Car loan calculator
Enter the car price, your trade in and deposit, the tax and the fees, and see the monthly payment, the amount financed and what the car costs in total.
Results
Monthly payment
0.00
The regular payment. A balloon is paid on top, with the last one.
- Monthly payment
- 0.00
- Amount financed
- 0.00
- Sales tax
- 0.00
- Total interest
- 0.00
- Total cost of the car
- 0.00
- Fees paid upfront
- 0.00
- Balloon due at the end
- 0.00
- Compared with no balloon
- -
- Number of payments
- 0
- Final payment date
- -
| Payment | Date | Paid | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
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For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
Last updated 2026-11-01. Method checked 2026-11-01. Methodology
This calculator starts from the price on the windshield, not from a loan amount. Enter the car price, the value of any trade in and the cash deposit, then the sales tax rate and any fees. Choose whether tax is charged on the full price or on the price after the trade in, and whether the fees are paid upfront or added to the loan. The tool works out the amount financed, the monthly payment, the interest and the total cost of the car. A balloon in the settings leaves a lump sum to pay at the end, and the result shows how much more interest that costs. It does not know a dealer's add ons, a lender's credit checks or a promotional rate, so compare the figures with the written offer. The sums run on your device, and the figures you enter stay there.
How to use the Car Loan Calculator
- Enter the car price, choose the currency, and enter the trade in value and the deposit.
- Enter the sales tax rate and pick whether it is charged on the full price or after the trade in. Tip: Enter 0 when the quoted price already includes tax, as many VAT and GST prices do.
- Enter the fees and choose whether you pay them now or add them to the loan.
- Enter the yearly rate and the term in months, or tap 36, 48, 60 or 72.
- Open the settings to add a balloon or a start date, then read the payment, the total cost and the schedule.
Worked example
A 5 year loan on a used car with a trade in. All figures are USD.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Car price | USD 30,000.00 |
| Trade in and deposit | USD 5,000.00 and USD 3,000.00 |
| Sales tax | 8% on the full price |
| Fees | USD 500.00, added to the loan |
| Rate and term | 6.9% a year, 60 monthly payments |
Sales tax = 30,000 x 8% = USD 2,400.00 Amount financed = 30,000 - 5,000 - 3,000 + 2,400 + 500 = USD 24,900.00 Monthly rate r = 6.9% / 12 = 0.575% = 0.00575, n = 60, (1.00575)^60 = 1.410595 Payment = 24,900 x 0.00575 x 1.410595 / 0.410595 = USD 491.88 First month: interest 24,900 x 0.00575 = USD 143.18, principal USD 348.70, balance USD 24,551.30 Payments: 59 of USD 491.88 and a final USD 491.61 = USD 29,512.53, so interest = USD 4,612.53 Total cost = 3,000 + 5,000 + 29,512.53 = USD 37,512.53, which is 30,000 + 2,400 + 500 + 4,612.53
- Monthly payment
- USD 491.88
- Amount financed
- USD 24,900.00
- Sales tax
- USD 2,400.00
- Total interest
- USD 4,612.53
- Total cost of the car
- USD 37,512.53
Interest is rounded to the cent each month, so the last payment is USD 0.27 lower than the others and the balance ends at exactly 0. ASIC's Moneysmart personal loan calculator gives 492 a month and 29,513 of repayments for the same 24,900 at 6.9% over 5 years, the same figures to the dollar.
How the car loan payment is calculated
Tax T = price x t, or (price - trade in) x t
Amount financed A = price - trade in - deposit + T (+ fees when financed)
Payment M = (A - B / (1 + r)^n) x r x (1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n - 1)
Total cost = deposit + trade in + every payment + B + fees paid upfront
Here t is the sales tax rate as a decimal, r is the yearly rate divided by 12, n is the number of monthly payments and B is the balloon. With no balloon B is 0 and the formula is the standard reducing balance payment, the same one the loan calculator uses on the amount financed. Tax is rounded once to the cent.
The tax base is a choice because tax rules differ. When the trade in is taken off before tax, only the difference between the price and the trade in is taxed. When it is not, tax is charged on the whole price and the trade in only reduces the loan. A trade in worth more than the price gives no tax below 0.
A balloon B is money still owed after the last regular payment. Its value today is B / (1 + r)^n, so the regular payments only need to repay A less that amount. The result is the same payment as repaying A - B over the term plus B x r of interest on the balloon every month. Each month, interest is the balance times r, rounded to the cent, and the rest of the payment reduces the balance. The last regular payment absorbs the rounding so the balance is exactly B, and the balloon is the final row of the schedule.
The comparison line runs the same loan without a balloon. It shows how much more interest the balloon costs and what the payment would be. On the example, a USD 7,500.00 balloon lowers the payment from USD 491.88 to USD 386.85 and adds USD 1,198.21 of interest.
Total cost adds everything paid for the car: the deposit, the trade in value, each payment, the balloon, and fees when they are paid upfront. Financed fees are already inside the payments. Dealer add ons, insurance, a negative equity trade in and a variable rate are not modeled, and the rate is the nominal yearly rate, not an APR that includes fees.
Frequently asked questions
How is the amount financed on a car loan worked out?
Start with the car price, take off the trade in value and the deposit, then add the sales tax and any fees you choose to finance. On a 30,000 car with a 5,000 trade in, a 3,000 deposit, 8% tax on the price and 500 of fees, the amount financed is 24,900. Interest is charged on that whole figure, so tax and fees added to the loan cost interest too.
Is sales tax charged before or after the trade in?
It depends on where the car is registered. Some tax authorities take the trade in off the price first, so you pay tax only on the difference. Others tax the full price and give no credit for the trade in. On a 30,000 car with a 5,000 trade in at 8%, the first way gives 2,000 of tax and the second 2,400. Pick the option your tax authority uses.
What is a balloon payment on a car loan?
A balloon, also called a residual, is a lump sum left owing at the end of the term. The regular payments repay the rest of the loan and pay interest on the balloon every month, so they are lower. Because the balloon is never paid down until the end, it earns interest the whole time, and the total interest is higher than on the same loan without one.
What changes when fees are added to the loan?
Added to the loan, fees are repaid over the term with interest. Paid upfront, they cost only their face value. On the 24,900 example at 6.9% over 60 months, financing 500 of fees adds about 9.88 a month and 92.59 of interest in total. The total cost line includes the fees either way, so the two choices can be set side by side.
Does a longer term make a car cheaper?
No. A longer term lowers the monthly payment but adds interest, because the balance stays higher for longer. 24,900 at 6.9% costs 491.88 a month over 60 months and 374.59 a month over 84 months, with 1,953.19 more interest. Use the term presets to compare 36, 48, 60 and 72 months on the same car.
Guides for this tool
Sources
- ASIC Moneysmart: car loans, including balloon payments checked 2026-11-01
- ASIC Moneysmart personal loan calculator (payment check for the worked example) checked 2026-11-01