Auto Loan Calculator 2026 | Monthly Payment, Interest and Total Cost


100% Free • No Sign-up • 2026 Rates

Auto Loan Calculator 2026

A $35,000 car is never a $35,000 purchase. With $5,000 down and 7% sales tax rolled into the loan, you finance $32,450 — and at 7.5% APR over 60 months the car really costs $44,013.89. Enter your numbers and see the payment, the interest, and the true total before a dealer runs them for you.

Calculate Your Auto Loan

What the dealer gives you for your current car. In many states it also lowers the taxable amount.

Calculated on the price minus your trade-in, which is how most states that tax vehicles do it. Some states tax the full price instead.

Longer terms cut the monthly payment but add thousands in interest. Compare 60 vs 84 months below.

Result Amount
Sales tax (on price minus trade-in)
Amount financed
Monthly payment
Total interest over the loan
Total cost of the car
Payoff date

How This Calculator Builds Your Loan

The amount you finance is not the sticker price. It is the price, minus your down payment and trade-in, plus the sales tax — and most buyers roll that tax straight into the loan, which means paying interest on the tax for years.

Amount financed = vehicle price − down payment − trade-in + sales tax on (price − trade-in). Monthly payment = financed × r × (1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n − 1), where r = APR / 12 and n = term in months.
  • Sales tax note: most states that charge vehicle sales tax apply it to the price after subtracting a trade-in, which is the model used here. A few states tax the full price (and some cap the trade-in credit). Your state may differ — the difference on a $10,000 trade-in at 7% is $700 of tax, which becomes about $842 of payments once it sits in a 60-month loan at 7.5%.
  • Total cost of the car is the honest number: your down payment, plus your trade-in, plus every monthly payment you will make. It excludes insurance, fuel, and maintenance — the car keeps costing money after the loan ends.
  • The term is the quiet trap: on the default loan, stretching from 60 to 84 months drops the payment from $650.23 to $497.73 — but adds $2,795.18 in interest and keeps you paying two extra years.

Typical 2026 Auto Loan APRs by Credit Score

Your credit score is the single biggest lever on your APR. These are average rates on loans actually taken out, from Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report for Q2 2026 (VantageScore 4.0). Individual offers vary by lender, term, and vehicle age — treat these as a reality check, not a quote.

Credit tier Score range New car APR Used car APR
Super prime 781–850 4.41% 6.29%
Prime 661–780 6.15% 8.81%
Near prime 601–660 9.71% 13.93%
Subprime 501–600 13.52% 19.10%
Deep subprime 300–500 16.11% 21.62%

Across all borrowers, the average new-car APR in Q2 2026 was 6.35% and the average used-car APR was 11.19%. The spread between the best and worst credit tiers is worth more than most negotiation wins: on a $32,450 loan over 60 months, paying 4.41% instead of 13.52% saves over $8,000 in interest.

Related Tools on WebTools

Car Insurance Cost Estimator →
VIN Decoder →
Debt Payoff Calculator →
Paycheck Calculator →

Frequently Asked Questions

The lender takes the amount financed, applies the monthly interest rate (APR divided by 12), and spreads repayment over the term using the standard amortization formula. Early payments are mostly interest; later payments are mostly principal. This calculator uses exactly that formula, so its output matches what a lender’s amortizing loan would produce.

Usually not. On the default $32,450 loan at 7.5%, a 72-month term costs $1,382.73 more interest than 60 months, and 84 months costs $2,795.18 more — while the car keeps depreciating. Long terms also raise the risk of owing more than the car is worth. If the payment only fits at 84 months, the car is probably too expensive.

A common guideline is 20% of the price on a new car and 10% on a used one. A larger down payment shrinks the amount financed, cuts total interest, and protects you from going underwater as the car depreciates. Putting the sales tax and fees into the down payment instead of the loan also saves interest on money that buys you nothing.

In many states, tax is charged on the price minus your trade-in value, which is the model this calculator uses. Some states tax the full price or limit the trade-in credit, and a few states have no vehicle sales tax at all. Check your state’s rule before relying on the estimate — the difference can be several hundred dollars.
Disclaimer: Estimates only. This calculator uses a standard amortizing loan and applies sales tax to the price minus trade-in; your state may tax the full price, and dealer fees, title and registration, and optional products are not included. APR figures are Q2 2026 averages from Experian and are not a loan offer. Confirm final figures with your lender before signing.



Scroll to Top