Car Loan Calculator Calculators
Work out car finance payments including trade-in, deposit and sales tax.
Car Loan Calculator is a free online tool that work out car finance payments including trade-in, deposit and sales tax. It runs entirely in your web browser using plain JavaScript, so files are processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server. There is no sign-up, no file size limit imposed by the site, no watermark and no paid tier.
- Price
- Free — no account, no quota, no watermark
- Category
- Calculators
- Where it runs
- In your browser, on your device
- Files uploaded
- None
- Technology
- plain JavaScript
- Settings
- 7
- Works offline
- Yes, after the first visit
About Car Loan Calculator
Sales tax is applied to the vehicle price before the deposit and trade-in are subtracted, which matches how it works in most US states and is a common source of surprise. Longer terms are the trap: a 72 or 84 month loan lowers the payment while frequently leaving you owing more than the car is worth.
How to use it
- Enter vehicle price, deposit and trade-in value.
- Adjust the remaining 4 settings if the defaults do not fit your case.
The 7 settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle price | A numeric value. | 28000 |
| Deposit | A numeric value. | 3000 |
| Trade-in value | A numeric value. | 0 |
| Sales tax | A numeric value. | 0% |
| Interest rate | A numeric value. | 6.5% |
| Term (months) | Range 1–120. | 60 |
| Currency | Choose from 7: USD $, GBP £, EUR €, INR ₹, AUD A$, CAD C$…. | USD $ |
Under the hood
| Runs on | plain JavaScript — runs the whole thing |
| Controls | Vehicle price, Deposit, Trade-in value, Sales tax, Interest rate, Term (months), Currency |
Questions
What is negative equity?
Owing more than the car is worth. Cars typically lose 20% in the first year, faster than a long loan pays down principal, so buyers on 72+ month terms often spend years underwater.
What does the currency option change?
It offers 7 choices — USD $, GBP £, EUR € and INR ₹ and more. The default is USD $, which suits most cases; change it when your input or your destination calls for something specific.
What are the limits on term (months)?
It accepts 1 to 120, starting at 60.
Is the arithmetic exact?
It uses double-precision floating point — about 15 significant figures, far more than the inputs justify. Displayed rounding is cosmetic; the underlying numbers are not rounded between steps, so chained results do not drift.