Free Auto Loan Calculator
Monthly car payment from price, down payment, trade-in, and sales tax.
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Inputs
Result
Monthly payment
$602.74
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Short answer
An auto loan payment is the monthly amount that amortizes the financed vehicle balance (price + tax − down payment − trade-in) at the loan's APR over the term.
What is the Auto Loan Calculator?
An auto loan finances a vehicle purchase against monthly installment payments. The calculator handles the tax and trade-in mechanics common to US car deals.
How does the Auto Loan Calculator work?
Compute sales tax on the taxable base (price − trade-in in most states). Add tax to price, subtract down payment and trade-in credit, and amortize the balance at the loan APR.
Formula
Variables
priceVehicle sticker pricetaxSales tax on taxable amountdownCash down paymenttradeTrade-in creditrMonthly APRnMonths (years × 12)
Explanation
Sales tax typically applies to price minus trade-in in most US states. The financed balance is then amortized at the loan APR.
Examples
Example 1: $32,000 car, $4,000 down, 6.5% tax, 7.5% for 5 yr
Monthly payment ≈ $602 on a ~$30,080 financed balance.
Applications
- New and used car purchases
- Refinance comparisons
- Trade-in vs sell-privately decisions
Advantages
- Includes tax and trade-in impact
- Isolates financed amount from sticker price
Limitations
- Does not include registration, doc fees, or gap insurance
- Assumes standard US tax-on-difference; some states tax full price
Common mistakes
- Adding tax to the full price when trade-in is present
- Ignoring APR fees like origination
Tips
- A larger down payment reduces both payment and interest paid
- Prefer 60 months or less to limit depreciation risk vs balance
Related concepts
The Auto Loan Calculator sits inside the Finance Calculators hub, in the loans & debt payoff cluster. Instalment borrowing, credit cards and payoff strategy. Understanding the terms below makes the output easier to interpret and easier to compare against neighbouring measures.
Practical use cases and industry applications
Understanding Auto Loan
An auto loan finances a vehicle purchase against monthly installment payments. The calculator handles the tax and trade-in mechanics common to US car deals. Within finance calculators, auto loan belongs to the loans & debt payoff cluster, where it shares terminology and assumptions with closely related tools.
Learning how auto loan is calculated
Sales tax typically applies to price minus trade-in in most US states. The financed balance is then amortized at the loan APR. Working through the variables one at a time — price, tax, down, trade, r, n — makes the result reproducible by hand and easier to sanity-check.
Using auto loan to make a decision
New and used car purchases Refinance comparisons Trade-in vs sell-privately decisions Because outputs depend on the assumptions you enter, run more than one scenario before committing to a figure.
How auto loan compares with related measures
principal, APR, term, avalanche method all describe adjacent aspects of loans & debt payoff. Comparing this calculator's output against those measures — using the related tools listed on this page — prevents a single metric from being read in isolation.
Frequently asked questions
Does sales tax apply to the trade-in value?
In most US states, no — you pay tax on the difference between price and trade-in. A few states tax the full price; check yours.
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