Tell me more ×
Mathematics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields. It's 100% free, no registration required.

wondering if someone can help a non-mathematician out.

I am looking for the formula for calculating the total interest payable over the life of a loan.

Given that we know:

P: Principal (amount) of loan

R: The monthly repayments on the loan

T: The term of the loan (i.e. the number of repayments)

r: The annual interest rate

Assume that interest is accrued monthly and that repayments are made in arrears (at the end of each loan period).

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

If you know the monthly payment and the number of payments, the total of payments is $RT$, so the total interest you pay is $RT-P$. The fact that the interest is accrued monthly and payments are made in arrears only go into calculating the payment from the interest rate, which has already been done for us.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.