Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
Estimate your minimum payment under common formulas — and what paying only the minimum every month could cost.
Updated · Published · Built by Ali Ahmad, Founder
Calculation method: This calculator uses a simplified monthly-interest model (APR ÷ 12). Credit-card issuers may calculate interest using daily periodic rates and average daily balances, so your actual statement may differ. See our methodology.
Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
Common minimum-payment formulas include a percentage of the balance, interest plus a percentage of principal, or a combination of these methods, often with a fixed dollar floor. Your cardholder agreement determines the actual formula. The calculator above estimates your minimum under common formulas and shows how long paying only the minimum could take.
Your minimum payment is the smallest amount your issuer will accept without a late fee — and it's set low. Understanding how it's calculated, and what happens if you never pay more than it, is one of the most useful things to know about your card. To see how much of any fixed payment goes to interest, use the Credit Card Interest Calculator.
How the Calculator Works
Pick your card issuer to load its standard formula, or choose a formula yourself, then enter your balance, APR, the percentage your card uses, and its dollar floor. The calculator offers two common structures:
- Interest + 1% of balance: this month's estimated interest plus 1% of the balance, compared with the percentage you enter, whichever is greater.
- Flat percentage: a fixed percentage of the balance.
Either result is raised to the dollar floor if it falls below it. The calculator then simulates paying only the recalculated minimum each month — the minimum shrinks as the balance shrinks — and reports the payoff time, total interest, and total paid.
The issuer presets use each issuer's standard published formula, listed below. Your specific card may use a different percentage, add fees or past-due amounts, or combine methods differently.
Minimum Payment Formulas by Card Issuer
Each issuer publishes its formula in its cardmember agreement. These are the standard formulas for the issuers' most common consumer cards; individual products can differ. Each also adds any past-due amount, and most add late fees billed that month.
| Issuer | Minimum payment is the greater of |
|---|---|
| Chase | $40, or 1% of the new balance plus interest and late fees (agreement) |
| Citi | $41, or 1% of the balance (rounded to the nearest dollar) plus billed interest (agreement) |
| Discover | $35; 2% of the new balance; or $20 plus interest and late fees (agreement) |
| Capital One | $25, or 1% of the balance plus new interest and late fees (agreement) |
| American Express | $40; 2% of the new balance; or interest plus 1% of the new balance, then penalty fees added (Blue Cash Everyday agreement) |
Formulas checked October 4, 2026. Older agreements may use a lower floor (for example, $25 on some older Chase agreements). Your statement shows your exact minimum.
Minimum Payment on $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000
| Balance | Chase | Citi | Discover | Capital One | Amex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $40.00 | $41.00 | $39.99 | $29.99 | $40.00 |
| $2,500 | $74.98 | $74.98 | $69.98 | $74.98 | $74.98 |
| $5,000 | $149.96 | $149.96 | $119.96 | $149.96 | $149.96 |
| $10,000 | $299.92 | $299.92 | $219.92 | $299.92 | $299.92 |
Paying only that minimum every month, as it shrinks with the balance, takes a long time. With the Chase-style formula (interest + 1%, $40 floor) at 23.99% APR:
| Balance | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 35 months | $400 |
| $2,500 | 119 months (about 10 years) | $3,217 |
| $5,000 | 187 months (about 15.5 years) | $8,215 |
| $10,000 | 256 months (about 21 years) | $18,211 |
A lower minimum is not a better deal: Discover's $20-plus-interest formula gives the smallest payment above, but on $10,000 it would take about 41 years and more than $50,000 in interest at this APR. Pick your issuer in the calculator to see your own numbers, or see how every issuer compares in our 2026 minimum payment study.
Formula
Flat: Minimum = Balance × P%
Either way: Minimum = max(Minimum, Dollar Floor)
This is a simplified estimate, not an issuer-specific statement calculation. Interest here uses the monthly model (APR ÷ 12).
Example: $3,500 at 23.99% APR, minimum payments only
Using the interest-plus-1% formula with a 2% comparison and a $25 floor, the first minimum is about $104.97: roughly $69.97 of interest plus $35 (1% of the balance). As the balance falls, so does the minimum — which is why payoff stretches out.
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $104.97 | $69.97 | $35.00 | $3,465.00 |
| 2 | $103.92 | $69.27 | $34.65 | $3,430.35 |
| 3 | $102.88 | $68.58 | $34.30 | $3,396.05 |
| 12 | $93.98 | $62.65 | $31.34 | $3,102.35 |
| 60 | $58.02 | $38.67 | $19.34 | $1,915.05 |
| 120 | $31.74 | $21.16 | $10.58 | $1,047.83 |
| 180 | $25.00 | $7.92 | $17.08 | $379.09 |
| 199 (final) | $6.20 | $0.12 | $6.08 | $0.00 |
Paying only the minimum, this balance takes about 199 months (16 years, 7 months) to clear, with roughly $5,884 in interest — more than the original $3,500.
What If You Keep Paying the First Minimum?
The calculator also shows what happens if you keep paying this month's minimum as a fixed amount instead of letting it shrink. In the example above, paying $104.97 every month clears the $3,500 in 56 months (4 years, 8 months) with about $2,325 in interest, instead of 199 months and $5,884. Same starting payment, about $3,559 less interest, and almost 12 years sooner.
| Plan | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| Pay the recalculated minimum each month | 199 months (16 years, 7 months) | $5,884 |
| Keep paying the first minimum ($104.97) | 56 months (4 years, 8 months) | $2,325 |
The same holds for larger balances: in our 2026 minimum payment study, holding a $5,000 balance's first $142.29 minimum fixed (Chase's formula at 22.15% APR, the Fed's Q2 2026 average, used for this study) cuts payoff from 15 years and 4 months to 4 years and 10 months.
When the Result May Differ
Treat the results as a planning estimate. Your real numbers can differ because of:
- Daily periodic rate: many issuers apply APR ÷ 365 (or 360) each day instead of APR ÷ 12 once a month, which can produce different interest.
- Average daily balance: your balance moves during the cycle as purchases post and payments arrive; this calculator uses a single month-start balance.
- Fees: annual, late, foreign-transaction, cash-advance, and balance-transfer fees aren't included unless the calculator asks for them.
- New purchases: the estimate assumes you stop adding charges. Any new spending lengthens payoff and raises interest.
- Different APR categories: purchases, balance transfers, cash advances, and penalty APRs can carry different rates on the same card, and how payments are allocated between them affects the total.
- Your card's actual formula: percentages, floors, and whether fees, past-due amounts, or over-limit amounts are added vary by card and are set out in your cardholder agreement.
- Rounding and statement timing: issuers may round the minimum and calculate it from your statement balance rather than a month-start balance.
Your statement and cardholder agreement are the final word. See our methodology for how every calculator on this site works.
Where to Find Your Actual Minimum
Your real minimum payment is printed on every statement, and the formula is in your cardholder agreement (look for the section on minimum payment calculation). U.S. card statements must also include a minimum payment warning showing about how long payoff would take, and what it would cost, if you paid only the minimum (Regulation Z § 1026.7(b)(12)). To see how much a bigger payment would help, use the Extra Payment Savings Calculator, or compare the two extremes in pay in full vs. minimum payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a credit card minimum payment calculated?
Common minimum-payment formulas include a percentage of the balance, interest plus a percentage of principal, or a combination of these methods, often with a fixed dollar floor. Your cardholder agreement determines the actual formula. This calculator lets you model two common structures.
Why is my minimum payment so low compared to my balance?
Minimums are usually a small percentage of the balance, so on a high-APR card much of the minimum goes to interest and only a small amount reduces the principal. That keeps the payment affordable but makes payoff slow.
What happens if I only ever pay the minimum?
Payoff can take many years and cost more in interest than the original balance. In this calculator's example, $3,500 at 23.99% APR takes about 16½ years to repay at the minimum, with roughly $5,900 in interest. Compare against a fixed higher payment with the Credit Card Payoff Calculator.
Where can I find my card's actual minimum payment formula?
It's in your cardholder agreement, usually in the section describing how the minimum payment is calculated. Your statement shows the resulting minimum amount due each month.
Does my minimum payment change every month?
Usually, yes. Because it's typically based on your statement balance (and sometimes that month's interest), the minimum falls as your balance falls and rises if you add charges. Fees and past-due amounts may also be added.
What happens if I pay less than the minimum?
The payment would generally be treated as late, which can mean a late fee, a possible penalty APR depending on your card's terms, and a negative mark on your credit report if it's 30 or more days past due.
What is the minimum payment on a $10,000 credit card balance?
With the common formula of interest plus 1% of the balance, at 23.99% APR it is about $300 for the first month (roughly $200 of interest plus $100 of principal). Paying only the minimum from there would take about 21 years and cost about $18,200 in interest under this calculator's simplified monthly model.
How do Chase, Citi, and Discover calculate the minimum payment?
Chase uses the greater of $40 or 1% of the balance plus interest and late fees. Citi uses the greater of $41 or 1% of the balance plus billed interest. Discover uses the greatest of $35, 2% of the balance, or $20 plus interest and late fees. Formulas can vary by card, so your cardmember agreement is the final word.
Does this calculator match my issuer's formula?
Choose Chase, Citi, Discover, Capital One, or American Express to load that issuer's standard published formula, or set your own. It will match only if your card uses that structure. Percentages, dollar floors, and whether fees are included vary by card, and the calculator uses a simplified monthly-interest model (APR ÷ 12), so treat the result as an estimate.
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Most results use a simplified monthly-interest model (APR ÷ 12); your card issuer may use a daily periodic rate and average daily balance, plus its own fees and grace period rules, so your actual figures may differ — always confirm against your official statement.
Sources
- Regulation Z § 1026.7(b)(12) – minimum payment warning on statements — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Checked September 25, 2026.
- Regulation Z § 1026.55 – limits on raising APRs, including the 60-days-late rule — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Checked September 25, 2026.