Minimum payment only credit card calculator

Key takeaway: A minimum payment isn't a fixed number — it's usually a percent of your current balance, recalculated every month. That's the mechanic that makes minimum-payment-only debt take years or decades: the payment shrinks in lockstep with the balance instead of staying put.

Why is minimum-only payoff so different from a fixed payment?

Every other calculator on this site assumes a payment that stays the same every month. This one doesn't, because that's not how minimum payments actually work: issuers set the minimum as a percent of your current balance (commonly 1–3%), floored at a small dollar amount. As your balance drops, the required minimum drops too — so instead of a fixed monthly attack on the balance, you get a payment that decays right along with it, which is precisely why "just paying the minimum" so often stretches into decades. If you want to see what a fixed extra payment on top would do instead, try the extra payments calculator.

When does the dollar floor start to matter?

Early on, when the balance is large, the percent-based amount is well above the floor and drives the payment. As the balance shrinks month over month, the percent-based amount shrinks with it — until it dips below the floor, at which point the floor takes over and the payoff actually accelerates a little at the very end. That crossover is visible in the schedule below: watch the payment column flatten out once the floor kicks in.

How we calculate this

Each month, we calculate interest on your current balance, then set the payment due to whichever is larger: your minimum percent applied to the balance plus that interest, or your dollar floor. That payment is applied, and the process repeats on the new, lower balance — so both the interest charge and the required payment shrink together as the balance comes down.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the minimum payment keep shrinking as my balance drops?

Most issuers calculate the minimum as a percent of your current balance, not a fixed dollar amount, so it's recalculated every month. As the balance shrinks, the required minimum shrinks with it — which is exactly why payoff drags on for years.

What is the dollar floor for?

Issuers don't let the minimum drop below a set dollar amount (often $25–$35) no matter how small your balance gets. Once your balance is small enough that the percent-based amount would fall under that floor, the floor takes over and finishes the payoff faster.

Why does my card statement show a specific number of years to pay off the minimum?

Federal law (the CARD Act) requires issuers to disclose exactly this — how long you'd take to pay off your current balance at the minimum, and the total interest it would cost — in a box on every statement. This calculator reproduces that same math.

Sources

• Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit report (Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit report, as of 2026-05-01)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is my minimum payment based on?