future minimums recalculate from the remaining balance using your selected formula structure and floor.
Keep today's minimum fixed
Instead of letting the payment shrink, this comparison keeps today's selected payment level until payoff.
Target a 3-year payoff
This is a simplified fixed-payment estimate for 36 months. Your statement's federally required disclosure may use a more detailed regulatory method.
How your payment strategy changes payoff time
How the minimum changes over time
| Month | Starting balance | Interest | Balance after interest | Projected minimum | Principal | Ending balance |
|---|
Month 1 is the next projected billing cycle. The projection assumes no new purchases, no new fees, no past-due amount, and no new promotional payment requirement; the current-cycle statement adjustments above aren't repeated automatically.
Turn the required minimum into a payoff decision
Use the minimum as a reference point, then compare a payment you can keep fixed or test how much a higher amount changes the payoff.
How credit card minimum-payment formulas differ
There's no single universal minimum-payment formula. The CFPB's 2025 Consumer Credit Card Market Report describes issuer policies that commonly compare a dollar floor with percentage-based calculations and notes that formulas can vary across issuers and products.
Percentage of balance
A simple structure takes a stated percentage of the balance and compares it with a dollar floor. The balance itself drives most of the month-to-month change.
Percentage + interest + fees
Another common structure adds a percentage component to billed interest and certain fees, then compares the result with a floor. The exact percentage base and included charges depend on the agreement.
Statement-specific additions
Past-due amounts or special promotional repayment requirements can increase the amount due even when the ordinary formula would produce a smaller number.
Chase currently says that, in most cases, its minimum payment is the greater of $40 or 1% of the statement balance plus interest and late fees, with the total balance due when it is below $40. Other issuers and products can use different terms.
Why your minimum payment can change
A changing minimum doesn't necessarily mean the issuer changed the formula. If the formula depends on balance, interest, or fees, the payment can move even when the underlying terms stay the same.
The balance changed
A percentage-based component usually falls as the balance falls and rises when the statement balance increases.
Interest or fees changed
A formula that explicitly adds billed interest or eligible fees can increase even if the principal balance did not change much.
The floor took over
Once the percentage formula falls below the dollar floor, the minimum can stop shrinking until the remaining balance itself drops below the floor.
Why the 3-year amount appears on many credit card statements
Federal periodic-statement rules generally require a minimum-payment warning and repayment disclosures for open-end credit card accounts, including an estimated payment for repaying the balance in 36 months, subject to exceptions. The CFPB's Regulation Z periodic-statement rule also addresses what issuers must show when minimum-payment assumptions create no or negative amortization.
This calculator's 3-year number is intentionally simpler: it uses the balance, APR, and the selected billing-cycle interest assumption in a fixed-payment amortization formula. Treat it as a comparison point, not as a promise that it will match the amount printed on your statement.
FAQ
How is a credit card minimum payment calculated?
The formula depends on the issuer and card agreement. Common structures include a percentage of the statement balance with a dollar floor, or a percentage component plus billed interest and certain fees. Past-due amounts or special promotional requirements can also increase the amount due.
Why did my credit card minimum payment change?
The statement balance, billed interest, fees, past-due amount, promotional requirement, or dollar floor may have changed. If your formula is balance-based, the minimum can also decline simply because the balance is lower.
Is the minimum payment the amount I need to pay to avoid interest?
Usually not. The minimum is the amount required to satisfy the minimum-payment obligation. If a purchase grace period applies, avoiding purchase interest can require paying the full balance specified by the card's terms, often the statement balance. Other balance types can be treated differently.
Why does my statement show a payment amount that would pay off the balance in 3 years?
Federal statement rules generally require repayment disclosures that help compare minimum-only repayment with a 36-month repayment amount, subject to exceptions. This calculator gives a simplified 36-cycle fixed-payment estimate using the selected billing-cycle interest assumption, so it may not exactly match the issuer's disclosure.
Can a minimum payment be too low to pay off the card?
Under some assumptions, yes. If the payment doesn't stay above the interest being added, the balance doesn't decrease. This calculator flags that situation instead of inventing a payoff date.
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