About this tool
This US Car Payment Calculator estimates a fixed-rate auto loan. Enter the car price, down payment, trade-in, sales tax percent, and any title or fees. Tax is charged on the price after the trade-in. The down payment reduces the amount you finance, not the tax. Buttons fill the 2026 statewide sales-tax rate for California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. A city rate, or a state that taxes the full price, can be typed in. The math runs in your browser. This is not a dealer offer.
How to use
- 1
Enter the car price
Add a down payment and a trade-in if you have one. Leave trade-in at zero if you do not.
- 2
Set tax and fees
Type your sales-tax percent, or tap a state for its 2026 statewide rate. Add title fees if you know them.
- 3
Choose the rate and term
Use the APR you were quoted and pick 3, 4, 5, or 6 years.
Features
- Monthly payment for 36, 48, 60, or 72 months
- Down payment, trade-in, and title fees
- Sales tax on the price after trade-in, with 2026 state-rate shortcuts
- Total interest next to a longer or shorter term
- Runs in the browser — the car price is not uploaded
Limitations
- •Fixed rate only. It does not model a dealer rate that changes.
- •Payments are rounded to the cent, so the last payment can differ by a few cents.
- •Does not include gap insurance, extended warranties, or dealer add-ons.
Tips & common mistakes
- •A $28,000 car with $3,000 down, no tax, and 6.5% for 60 months is $489.15 a month. Interest over the loan is $4,349.
- •The same loan over 72 months drops the payment and raises the interest.
- •State buttons are the statewide rate only. City tax on a car can be higher.
- •If your state taxes the full price even with a trade-in, set the trade-in to $0 and lower the price by that amount yourself, or raise the tax percent.
How the car payment is calculated
Tax is added to the price after trade-in. The down payment and trade-in are subtracted. The rest is a fixed monthly loan payment.
Loan = (price − trade-in) + tax + fees − down payment. Monthly payment pays that loan off over the term.- •Sales tax uses the percent you enter and does not shrink when you put money down
- •A 0% rate splits the loan into equal months
- •A longer term lowers the monthly payment and increases total interest