Car Loan Calculator

What the calculator solves for

The calculator takes a vehicle purchase apart into three numbers: the amount financed, the periodic payment, and the total cost of the purchase over the term. It does that with arithmetic, not underwriting. Every figure it returns is built from what you typed into the fields above, so a result describes your inputs — it is not a quote, not an offer, and not a decision about whether anyone will lend to you.

loanmoose.ca is not a lender. It does not make loans, set rates or make credit decisions, and no number this page produces changes that.

The inputs, one at a time

• Vehicle price — the negotiated price of the car, before tax and before any trade-in credit.
• Down payment — cash you put toward the purchase instead of borrowing it.
• Trade-in value — what the dealer allows for the vehicle you are handing over.
• Still owed on the trade-in — the outstanding balance of any loan or lease on that vehicle. If it is larger than the trade-in value, the shortfall is negative equity and it increases what you finance.
• Sales tax rate — the rate that applies where the vehicle is registered. There is no national vehicle sales tax rate; it is set by the province or territory.
• Dealer and licensing fees — documentation, administrative, registration and plate charges you expect to pay.
• Annual interest rate — the rate you would be charged, expressed per year. This is an assumption you supply, not something the calculator knows.
• Term in years — how long the loan runs, which fixes how many payments there are.

The arithmetic, in words

First, the calculator nets the trade-in: it subtracts what you still owe on the trade-in from what the trade-in is worth, giving your trade equity. Second, it builds the amount financed — vehicle price, minus down payment, minus trade equity, plus sales tax at the rate you entered, plus the dealer and licensing fees you entered. If trade equity is negative, that amount is added rather than subtracted.

Third, it converts the amount financed into a payment. The annual rate you typed is applied to the declining balance across twelve periods per year, and the payment is the level amount that covers the interest charged each period and retires the whole balance by the final payment. A larger amount financed, a higher rate or a shorter term each push the payment up; a longer term spreads the same balance across more payments. If your lender applies interest on a different schedule, the payment will differ slightly.

Fourth, it totals the cost: payment multiplied by the number of payments gives the total of payments, the gap between that total and the amount financed approximates the cost of borrowing, and adding the cash you paid upfront gives an overall outlay for the purchase.

What the result assumes

The output assumes a fixed rate that never changes, a full term with every payment made on time and in full, no extra charges added to the balance later, no prepayment and no missed payments. It assumes the number of payments equals the term in years multiplied by twelve, that the tax rate you entered is the rate actually applied, and that the fees you listed are the complete set. It also assumes the rate you typed is one you could be offered. Nothing on this page confirms that.

Whether the sales tax base is reduced by the trade-in depends on where you live and how the deal is written. The calculator does not decide that for you: it applies the rate you supply to the figures as entered, so enter the effective treatment that reflects your situation. Lending in Canada is licensed provincially, so the regulator and the rules differ by province and territory, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada lists the provincial and territorial regulators that supervise most lenders outside the federal sphere. Where a federally regulated institution is involved, complaints go to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

The advertised rate is also only part of the story — the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains what goes into the cost of borrowing. One hard ceiling is worth knowing because it is criminal law rather than contract: the Criminal Code sets the criminal rate of interest at 35% per year. That is a legal limit, not a market rate, and it says nothing about what any particular borrower will be offered.

What the output cannot tell you

It cannot tell you whether you will be approved, what rate you will be offered, or what a lender's own cost of borrowing disclosure will say once its fees are included. It does not model insurance, maintenance, fuel, repairs or depreciation. It does not price by vehicle age or by whether the car is new or used, and it does not know your credit history, income or existing debts — all of which sit on the lender's side of the decision. Read the result as a way to compare scenarios, and check the assumptions behind any offer you receive.