How To Calculate A Monthly Payment On A Loan (2024)

When you use an installment loan, you’ll repay the amount you’ve borrowed (the principal) over a set amount of time (the repayment term). You’ll also have to pay interest and fees, both of which make up the loan’s annual percentage rate (APR).

The principal, loan term and APR are the three main components of your monthly payment. And by knowing each, you’ll be able to calculate how much your installments will be using a loan calculator or a mathematical formula. We’ll explain the math below, but you can also use our Simple Loan Calculator to get an idea of your monthly payment.

Monthly Loan Payment Formula

Depending on the type of personal loan you choose, you can use three formulas to determine the monthly payment. Before you can use a formula, you’ll need to know the loan type and the variables mentioned above. They’ll be represented by the following:

  • P: The loan’s principal or the total amount of money you’ve borrowed
  • r: The loan’s APR or the annual rate (the APR spread over 12 months)
  • n: The number of payments you’ll make over a specific time frame

Interest-Only Loans

An interest-only loan uses a period at the beginning of the term when the borrower only pays interest. After the interest-only period ends, the borrower will pay the principal in installments or as a single lump sum.

Interest-only personal loans are rare, but if you end up using this option, you can calculate the monthly interest payment with this formula:

Monthly Payment = (P × r) ∕ n

Again, “P” represents your principal amount, and “r” is your APR. However, “n” in this equation is the number of payments you’ll make over a year.

Now for an example. Let’s say you get an interest-only personal loan for $10,000 with an APR of 3.5% and a 60-month repayment term. You can use the following steps to calculate your interest-only monthly payment:

  1. Multiply the principal by the APR. Take $10,000 and multiply it by your APR, 3.5%. You should get $350 as your annual interest amount.
  2. Divide your annual interest by the number of payments. Divide $350 by the number of payments you’ll make in a year. For this scenario, you’ll make 12 payments. You should get $29.17 as your interest-only monthly payment.

Amortizing Loans

Unlike an interest-only loan, an amortizing loan payment goes toward both the interest and principal amount. That means you’ll be paying off the loan in equal monthly installments over the repayment term.

The formula for calculating the monthly payment on an amortizing personal loan is:

Monthly Payment = P ((r (1+r)n) ∕ ((1+r)n−1))

Let’s use the previous example, but this time, the personal loan you get is amortizing. The principal (P) is $10,000, the APR is 3.5% and you have a 60-month repayment term (n). With this formula, “r” stands for the annual rate, not the APR. You can use these steps to find the monthly payment:

  1. Divide your APR by 12 months to get your annual interest rate (r). Divide 0.035 by 12 to get 0.002917.
  2. Fill out the formula. You can now plug your loan information into the above equation. You should have $10,000((0.002917(1+0.002917)60) ∕ ((1+0.002917)60−1)).
  3. Solve the equations inside the first set of parentheses. You should end up with $10,000((0.002917 × 1.00291760) ∕ (1.00291760−1).
  4. Solve the exponentials. Calculate 1.00291760 to get 1.190967. The formula is now $10,000((0.002917 × 1.190967) ∕ (1.190967−1)).
  5. Solve the equations in the second set of parentheses. First, multiply 0.002917 by 1.190967 to get 0.003474. Then you can subtract 1 from 1.190967 to get 0.190967 for the other half of the equation. Your formula should look like $10,000(0.003474 ∕ 0.190967).
  6. Divide the numbers in the final set of parentheses. Take 0.003474 divided by 0.190967 to get 0.018192.
  7. Multiply the loan principal by the total. You will then multiply $10,000 by 0.018192 to get your monthly payment, $181.92.

At this point, you can also use a loan calculator to make an amortization schedule for your loan. This extra step can help you visualize how your loan will be repaid over the length of the term.

How To Calculate A Monthly Payment On A Loan (2024)

FAQs

How To Calculate A Monthly Payment On A Loan? ›

The formula is: M = P [ i(1 + i)^n ] / [ (1 + i)^n – 1], where M is the monthly payment, P is the loan amount, i is the interest rate (divided by 12) and n is the number of monthly payments.

What is the formula to calculate monthly payments on a loan? ›

The formula is: M = P [ i(1 + i)^n ] / [ (1 + i)^n – 1], where M is the monthly payment, P is the loan amount, i is the interest rate (divided by 12) and n is the number of monthly payments.

How do you calculate equal monthly payments on a loan? ›

The EMI amount is calculated by adding the total principal of the loan and the total interest on the principal together, then dividing the sum by the number of EMI payments, which is the number of months during the loan term.

What is the formula for monthly installment of a loan? ›

EMI Calculation Formula with Example

The lending institution has offered a loan with an annual interest rate of 7.2% for a tenure of 10 years. EMI = Rs 10,00,000 * 0.006 * (1 + 0.006)120 / ((1 + 0.006)120 – 1) = Rs 11,714. Hence, you will be paying the EMI of Rs 11,714 every month for 10 years.

How do you calculate your first monthly payment on a loan? ›

How to Calculate First Month's Principal Payment
  1. First, convert your annual interest rate from a percentage into a decimal format by diving it by 100: ...
  2. Next, divide this number by 12 to calculate the monthly interest rate: ...
  3. Now, multiple this number by the total principal.

How do you calculate monthly amount? ›

Divide your salary or multiply your hourly wages

If you earn an annual salary, you can take the total value of your salary and divide it by 12, the number of months in the year, to find your gross monthly income.

What is the formula to calculate monthly principal payment? ›

The formula for calculating the monthly principal payment for your business is as follows: a / {[(1+r)^n]-1]} / [r(1+r)^n] = p. In this, "a" stands for the total loan amount, "r" for the periodic interest rate, "n" for the total number of payment periods, and "p" for the monthly payment.

How do you calculate monthly payment factor? ›

The loan factor formula is X=Y*F, where Y is the principal of the loan, F is the factor, and X is the final principal and interest due. Once final principal and interest are calculated, monthly factor rate payments are found simply by dividing the entire final repayment amount by 12 (for a yearly repayment period).

How do you find the monthly installment? ›

The EMI consists of two parts: the principal, which is the amount of money borrowed, and the interest, which is the cost of borrowing the money. The formula for calculating EMI is EMI = P x r x (1+r)^n/[(1+r)^n-1], where P is the principal, r is the interest rate, and n is the number of installments.

What is the formula for simple interest monthly payment? ›

Simple Interest is calculated using the following formula: SI = P × R × T, where P = Principal, R = Rate of Interest, and T = Time period. Here, the rate is given in percentage (r%) is written as r/100.

What is the formula for the monthly payment of a loan? ›

Monthly Payment = (P × r) ∕ n

Again, “P” represents your principal amount, and “r” is your APR. However, “n” in this equation is the number of payments you'll make over a year. Now for an example. Let's say you get an interest-only personal loan for $10,000 with an APR of 3.5% and a 60-month repayment term.

How to calculate monthly pay? ›

Here is the formula for determining your “gross monthly income”: Multiply the hourly amount (for example $14/hr.) by the number of hours worked (40 hrs./week is a full-time schedule) by 52 weeks in a year and then divide that amount by 12. This means your “gross monthly income” is $2426.66/mos.

How to calculate monthly installment payment? ›

The equation to find the monthly payment for an installment loan is called the Equal Monthly Installment (EMI) formula. It is defined by the equation Monthly Payment = P (r(1+r)^n)/((1+r)^n-1). The other methods listed also use EMI to calculate the monthly payment. r: Interest rate.

What is the formula for monthly rate? ›

To calculate a monthly interest rate, divide the annual rate by 12 to reflect the 12 months in the year.

What is the formula for monthly payment compounded monthly? ›

The monthly compound interest formula is used to find the compound interest per month. The formula of monthly compound interest is: CI = P(1 + (r/12) )12t - P where, P is the principal amount, r is the interest rate in decimal form, and t is the time.

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