Amortization Schedule Calculator
See exactly where every payment goes. This produces a full period-by-period amortization table with the interest and principal split and the remaining balance.
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Reading an amortization schedule
An amortization schedule is the complete record of a loan: one row per payment, showing how much goes to interest, how much reduces the balance, and what is left owing afterwards. Every fixed-rate loan has one, and lenders are obliged to give you one. Seeing it laid out changes how you think about a mortgage, because the pattern is not intuitive.
The reason is that interest is charged on the outstanding balance, and the balance starts at its highest. On a 300,000 dollar loan at 6.5 percent, the first payment of 1,896.20 dollars is 1,625.00 dollars of interest and only 271.20 dollars of principal. Twelve months later the split has barely moved: 1,608.40 dollars of interest against 287.81 dollars of principal. Even halfway through a 30-year term you still owe more than half the original amount. The curve is steep at the end precisely because it is so flat at the beginning.
This is why the schedule is the most honest tool for judging a loan. A monthly payment figure hides the fact that on a 30-year loan you pay more in interest than you borrowed. The schedule makes it visible in a way that a single number cannot, and it shows you exactly which months to target if you want to make a dent.
You can change the payment frequency to see how the schedule responds. Switching from monthly to every two weeks and entering half your monthly payment as the periodic amount reproduces the accelerated biweekly plan that many lenders offer, and you will see the table come to a stop years earlier.
How each row is calculated
Every row follows the same three steps, in this order, working from the balance left by the previous row.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
i |
Periodic rate: the annual rate divided by the number of payments per year |
Payment |
The fixed amount from the amortisation formula |
Balance |
What was still owed at the start of the period |
The final payment is adjusted so the balance lands exactly on zero rather than overpaying by a few cents. Our schedules are computed from the closed-form balance equation rather than by repeatedly subtracting, which keeps the figures exact all the way out to 40 years.
First year of a 30-year schedule
Selected rows from the 300,000 dollar loan at 6.5 percent over 30 years.
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,896.20 | $1,625.00 | $271.20 | $299,728.80 |
| 2 | $1,896.20 | $1,623.53 | $272.67 | $299,456.12 |
| 12 | $1,896.20 | $1,608.40 | $287.81 | $296,646.82 |
| 180 | $1,896.20 | $1,182.95 | $713.25 | $217,677.42 |
| 359 | $1,896.20 | $20.38 | $1,875.83 | $1,885.99 |
| 360 | $1,896.20 | $10.22 | $1,885.99 | $0.00 |
Compare month 1 with month 359. The payment never changes, but the destination of the money reverses completely: 86 percent of the first payment is interest, while 99 percent of the last is principal. Note also that when the loan is halfway through its term at month 180, you still owe 217,677 dollars, which is more than two thirds of what you originally borrowed. Over the full term you hand over 682,633 dollars to borrow 300,000.
Estimates only. Your lender's figures may differ because of fees, escrow and rounding.
Getting more out of your schedule
Find your break-even year
Look for the row where principal finally exceeds interest. On a 6.5 percent 30-year loan that happens around year 18. Before that point you are mostly renting the money; after it, most of each payment is building your equity.
Print it for your tax file
In the United States, mortgage interest may be deductible. A yearly summary of interest paid is what you or your accountant need at tax time, and the schedule gives you that without waiting for your lender's statement.
Use it to target a single payment
Pick any row and look at its interest figure. Making a one-off principal payment of that amount effectively skips a month of interest permanently. Doing it once a year compounds quietly in your favour.
Check a lender's schedule against it
If your lender's opening balance or first-month interest differs from this table by more than a few cents, ask why. It usually means fees were financed into the loan or the rate is not what you think it is.
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Frequently asked questions
What is an amortization schedule?
It is a table listing every payment on a loan in order. Each row shows the payment amount, how much of it covers interest, how much reduces the principal, and the balance remaining afterwards. Fixed-rate loans produce a schedule that is completely predictable from the amount, the rate and the term.
Why does my balance fall so slowly at first?
Because interest is a percentage of what you still owe, and at the start you owe almost the full amount. On a 300,000 dollar loan at 6.5 percent the monthly interest is 1,625 dollars in month one. Since the payment is fixed at 1,896.20 dollars, only 271.20 dollars is left to reduce the balance.
What happens if I make an extra payment?
It goes straight against the principal, which lowers every future interest charge. The payment amount stays the same, so the loan simply finishes earlier. There is a dedicated extra payment calculator on this site that quantifies the saving precisely.
Do all loans amortise this way?
Any fixed-rate loan with level payments does. Variable-rate loans and interest-only loans behave differently, and credit cards use a percentage-based minimum payment, so their schedules are not fixed in advance. This calculator models fixed-rate, fully amortising loans.
Can I download or print the schedule?
Yes. The print option in your browser is styled to produce a clean table without the site navigation or advertising, so you can keep a paper copy or save it as a PDF.