Amortization Calculator

An amortization schedule shows you exactly how every payment on a loan is split between interest and principal, and how the remaining balance shrinks over time. It's the most useful tool for understanding what you're actually paying for: at the start of a 30-year mortgage, the bulk of each payment is interest. By the end, almost all of it is principal.

If your only question is "what's my monthly payment", the Mortgage Calculator is faster. But if you want to see the year-by-year picture — how much equity you'll have built in five years, how extra payments would shorten the loan, what happens if you refinance — the amortization schedule is the right tool.

$250,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years:

• Monthly payment: $1,580
• Month 1: ~$1,354 interest + ~$226 principal
• Year 5: ~$1,224 interest + ~$356 principal
• Year 15: ~$793 interest + ~$787 principal (the crossover point)
• Year 30 final payment: ~$8 interest + ~$1,572 principal
• Total interest paid over 30 years: $318,861

• Comparing 15-year vs. 30-year loans — see exactly how much faster you build equity on the shorter term.
• Planning extra principal payments — see the cumulative interest savings.
• Refinance decisions — compare your remaining balance and interest schedule against a new loan.
• Tax planning — mortgage interest may be deductible; the schedule shows you the annual interest figure.
• Auto and student loans — same math applies to any fully amortizing fixed-rate loan.

• Assuming half the payment builds equity from day one. Early on, equity grows slowly — that's the design.
• Not checking if extra payments go to principal. Some lenders apply extra to next month's payment by default. Specify "principal only" on the memo.
• Ignoring escrow. Your real monthly payment likely includes taxes and insurance held in escrow. The amortization is just the loan portion.
• Refinancing without doing the math. A lower monthly payment with a longer term often costs more in total interest than the loan you replaced.