Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator

Because the minimum is set just above the month's charges. At 3.5% a month, interest plus 18% GST comes to about 4.13% of the balance, while a 5% minimum payment means only around 0.87% of what you owe is actually repaid. The rest of the payment goes to the issuer as interest, so the balance falls very slowly.

Yes. If the minimum percentage is lower than the monthly interest plus GST, the balance grows every month no matter how long you keep paying. At a 3.99% monthly rate, interest and GST are 4.71% of the balance, so any minimum below that never clears the debt. The calculator flags this case.

Yes. GST at 18% applies to the finance charge and to card fees. It is easy to overlook because it is levied on the interest rather than on your spending, but it raises the effective cost by roughly a fifth — a 3.5% monthly rate effectively costs 4.13% once GST is included.

A large one, because every rupee above the minimum reduces the principal directly rather than servicing interest. On a ₹50,000 balance at 3.5% a month, paying the minimum alone takes over 23 years, while adding ₹2,000 a month clears it in under two years and saves more than ₹1.5 lakh in interest and GST.

Often yes, if the EMI rate is meaningfully lower than the card's revolving rate, though issuers usually charge a processing fee and GST on it. Compare the total cost of the EMI plan against the figure this calculator gives for your current balance rather than comparing the headline rates alone.

Paying the minimum keeps the account from being reported as late, so it protects your payment history. But it leaves a high outstanding balance, and a high credit utilisation ratio weighs on your score. Clearing more of the balance helps on both counts.