Extra Repayment Calculator

See how much time and interest you save by adding a regular extra amount to every home loan repayment. Enter your loan, your rate and the extra you can afford each month, fortnight or week.

Want a more accurate result?

Calculator results are estimates only. Whether extra repayments suit your loan depends on its type, and a broker can check your lender’s limits before you commit.
No fee from us for arranging your finance. No obligation. Takes 2 minutes

What this calculator works out

Every extra dollar you pay goes straight onto the balance, so the next month’s interest is charged on a slightly smaller amount. Repeat that every month and the effect compounds. The calculator tracks four things as it does.

Your new payoff date

How long the loan now takes to clear if your minimum repayment stays the same and the extra is paid on top, every period, from the start date you choose.

Time saved

The gap between the original term and the new payoff date. On a 30 year loan this is usually measured in years, not months.

Interest saved

The difference between the total interest on the original schedule and the total with your extra repayments. This is the real dollar value of the habit.

Total repaid

Everything you pay over the life of the loan, extra repayments included. It falls because less interest is charged, even though you pay more each month.
This calculator is for a regular extra amount. If you have a one-off sum instead, such as a bonus or an inheritance, the lump sum repayment calculator is the better tool.

Why the first years matter most

Early in a loan, most of each repayment is interest and only a small part reduces the balance. An extra repayment made then removes principal that would otherwise have been charged interest for decades. The loan repayment calculator shows how that split between interest and principal looks for your loan.
Each month, the balance moves like this

New balance = balance + (balance × rate ÷ 12) − (minimum repayment + extra)

The interest is charged on the balance, so every extra dollar that reduces the balance also reduces every future interest charge. That is where the saving comes from.
Two things about that are worth pausing on.

First, timing beats size more often than people expect. The same $500 a month started five years later saves far less, because it misses the years when the balance, and the interest on it, is highest.

Second, your minimum repayment does not fall when you pay extra. The saving shows up as an earlier payoff date and less total interest, not as a smaller monthly bill.

What each extra amount is worth

The five cards below use one illustrative loan throughout: $600,000 over 30 years at an assumed 5.99 per cent, principal and interest, with a minimum repayment of about $3,593 a month. Only the extra amount changes, and it is paid every month from the first repayment.

Extra $100 a month

New term  27 years 11 months
Time saved  2 years 1 month
Interest saved  $58,256

Extra $250 a month

New term  25 years 4 months
Time saved  4 years 8 months
Interest saved  $127,526

Extra $500 a month

New term  22 years 1 month
Time saved  7 years 11 months
Interest saved  $212,173

Extra $750 a month

New term  19 years 7 months
Time saved  10 years 5 months
Interest saved  $273,287

Extra $1,000 a month

New term  17 years 8 months
Time saved  12 years 4 months
Interest saved  $319,832
Read down the column. Even $100 a month takes more than two years off the loan. The saving per dollar is highest on the first extra dollars, because they start working from the very first repayment, and every card assumes the extra is kept up for the whole life of the loan.

Worked example: $500 a month, three start dates

The figures below are illustrative and are not a rate offer, a quote, or a prediction. They show how the arithmetic behaves.

Borrowing $600,000 over 30 years at an assumed 5.99 per cent, minimum repayment about $3,593 a month, with an extra $500 a month.

Extra from the first repayment
Loan cleared in 22 years 1 month. Interest saved about $212,173.

Extra from year 5
Loan cleared in 24 years 2 months. Interest saved about $139,360.

Extra from year 10
Loan cleared in 25 years 11 months. Interest saved about $83,828.

For comparison, a single $30,000 lump sum paid at the start, and nothing extra after that, clears the loan in 26 years 4 months and saves about $130,453.
This is why the most useful question is not how much extra you can afford, but how soon you can start. The same habit, begun five years earlier, is worth about $73,000 more on this loan. If the rate itself is the problem, check whether refinancing your home loan would save more than paying extra.

What the calculator does not show you

A payoff date is one part of the decision. These are the others, and each one can change whether extra repayments are the right move for you.

Fixed rate limits

Many fixed rate loans cap extra repayments, often at around $10,000 a year or $30,000 across the fixed term, and paying more can trigger a break cost. Check your contract before you increase repayments, or split the loan so part of it stays variable. The split loan calculator shows how that works.

Getting the money back

Extra repayments usually sit in a redraw facility. Some lenders restrict redraw on fixed loans until the fixed term ends, and a lender can change redraw terms. Money in redraw is not the same as money in your account.

An offset account instead

A 100 per cent offset account reduces interest by the same amount as an equal extra repayment, while leaving the money in an everyday account you control. If you might need the money back, compare the two with the home loan offset calculator.

Other debts first

Extra repayments save you interest at your home loan rate. If you carry a credit card or personal loan at a higher rate, paying that off first usually saves more for each dollar. The credit card calculator shows what a card balance is really costing.

Before you increase your repayments

Ask your lender three questions first: whether extra repayments are unlimited on your loan type, whether redraw is available and at what cost, and whether an offset account is offered. Then set the extra up as an automatic transfer on payday, so it happens before the money gets spent.
Related tools on this site: lump sum repayment calculator for a one-off payment, fortnightly and weekly repayment calculator, loan comparison calculator and budget planner to find the extra you can afford. Want a lender that allows unlimited extra repayments? A free loan consultation can check the options on our panel.
Sources
Australian Government, ASIC Moneysmart: Pay off your mortgage faster and Mortgage offset accounts.
Westpac: Home loan redraw, an example of the extra repayment and redraw limits lenders commonly set on fixed rate loans.

About the figures on this page. Every term and interest figure was calculated month by month from the standard amortisation formula using the illustrative loan described above. The rate is an assumption for illustration and is not an offer, a quote or a forecast.

Important information about this calculator. This calculator estimates the effect of regular extra repayments from the loan amount, rate, term and extra amount you enter. It assumes the rate never changes, every repayment is made on time and no money is redrawn, and it does not account for fees, break costs or lender limits on extra repayments. Results are estimates only and are not a quote, an offer of credit or a recommendation.

General information only. Nothing on this page takes your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. Loanity is a credit representative and can provide credit assistance once we understand your circumstances.
STILL GOT QUESTIONS?

Extra repayment questions, answered

How much can I save by making extra repayments?

It depends on your balance, rate and how early you start. On a $600,000, 30 year loan at an assumed 5.99 per cent, an extra $500 a month from the start saves about $212,000 in interest and nearly eight years. The calculator above works it out for your own loan.

For interest saved, an equal amount has the same effect either way. The difference is access. Money in an offset account stays in your own account, while extra repayments usually go into redraw, which can have limits or conditions.

Often, but usually only up to a cap during the fixed term, commonly around $10,000 a year or $30,000 over the term. Paying more than the cap can trigger a break cost, so check your loan contract first.

Usually not. Your minimum stays the same and the loan is paid off sooner. Some lenders will recalculate the repayment on request, but that gives up most of the interest saving.

Moneysmart points out that paying half your monthly repayment every fortnight adds up to the equivalent of one extra monthly repayment a year, because a year has 26 fortnights. That on its own helps. The bigger effect still comes from the size of the extra amount and how early you start. The fortnightly and weekly repayment calculator shows the frequency effect separately.

If you have the money now, a lump sum works immediately on the whole amount. If you are paying from income, a regular extra amount is the practical choice. Both reduce interest the same way, from the moment the money reaches the loan.

If your loan has a redraw facility, usually yes, subject to the lender’s terms. Some lenders restrict redraw during a fixed term or charge a fee. Check how redraw works on your loan before relying on it as savings.

If the other debt has a higher rate, paying it first usually saves more for each dollar. Credit cards and personal loans generally cost more than a home loan, so they are often the better place for spare cash.

Yes, a lot. In the worked example on this page, starting $500 a month five years in saves about $139,000, compared with about $212,000 when started from the first repayment.

We do not charge you a fee for arranging your finance. Brokers are generally paid a commission by the lender when a loan settles. If any fee from us would ever apply to your situation, you would be told in writing before you proceeded.