How long to clear a card, and the interest it costs.
Time to clear
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Total interest
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Total paid
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Card stamp duty / year
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Worked example
Take a 4,000 euro balance at 22% APR with a fixed 200 euro payment each month. In the first month interest of about 73 euro is added (4,000 multiplied by 22% divided by 12), so only about 127 euro of the 200 euro payment reduces the balance. As the balance falls, more of each payment goes to principal. The card clears in about 26 months, just over 2 years, and the total interest paid is roughly 1,029 euro, so you repay about 5,029 euro in all. On top of that the Government charges a 30 euro annual stamp duty on the card account regardless of usage. Paying more than 200 euro a month would cut both the time and the interest sharply.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Balance | 4,000 euro |
| APR and payment | 22%, 200 euro a month |
| Time to clear | about 26 months |
| Total interest | about 1,029 euro |
| Total paid (plus 30 euro/year stamp duty) | about 5,029 euro |
How it is calculated
The tool runs the balance forward month by month. Each month it adds interest at one twelfth of the APR, then subtracts your fixed payment, and counts how many months pass until the balance reaches zero. If your payment does not even cover the first month’s interest, the balance grows rather than shrinks and the card never clears; the tool flags this case and tells you the minimum the payment must exceed. Total interest is the sum of all the monthly interest charges, and total paid is the original balance plus that interest. Separately, the Government levies an annual stamp duty of 30 euro on each credit card account, billed once a year by the provider whether or not you use the card, so the tool shows it as a distinct yearly cost. The single biggest lever is the monthly payment: because interest is charged on the outstanding balance, clearing it faster compounds in your favour.