How to Calculate a Remaining Loan Balance

In most cases, you can simply look at your current statement to determine your remaining loan balance. But if you cant find or haven't yet received your statement, you can attempt to do the calculation yourself by hand. You need your previous statement and a few details about your loan to estimate the current running balance.

Instructions

1

Determine the monthly rate on the loan, which is the annual rate divided by 12, and label it "R."

2

Identify the initial balance, which is what you originally borrowed, and label it "B."

3

Write down the monthly payment amount (labeled "M") and the number of payments at which you want to calculate the remaining balance (labeled "N"). For instance, if you have a 60-month loan and you want to know the remaining balance at month 23, N equals 23.

4

Assuming an initial loan of $10,000, a monthly rate of 1 percent (.01 expressed in decimal format) and a payment of $222.44. Again, you want to determine the remaining balance on a 60-month loan at 23 months. Insert these details into a formula to start the calculation. The formula is remaining balance equals B(1+R)^N - M[(((1+R)^N)-1)/R].

5

Fill in the details and perform the calculation using an exponent calculator. In this example the filled formula is 10,000(1+.01)^23-$222.44[(((1+.01)^23)-1)/.01]. The resulting remaining loan balance is approximately $6,851 at 23 months.