An amortization schedule lists every payment on a fixed-rate loan and splits it into interest and principal. Your payment stays the same, but early on most of it is interest; by the end almost all of it pays down the balance. The schedule above shows that shift month by month or year by year, your payoff date, and how much extra payments save.
$400,000 at 7.375% for 30 years
- Monthly principal & interest
- $2,762.70
- Payment 1: interest / principal
- $2,458 / $304
- Principal overtakes interest
- Payment 248
- In year 21
- Total interest
- $594,572
How the calculation works
The monthly payment comes from the standard formula: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n), where P is the loan amount, r is the yearly rate divided by 12 and n is the number of months. At a 0% rate the payment is simply P ÷ n. Each month:
- Interest = the balance you still owe × r.
- Principal = the payment minus that interest.
- Any extra payment goes straight to principal.
- The new balance carries into next month, so next month's interest is a little lower.
Extra payments do not lower your required payment. They shrink the balance faster, so the loan ends early and you pay less interest. The yearly view groups payments by calendar year; the CSV download has every month with cents.
Worked example
A $400,000 loan at 7.375% for 30 years, with the first payment in January 2027, costs $2,762.70 a month. In the first payment, $2,458.33 is interest and only $304.37 reduces the balance. After 10 years you still owe $346,217, so you have paid off only about 13% of the loan. Principal first exceeds interest with payment 248, in August 2047.
| Result | No extra | +$200 / month |
|---|---|---|
| Number of payments | 360 | 289 |
| Payoff | Dec 2056 | Jan 2051 |
| Total interest | $594,572 | $456,144 |
| Interest saved | — | $138,428 |
Adding $200 a month saves about $138,000 in interest and ends the loan 5 years 11 months early, because every extra dollar stops being charged interest for the rest of the loan.
Edge cases
- 0% loans: every payment is principal, so there is no crossover point.
- Terms: the calculator accepts whole-year terms from 1 to 40 years.
- Rounding: lenders round each month to the cent and may adjust the last payment, so their schedule can differ by a few cents.
- Adjustable rates: this schedule assumes the rate never changes. For an ARM, use the ARM vs fixed calculator.
- Escrow: property tax, insurance and PMI are not part of amortization and are paid on top.
Next steps
Compare terms with the 15 vs 30-year mortgage calculator, see what a lump sum could do with the mortgage recast calculator, and get your full monthly cost, including taxes and insurance, from the mortgage calculator.