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Car loan calculator with sales tax and trade-in

Estimate the monthly payment, total interest and amount financed on a fixed-rate auto loan, with a down payment, trade-in, sales tax and fees.

By Fintrivex Updated Sources

Inputs

Purchase

Applied to the vehicle price and financed with the loan.

Title, registration or dealer fees added to the loan.

Loan

Estimated monthly payment

$585.42

$29,920.00 financed at 6.50% for 60 months

  • Amount financed $29,920.00
  • Interest $5,205.15

Breakdown

Vehicle price
$32,000.00
Sales tax
$1,920.00
Fees
$0.00
Down payment and trade-in
$4,000.00
Amount financed
$29,920.00
Monthly payment
$585.42
Total interest
$5,205.15
Total paid on the loan
$35,125.15
Total outlay with down payment and trade-in
$39,125.15

What changes

  • Interest adds $5,205.15 to the $29,920.00 borrowed over 5 years.
Loan balance over time

Scrub across years to read values

Year 5: $0.00

  • Loan balance

Year-by-year balance

YearPrincipalInterestBalance
1$5,234.34$1,790.70$24,685.66
2$5,584.91$1,440.13$19,100.75
3$5,958.93$1,066.11$13,141.82
4$6,358.03$667.01$6,783.79
5$6,783.79$241.20$0.00
  • Sales tax is applied to the vehicle price entered and added to the amount financed. Tax rules, fees and trade-in treatment differ by location and lender.
  • The rate is a nominal annual rate. Interest is charged monthly on the unpaid balance and rounded to the cent. The final payment clears the remaining balance.
  • This is an educational estimate. A lender quote controls the actual payment.

Estimated monthly payment

$585.42

See breakdown

What to check next

How it works

What this calculation includes

A car loan is a fixed-rate installment loan. Each month, interest is charged on the unpaid balance at the annual rate divided by 12. The scheduled payment is the level amount that brings the balance to zero after the last month.

The amount financed starts with the vehicle price. Sales tax and any financed fees are added, and the down payment and trade-in value are subtracted. A $30,000 loan at 6% over 60 months has a payment of $579.98.

The year-by-year table shows how much of each year’s payments went to principal and interest. Total outlay adds the down payment and trade-in value to everything paid on the loan.

Fixed-rate monthly payment

M = P × r ⁢ ( 1 + r ) n ( 1 + r ) n − 1

In words The monthly car payment is the amount financed times a factor built from the monthly rate and the loan term in months.

M
Monthly loan payment
P
Amount financed after down payment, trade-in, tax and fees
r
Monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12)
n
Number of monthly payments

If r = 0, M = P ÷ n.

Example

  • Loan amount P: $300,000.00
  • Annual rate: 6.50%
  • Term: 30 years (360 months)
  1. r = 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.541667% per month
  2. n = 30 × 12 = 360
  3. M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1)

Monthly payment M: $1,896.20

Worked example

Using the default inputs on this page.

Vehicle price
$32,000.00
Down payment
$4,000.00
Trade-in value
$0.00
Sales tax
6.00%
Fees financed
$0.00
Annual interest rate
6.50%
Loan term (months)
60

Estimated monthly payment

$585.42

$29,920.00 financed at 6.50% for 60 months

Questions

What is the amount financed?

The vehicle price plus sales tax and fees, minus the down payment and trade-in value. It cannot go below zero.

How is sales tax handled?

It is figured as a percent of the vehicle price you enter and added to the amount financed. Tax rules and trade-in treatment vary by location, so adjust the percent to match a quote.

Why can the last payment differ by a few cents?

Interest is rounded to the cent each month. The final payment clears the remaining balance, so it can differ slightly from the scheduled payment.

What happens at a zero rate?

There is no interest, and the payment is the amount financed divided by the number of months.

Sources

Methodology and worked examples