Amortization Calculator

Generate complete loan amortization schedules with monthly and yearly breakdowns showing principal, interest, and remaining balance

Loan Summary

Monthly Payment
$1580.17
Total Payments
360
30 years
Total Interest
$318,861
128% of principal
Total Paid
$568,861

Yearly Amortization Summary

YearTotal PaymentPrincipalInterestEnding Balance
Year 1$18,962$2,794$16,168$247,206
Year 2$18,962$2,981$15,981$244,224
Year 3$18,962$3,181$15,781$241,043
Year 4$18,962$3,394$15,568$237,649
Year 5$18,962$3,621$15,341$234,027
Year 6$18,962$3,864$15,098$230,163
Year 7$18,962$4,123$14,839$226,041
Year 8$18,962$4,399$14,563$221,642
Year 9$18,962$4,694$14,269$216,948
Year 10$18,962$5,008$13,954$211,940
Year 11$18,962$5,343$13,619$206,597
Year 12$18,962$5,701$13,261$200,896
Year 13$18,962$6,083$12,879$194,813
Year 14$18,962$6,490$12,472$188,323
Year 15$18,962$6,925$12,037$181,398
Year 16$18,962$7,389$11,573$174,009
Year 17$18,962$7,884$11,078$166,126
Year 18$18,962$8,412$10,551$157,714
Year 19$18,962$8,975$9,987$148,739
Year 20$18,962$9,576$9,386$139,163
Year 21$18,962$10,217$8,745$128,946
Year 22$18,962$10,902$8,061$118,044
Year 23$18,962$11,632$7,330$106,413
Year 24$18,962$12,411$6,551$94,002
Year 25$18,962$13,242$5,720$80,760
Year 26$18,962$14,129$4,833$66,632
Year 27$18,962$15,075$3,887$51,557
Year 28$18,962$16,084$2,878$35,473
Year 29$18,962$17,162$1,800$18,311
Year 30$18,962$18,311$651$0

About This Tool

An amortization calculator creates a detailed payment schedule showing exactly how each loan payment is divided between principal and interest over the entire loan term. Understanding your amortization schedule is crucial for mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans, as it reveals the true cost of borrowing and how equity builds over time.

What is Loan Amortization?

Amortization is the process of gradually paying off a loan through regular, equal payments over time. Each payment covers both interest charges and principal reduction. In the early years of a loan, most of each payment goes toward interest because the principal balance is highest. As you continue making payments and the principal decreases, a larger portion of each payment goes toward principal. This is why you build equity slowly at first, then much faster in later years.

Reading Your Amortization Schedule

An amortization schedule shows every payment over your loan's life. For each period, you'll see: the payment number and date, total payment amount (which stays constant for fixed-rate loans), interest portion (which decreases over time), principal portion (which increases over time), and remaining balance. The cumulative totals show how much principal and interest you've paid to date. For a 30-year mortgage, you'll see all 360 payments laid out, making it easy to see exactly where you'll be at any point.

The Front-Loading of Interest

Many borrowers are surprised to learn how much of their early payments go toward interest rather than principal. For example, with a $250,000 mortgage at 6.5% for 30 years, your first payment of $1,580 includes $1,354 in interest and only $226 in principal - that's 86% interest! By year 15, the payment is about half interest and half principal. By year 25, only 24% goes to interest. This front-loading means you build equity slowly at first, which is important to understand if you plan to sell or refinance within the first 5-10 years.

Using Amortization for Financial Planning

Your amortization schedule is valuable for several reasons: it helps you understand how much interest you'll pay over the loan's life (often surprising!), shows exactly when you'll reach 20% equity to cancel PMI, reveals the benefit of making extra principal payments (you can see which future payments you're eliminating), helps you decide between different loan terms by comparing total interest paid, and assists with tax planning by showing deductible interest amounts. Many homeowners use their amortization schedule to plan strategic extra payments, targeting specific high-interest early payments to maximize savings.