Car Loan Calculator

Sales tax in this calculator is computed directly on the Vehicle Price, before any down payment or trade-in is applied, mirroring how most states calculate vehicle sales tax on the purchase price itself. Down payment only reduces the LOAN AMOUNT -- the portion of the total cost you're borrowing -- so increasing it lowers what you finance and the resulting monthly payment, but it does not change the tax bill.

Yes -- enter the vehicle's pretax price and let the Sales Tax Rate field compute the tax; if you instead type the tax-inclusive figure into Vehicle Price, this calculator will apply sales tax a second time on top of it and overstate both the loan amount and your total interest paid.

A longer term spreads the same loan amount across more monthly payments, so each individual payment covers a smaller slice of principal. The tradeoff is that interest keeps accruing on the outstanding balance for more months, so while the monthly payment drops, the total interest paid over the full life of the loan is typically higher on a 72- or 84-month term than on a 36- or 48-month term for the same loan amount and rate.

This calculator only models the vehicle price, sales tax, down payment, trade-in, rate, and term you enter -- it doesn't add dealer documentation fees, extended warranties, GAP insurance, or other financed add-ons that many dealers roll into the loan balance before running the same amortization math.