How to Use a Complete Auto Loan Calculator

A complete auto loan calculator is an online tool to help assist you when you want to know calculations involving an auto loan. An auto loan calculator can help you save money and help you make the right decision for you. Within a matter of minutes, you can find out how much your monthly payments will be and if you can afford it.

If you are looking to purchase a new vehicle or just looking to refinance a car loan, you can use a complete auto loan calculator to figure out the costs for you. Learning how to use a complete auto loan calculator will give you an accurate overview of how much money you will be spending monthly and for the entire term of the loan. There are a variety of complete auto loan calculators online that you can use for free from different websites. All auto loan calculators will have areas that you will need to enter your vehicle information. Here are the steps you need to follow in order to learn how to use a complete auto loan calculator online.

1. Locate an auto loan calculator online.


2. Enter the monthly payment for this loan in the “monthly payment” box.


3. Tab to the “Total purchase price” box. Enter in the total cost of your auto purchase. Do not include sales tax in this amount. The sales tax will be calculated and included in the total after tax price. Be sure to include any additional options and any destination charges in this box.


4. Tab over to the “Term in months” box. Enter in the number of months for this loan.


5. Tab over to the “Interest rate” box. Enter in the annual interest rate for this loan.


6. Tab over to the “Cash down” box. The amount you will enter is the amount of cash used in this purchase. The more money you put down on the vehicle decreases the amount of the loan you will need to finance.


7. Tab over to the “Trade allowance” box. Enter in the total amount that you are given for a vehicle you trade in. If you did not trade in a vehicle, skip this step.


8. Tab over to the “Amount owed on trade” box. Enter in the total amount still outstanding on the trade-in. If there isn’t an amount owed, skip this step.


9. Tab over to the “Non-taxable fees” box. This box is optional. Include any additional fees that are not subject to sales tax in this box. This will usually include title transfer fees or any other fees that might be due at delivery and are taxable.


10. Tab to the “Sales tax rate” box. This is the sales tax percentage rate charged on the purchase of the vehicle.


11. Click on the “No sales tax deduction for trade-in” box, only if you reside in a state where sales tax is calculated on your full purchase price. If you leave this box unchecked, the sales tax will be calculated on the purchase price minus trade-in. Certain states have no sales tax on automobiles, these include: Alaska, Montana, Delaware, New Hampshire and Oregon. There are certain states that will not allow trade-ins as deductibles, these include: District of Columbia, California, Hawaii Michigan and Maryland.