Finance Charge Calculator (2024)

Apply the finance charge calculator to estimate the cost imposed on your outstanding credit balance incurred over a billing cycle or given term.

Read further, and you will learn what the finance charge definition is, how to calculate finance charge, what is the finance charge formula, and how to minimize it on your credit card.

A finance charge is the total dollar amount you pay to use a particular credit. Therefore, we may phrase the finance charge definition as the amount paid beyond the borrowed amount. It includes not only the interest accrued on your account but also takes into account all fees connected to your credit. Therefore, finance charge represents the cost of borrowing. Finance charges are generally attached to any form of credit, whether it's a credit card, personal loan, or mortgage.

The most typical way consumers obtain credit is through credit cards. When you don't pay off your balance fully, your issuer will charge interest on the outstanding balance. That interest cost is a finance charge. If you miss the due date after the grace period without paying the required minimum payment for your credit card, you might be charged a late payment fee, which is another example of a finance charge.

Credit card issuers may apply one of the six different methods to calculate finance charges.

• Average Daily Balance: This is the most common way, based on the average of what you owed each day in the billing cycle.

  See Also

  How to Calculate Lease Liability Under IFRS 16 & ASC 842 | TrullionInterest Expense Calculation Explained with a Finance LeaseFinance Charge on a Credit Card: What to Know | ChaseWhat Is A Finance Charge? [And How To Avoid Them]

• Daily Balance: The credit card issuer calculates the finance charge on each day's balance with the daily interest rate.

• Adjusted Balance: It subtracts your monthly payment from your opening balance. Since purchases are not included in the balance, this method results in the lowest finance charge.

• Double Billing Cycle: It applies the average daily balance of the current and previous billing cycles. It is the most expensive method of finance charges. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 prohibits this practice in the US.

• Ending Balance: The finance charge is based on your balance at the end of the current billing cycle.

• Previous Balance: It uses the final balance of the last billing cycle in the calculation. Try to avoid credit card issuers that apply this method since it has the highest finance charge among the ones still in practice.

Note that you can apply the present finance charge calculator for most of the above methods (except Daily Balance methods) – you only need to be careful when determining the balance you owe at the beginning of the computation.

By following the below steps, you can quickly estimate the finance charge on your credit card or any other type of financial instrument involving credit. Say you would like to know the finance charge of a credit card balance of 1,000 dollars with an APR of 18 percent and a billing cycle length of 30 days.

1. Convert APR to decimal:

   APR / 100 = 18 / 100 = 0.18

2. Calculate the daily interest rate (advanced mode):

   Daily interest rate = APR / 100 / 365

   See Also

   Total Finance Charge: What It Is, How It Works, Example

   Daily interest rate = 0.18 / 365 = 0.00049315

3. Calculate the finance charge for a day (advanced mode):

   Daily finance charge = Carried unpaid balance × Daily interest rate

   Daily finance charge = 1,000 × 0.00049315 = 0.49315.

4. Calculate the finance charge for a billing cycle:

   Finance charge = Daily finance charge × Number of Days in Billing Cycle

   Finance charge = 0.049315 × 30 = 14.79.

To sum up, the finance charge formula is the following:

Finance charge = Carried unpaid balance × Annual Percentage Rate (APR) / 365 × Number of Days in Billing Cycle.

The simplest way to reduce the finance charge is to avoid accruing interest on your balance. For that, you need to pay your outstanding credit balance in full before the due date so you don't get charged for interest.

Credit card issuers offer a so-called grace period, a specific number of days when interest is not charged, often 44 to 55 days. During such an interval, you have time to pay your credit without incurring interest. It is still advisable to repay your credit in the given billing cycle: any balance carried into the following billing cycle implies losing the grace period privilege. You can regain it only if you pay your balance in full for two successive months.

Also, keep in mind that, in general, the grace period doesn't cover cash advances. In other words, there are no interest-free days, and a service fee may apply as well. Interest on cash advances is charged immediately from the day the money is withdrawn.

In summary, the best way to minimize your finance charge is to avoid cash advances and pay your credit card bills in full each month.

Here are a few tips you can follow to pay less on your credit card balance:

• Negotiate with your bank the interest rate they give you (APR). You can check the effect of different APRs with the Omni Calculator finance charge tool.
• Use the credit card to the amount you can pay before your first due date. Hence you will not pay any interest.

You can try the Omni Calculator tool finance charge or do as follows:

1. Get the information about your annual interest rate. Let's say 20% on a $1000 credit card balance.
2. Divide the interest rate by 100 and then by 365. Multiply the result by the credit card balance: ((20 / 100) / 365) × 1000.
3. We obtain the result $0.547. That's your daily finance charge. Multiply it by 30.
4. Your monthly finance charge is $16.40.

Here is a list of the benefits of using a credit card:

• You build a credit record that will help you get better deals when buying real estate.
• You can get special discounts that are exclusive to credit card buyers.
• You can pay your purchases in installments.
• You get some protection if a supplier goes out of business.