Credit Card Payoff Calculator Canada

Minimum payments are designed to keep a credit card balance alive for decades. This calculator uses a fixed payment instead, the single change that makes a card payoff predictable, and shows your finish date and the true interest cost of the balance you are carrying.

Credit card balance ($)Card interest rate (APR, %)Fixed monthly payment you will make ($)

Assumes no new purchases on the card. One new purchase restarts the clock and, on many Canadian cards, interest is charged from the purchase date when a balance is carried, because the grace period is lost.

How it works

At the typical Canadian card rate of 19.99%, a $5,000 balance paid at a fixed $200 a month is gone in 33 months and costs $1,521.02 of interest. Paid at a shrinking minimum instead, the same balance can linger for well over a decade and cost several times that interest, because the minimum falls as the balance falls.

The fixed-payment rule is simple enough to automate: pick the highest payment you can sustain, set it as a recurring bill payment the day after payday, and stop using the card until the balance reaches zero.

Worked example

The calculator’s own output for a $5,000 balance at 19.99% paid at a fixed $200 a month:

Item	Amount
Balance / rate / fixed payment	$5,000.00 at 19.99% with $200.00 a month
Time to pay off	33 months (2 years, 9 months)
Total interest	$1,521.02
Total paid overall	$6,521.02

Frequently asked questions

How is credit card interest calculated in Canada?

On the average daily balance, at the card’s annual rate divided across the year, and charged monthly. When you carry a balance, most cards remove the interest-free grace period, so new purchases accrue interest from the day they are made.

What is the minimum payment on a Canadian credit card?

Typically the interest plus about 1% of the balance, or a flat $10, whichever is greater; in Quebec, regulation raised the floor to 5% of the balance for newer cards. Minimums are built to keep balances, and interest, alive.

Will a balance transfer help?

It can: moving $5,000 to a 0% promotional rate for 10 to 12 months means every payment hits principal. Watch the transfer fee, and have the balance cleared or a plan ready before the rate resets above 20%.

Should I pay off the card or build savings first?

Keep a small starter emergency buffer (often $1,000) so a surprise does not go back on the card, then attack the 19.99% balance: no safe savings account pays anything close to that rate.

Does paying off my card hurt my credit score?

No. Your utilisation falls, which helps, and the account stays on your history. Scores can dip briefly if you close the card, because total available credit drops; keeping a no-fee card open avoids that.

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For education only. This calculator gives estimates, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures use 2026 rates where a rate is built in; confirm your own numbers before making a decision.