$6,000 of Credit Card Debt at 26% APR
A $6,000 balance at 26% APR costs $130 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $120 minimum (2%) | never clears | — | — |
| $180 | 5 years | $4,757 | 79.3% |
| $205 | 3 years 11 months | $3,617 | 60.3% |
| $245 | 3 years | $2,645 | 44.1% |
| $325 | 2 years | $1,746 | 29.1% |
| $410 | 1 year 6 months | $1,295 | 21.6% |
| $575 | 1 year | $875 | 14.6% |
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 | $575 | $6,875 | $875 | 1.15× |
| 24 months | $325 | $7,746 | $1,746 | 1.29× |
| 36 months | $245 | $8,645 | $2,645 | 1.44× |
| 48 months | $205 | $9,617 | $3,617 | 1.60× |
| 60 months | $180 | $10,757 | $4,757 | 1.79× |
| 72 months | $170 | $11,476 | $5,476 | 1.91× |
Why the rate change is not the lever here
At the minimum payment this balance does not amortise at 26% 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 2.167% turns $6,000 into a $130 charge before any principal moves. With the minimum at $120 (2% of the balance, floored at $25), nothing amortises at this rate, while the twelve-month target of $575 a month finishes in 1 year for $875. Between the $120 and $575 plans sits $875 of interest, which is the real price of the slower schedule.
Other tables in this range
Same balance, different rates
Same rate, different balances
Frequently asked questions
What does 26% APR work out to each month?
Dividing the annual rate by twelve gives a monthly periodic rate of 2.167%. On the full $6,000 balance that is $130 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 26% APR the monthly rate is 2.167%; 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.