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About this tool
See the true cost of paying only the minimum due — months to clear, total interest with GST, and faster payoff plans.
The Credit Card Interest & Minimum Payment Trap calculator shows what paying only the minimum due on a credit card really costs, by simulating the balance month by month: interest at APR/12 on the outstanding amount, 18% GST charged on that interest, and a minimum payment of the greater of a set percentage of the total due or a floor amount. It reports how many months the card takes to clear, the total interest and GST paid, and compares that against a fixed monthly payment or a plan sized to clear the balance in 3, 6 or 12 months. Figures are in rupees, with the GST treatment used on Indian card statements.
Open Credit Card Interest & Minimum Payment Trap on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Enter your Outstanding balance and Annual rate (APR %), then set the Minimum % and Minimum floor your bank applies and Your fixed monthly payment — or load one of the Quick presets (Small revolve, Festive spend, High-rate card) and use Reset to return to the defaults.
Leave 'Include 18% GST on interest' switched on to count the tax banks add to every finance charge, then read the minimum-only verdict: Time to clear, Interest + GST paid, Minimum due right now, Total you would repay, and the banner giving what the balance costs per day. If the monthly charge outruns the minimum due, the panel says 'This balance never clears' instead.
Compare the Payoff comparison table — Minimum due only, your fixed monthly payment, and Clear in 3 months, 6 months and 12 months — across its Monthly, Clears in, Interest + GST, Total paid and Saved vs minimum columns, then press Copy plan to put the whole breakdown on your clipboard as text.
It runs the balance forward month by month until it clears, so the payoff period is a simulated result rather than a rule of thumb.
18% GST on the finance charge is added every month, which most payoff calculators leave out entirely.
The payment needed to clear in 3, 6 or 12 months is solved directly, so you have an actionable number, not just a warning.
The balance barely moves, because most of the payment covers interest. On a ₹85,000 balance at 42% APR with a 5% minimum, the simulation takes 326 months — over 27 years — and costs about ₹3.15 lakh in interest and GST, nearly four times what was borrowed.
Dramatically faster, because the payment stops shrinking as the balance falls. The same ₹85,000 at 42% APR clears in 15 months at a fixed ₹8,000 a month, with roughly ₹29,000 of interest and GST — against ₹3.15 lakh on the minimum-only path.
Yes, in India GST at 18% applies to the interest and finance charges on a card, and this calculator adds it to every month's interest. So a card quoted at 3.5% a month effectively costs about 4.13% a month once GST is applied.
Commonly 5% of the total amount due, subject to a small floor amount, and the calculator defaults to 5% with a ₹200 floor — but issuers differ, and some add the full EMI and overlimit amounts on top. Check the minimum-due formula printed on your own statement, and treat this as an informational estimate rather than financial advice.
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