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Finance Calculators

Plan a 401(k), price a car or aircraft loan, see what paying off a mortgage early saves, and work out CD growth, overtime pay or the sales tax inside a receipt total.

Last updated: ยท Reviewed by Shakeel Alvi, OtherCalculators

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US retirement and borrowing decisions come down to four numbers: what you may contribute, what your employer adds, what borrowing costs in interest, and what the money would have earned had you left it invested. For 2026 the IRS caps employee 401(k) deferrals at $24,500, plus a $8,000 catch-up from age 50. The 14 calculators below work those numbers out.
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Reference table

2026 contribution and benefit limits

Every calculator here that applies a statutory ceiling reads it from one shared module, so these are the same figures the individual tool pages use. The IRS re-indexes them each autumn for the following year.

US retirement plan limits, tax year 2026
Limit2026 amountStatute
Employee elective deferral (401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b))$24,500IRC ยง402(g)
Catch-up contribution, age 50 and over$8,000IRC ยง414(v)
Catch-up contribution, ages 60โ€“63 (replaces the age-50 figure)$11,250SECURE 2.0
Combined employee + employer annual additions$72,000IRC ยง415(c)
Compensation counted for employer contributions$360,000IRC ยง401(a)(17)
Traditional and Roth IRA contribution, combined$7,500IRC ยง219(b)
IRA catch-up contribution, age 50 and over$1,100IRC ยง219(b)(5)
Source: IRS โ€” COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions โ€” figures apply to tax year 2026; the age 60โ€“63 catch-up replaces rather than stacks with the age-50 catch-up
Reference table

What the term actually costs

The table below holds the amount and the rate fixed and varies only the term, which isolates the effect most borrowers underestimate. Going from a 36-month to an 84-month loan cuts the payment by about half and more than doubles the interest paid.

Same $30,000 loan at an illustrative 7.0% APR, by term
TermMonthly paymentTotal repaidTotal interest
36 months$926.31$33,347.26$3,347.26
48 months$718.39$34,482.59$4,482.59
60 months$594.04$35,642.16$5,642.16
72 months$511.47$36,825.85$6,825.85
84 months$452.78$38,033.55$8,033.55
Source: OtherCalculators โ€” computed with the standard amortization formula โ€” the 7.0% APR is illustrative, chosen only to hold one variable constant while the term varies. It is not a claim about current market rates; your rate depends on the lender, the product and your credit standing.
How they fit together

Six jobs, 14 tools

Saving into a 401(k)

6 tools

Start with contributions and match, then settle the Roth-versus-pre-tax question, because that changes what every later projection is worth.

Loans & payoff

3 tools

The payoff and financing tools assume nothing about future returns, which makes them among the most reliable figures here.

Taking money out of a 401(k)

2 tools

Built to be compared against each other โ€” similar headline numbers, very different consequences.

Deposits & interest

1 tool

A guaranteed rate rather than an assumed return, so the projection is arithmetic, not a forecast.

Pay & wages

1 tool
Get it right

Common mistakes in retirement planning

  1. Leaving the employer match on the table.A match is the one part of a retirement plan whose return does not depend on markets. Contributing less than your employer will match is giving up pay โ€” check the formula with the employer match calculator before setting your deferral percentage.
  2. Assuming the match counts toward your own limit.It does not. Employee deferrals are capped separately from the combined employee-plus-employer limit, and confusing the two makes people under-contribute by thousands.
  3. Pricing a withdrawal at the penalty only.The 10% additional tax is the visible cost; income tax on the full amount and the growth the money will never earn are usually larger. The early withdrawal calculator shows all three.
  4. Treating a projected return as a promise.Every projection here is arithmetic applied to an assumption you supply. Run it again at a lower return and treat the gap as the real range.
Get it right

Common mistakes when comparing loans

  1. Shopping on the monthly payment.It is the number the seller quotes and the least informative one available. Two offers with the same payment and different terms are not the same offer. Compare the total repaid.
  2. Comparing an interest rate to an APR.They are different figures. Put both offers on the same basis before deciding, and ask what fees are included in the number you were quoted.
  3. Ignoring your credit standing until the offer arrives.The rate you qualify for moves the total more than the term you choose, so correcting an error on your report is worth more than negotiating the payment.
  4. Forgetting tax and fees on the purchase price.Sales tax, documentation fees and add-ons are usually financed alongside the item, so they accrue interest too โ€” which is why the auto and personal loan calculator takes them as separate inputs.
  5. Borrowing to the limit of what the payment allows.Lenders assess total monthly debt against income; leaving room in that ratio protects your ability to borrow later and is the same discipline that makes an early payoff possible.
  6. Assuming an early payoff is always free.Most US auto and personal loans carry no prepayment penalty, but some contracts do. Check before planning around overpaying.
FAQ

Finance planning FAQs

What is amortization?

Amortization is the process of spreading out a loan into a series of fixed payments over time. Each payment covers both principal and interest, with the interest portion decreasing as the loan balance decreases.

How can I lower my monthly loan payment?

You can lower your monthly payment by increasing the loan term (more months to pay), making a larger down payment (reducing principal), or securing a lower interest rate through good credit or shopping around.

What is APR vs interest rate?

Interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. APR (Annual Percentage Rate) includes the interest rate plus other fees and costs, giving you a more complete picture of the total borrowing cost.

Should I choose a fixed or variable rate?

Fixed rates offer stability with consistent payments. Variable rates may start lower but can increase over time. Choose fixed for predictability, variable if you expect rates to fall or plan to pay off early.

How does a down payment affect my loan?

A larger down payment reduces the amount you need to borrow, which lowers your monthly payments, total interest paid, and may help you qualify for better rates.

How much can I contribute to a 401(k) in 2026?

For 2026 the IRS caps employee elective deferrals at $24,500 across all 401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans combined. From age 50 you may add a $8,000 catch-up, rising to $11,250 instead if you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year. Employer money sits outside that cap.

Does my employer's match count toward the 401(k) contribution limit?

No. The $24,500 elective-deferral limit applies only to money you defer from your own pay. Employer matching and profit-sharing count instead toward the ยง415(c) annual-additions limit of $72,000 for 2026, which covers both sides together โ€” which is why a full match rarely pushes anyone against a ceiling.

Is it better to borrow from a 401(k) or take an early withdrawal?

They are not equivalent. A 401(k) loan is repaid to your own account and is not taxed, but plans cap it at the lesser of $50,000 or half your vested balance and normally require repayment within five years. An early withdrawal before age 59ยฝ is taxed as ordinary income and usually carries an additional 10% tax under IRC ยง72(t).

Should I pay off my mortgage early or contribute more to retirement?

That depends on facts a calculator cannot see โ€” your tax position, your rate, your match and your risk tolerance. Quantify both sides before choosing: model the interest an extra mortgage payment saves, model the balance an extra contribution builds, and compare the totals. Capturing a full employer match first is the one step most planners agree on.

What these finance calculators cover

Two US money questions that share the same arithmetic: what you can build inside a tax-advantaged retirement account, and what repaying borrowed money costs. Eight tools deal with employer and self-employed 401(k) plans โ€” contributions, matching, Roth versus pre-tax, loans and early withdrawals. The rest price a car or personal loan, a certificate of deposit, an early mortgage payoff, aircraft financing, and what a week with overtime hours pays in gross wages.

What is not here matters as much. Statutory figures come from published IRS tables, but the plan your employer actually runs may be more restrictive than the law allows, and that document governs. The loan tools assume a fixed rate and a fixed term, which is how most US auto and personal loans are written but not how every credit product works; business and commercial lending, student loan repayment plans and credit-card minimum payments are not modelled.

How these calculations work

Three mechanics recur across the category. Compounding: a balance re-invests what it earns, so an early contribution is worth disproportionately more than an identical later one โ€” which is why changing the number of years moves a projection far more than changing the monthly amount.

Amortization: a fixed-payment loan splits each payment between interest on the balance still owed and repayment of principal. Early payments are mostly interest, late ones mostly principal, which is why an extra payment in year two saves far more than the same payment in year twenty. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the same mechanism for consumer loans.

Tax timing: a pre-tax contribution cuts taxable income now and is taxed on withdrawal; a Roth contribution is taxed now and not on qualified withdrawal. That is not a return โ€” it is a bet on which rate applies at each end, which is why the tools ask you for both. Compounding is what makes the fourth figure, opportunity cost, larger than most people expect: money out of the account is not compounding while it is gone.

Related category

Paycheck Calculators ยท 44 tools โ†’

Take-home pay after federal withholding, FICA and state tax, state by state โ€” the net figure that gross-pay tools such as overtime stop short of.

Estimates & assumptions

  • Statutory figures apply to tax year 2026, come from the IRS cost-of-living adjustment tables, and are re-indexed annually. The age 60โ€“63 catch-up replaces the age-50 catch-up; the two do not stack.
  • Your employer's plan document may be more restrictive than the law permits โ€” on loans, on matching, and on whether Roth deferrals are offered at all. The plan document governs.
  • Projections apply your own return and inflation assumptions. They are arithmetic, not forecasts: none of these tools models market risk, sequence-of-returns risk, or fees charged inside your plan.
  • State income tax treatment varies; only the calculators that say they model state tax do so.
  • The illustrative 7.0% APR in the term table was chosen to hold one variable constant. It is not a market rate and should not be read as one. Loan payments use the standard amortization formula; a lender using a different compounding or day-count convention will produce a slightly different figure.

These tools produce estimates for planning only. They are not financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Confirm any figure against your plan document and a qualified professional before acting on it.