How long repayment would take
Show end-of-month balances
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Debt solutions that might fit
A rough guide based on the official limits for England & Wales. It can't take everything into account.
How this calculator works
Repayment time and end-of-month balance
Each month, interest is added at the annual rate divided by 12, then your payment is taken off. The month your balance reaches zero is when the debt is cleared. If your payment is smaller than the monthly interest, the balance never falls – which is why asking creditors to freeze interest matters so much.
The rules we use for each solution
- Debt management plan: needs some spare income each month. There's no minimum debt and no write-off, so we show how long full repayment would take with interest frozen.
- IVA: we multiply your monthly amount by 60 months. There's no legal minimum debt, but most insolvency practitioners look for around £7,000–£10,000 or more owed to two or more creditors. Fees come out of your payments and no write-off percentage is guaranteed.
- Debt relief order: debts of £50,000 or less, spare income of £75 a month or less, assets of £2,000 or less and a vehicle worth £4,000 or less. Homeowners usually don't qualify. There's no application fee.
- Bankruptcy: no minimum debt if you apply yourself. The fee is £680. Your assets, including home equity, may be used to pay creditors, and you may have to make income payments for up to 3 years.
Planning to pay several debts one by one? Use the calculator on our debt snowball page. Unsure about a term? See the debt glossary.
Frequently asked questions
How is the end-of-month balance worked out?
Each month the calculator adds one month's interest to the balance (the annual rate divided by 12), then takes off your payment. So the end-of-month balance is: last month's balance plus monthly interest, minus your payment. With interest frozen at 0%, the balance simply falls by your payment each month until it reaches zero.
How long will it take to pay off £11,750?
With interest frozen, £11,750 takes 59 months (just under 5 years) at £200 a month, 79 months at £150 a month and 118 months at £100 a month. If interest is still being charged it will take longer. Enter your own figures above to see the month-by-month balance.
Does this calculator show how much an IVA will write off?
Only roughly. It shows what you would pay over a 5-year IVA at your monthly amount and how that compares with what you owe. The real figure depends on the insolvency practitioner's proposal, their fees (which come out of your payments), any equity release, annual reviews and whether creditors approve it. No percentage write-off is guaranteed.
Can this calculator tell me which debt solution to choose?
No. It uses a few simple rules based on the official limits, such as the debt relief order limits of £50,000 of debt, £75 a month spare income and £2,000 of assets. Many other things affect which option is right for you, so use the results as a starting point for a conversation with a free debt adviser.
Can I use this for the debt snowball method?
This calculator treats your debts as one total balance. To plan paying several debts one at a time, smallest balance first, use the calculator on our debt snowball page, which also explains the avalanche method of paying the highest interest rate first.