$12,500 of Credit Card Debt at 29% APR

Monthly compounding · figures recalculated on every build · no new purchases assumed

A $12,500 balance at 29% APR costs $302 in interest for the first month it sits there. What happens after that depends entirely on the size of the payment: the same balance can take 1 year to clear or can grow without ever clearing, and the tables below show where that line falls.

First-month interest$3022.417% monthly rate

At the minimum paymentnever clearsinterest outruns the payment

Clear it in 24 months$695rounded up to $5

Fixed monthly payment → payoff time

Each row holds the payment steady from the first month to the last. Interest is charged first, then the payment is applied, so the final instalment is smaller than the rest.

Monthly payment	Time to clear	Total interest	Interest / balance
$250 minimum (2%)	never clears	—	—
$400	4 years 11 months	$11,075	88.6%
$445	4 years	$8,668	69.3%
$525	3 years	$6,334	50.7%
$695	2 years	$4,100	32.8%
$865	1 year 6 months	$3,062	24.5%
$1,215	1 year	$2,045	16.4%

Payment needed to finish in a set number of months

Solved with the standard amortisation formula, the same one behind the calculator on the homepage: payment = balance × monthly rate ÷ (1 − (1 + monthly rate)^−months).

Target	Payment	Total paid	Interest paid	Paid / borrowed
12 months	$1,215	$14,545	$2,045	1.16×
24 months	$695	$16,600	$4,100	1.33×
36 months	$525	$18,834	$6,334	1.51×
48 months	$445	$21,168	$8,668	1.69×
60 months	$400	$23,575	$11,075	1.89×
72 months	$370	$26,267	$13,767	2.10×

monthly rate = 29% / 12 = 2.4167% · payment = $12,500 × 0.02416667 / (1 − (1 + 0.02416667)^−n)

Why the rate change is not the lever here

At the minimum payment this balance does not amortise at 29% APR, so lowering the rate by four points only delays the problem. The payment size is the variable that decides whether the debt closes at all; the rate decides how much is burned on the way.

The monthly rate of 2.417% turns $12,500 into a $302 charge before any principal moves. With the minimum at $250 (2% of the balance, floored at $25), nothing amortises at this rate, while the twelve-month target of $1,215 a month finishes in 1 year for $2,045. Between the $250 and $1,215 plans sits $2,045 of interest, which is the real price of the slower schedule.

Other tables in this range

Same balance, different rates

$12,500 at 12% $12,500 at 15% $12,500 at 18% $12,500 at 20% $12,500 at 22% $12,500 at 24% $12,500 at 26%

Same rate, different balances

$500 at 29% $1,000 at 29% $1,500 at 29% $2,000 at 29% $2,500 at 29% $3,000 at 29%

Frequently asked questions

What does 29% APR work out to each month?
Dividing the annual rate by twelve gives a monthly periodic rate of 2.417%. On the full $12,500 balance that is $302 of interest in the first month. Every payment below that figure leaves the balance larger than it started, which is why the minimum-payment row is the one that goes wrong.

Why does the minimum payment sometimes never retire this balance?
The 2% minimum is a share of the balance as it stands, so as the balance shrinks the payment shrinks with it. At 29% APR the monthly rate is 2.417%; once the balance is small enough that 2% of it drops below the interest charge, the loop stops making progress. Raising the payment by even $25 a month keeps the debt on a downward path.

Is the interest compounded or simple?
Compounded monthly, which is what card issuers actually do. Interest is charged on the balance including previously accrued interest, and each payment is applied after that charge. The table shows the total interest summed across the whole payoff period, not a first-month estimate.

Want the numbers for several cards at once? The CardDebtCalc snowball vs avalanche calculator runs the same loop across a stack of balances, and the full payoff table library lists every balance and rate on this site.