Car loan calculator
Sales tax and a trade in change what you finance more than the sticker price does. Enter both and the payment updates as you go.
Sets the sales tax table and the currency.
Before tax, after any discount you have agreed.
What the dealer allows you for your current vehicle.
True in most places when you trade in at the same dealer. Check your own rules.
Results
Monthly payment
$644.42
At 7.5% over 5 years.
- Sales tax
- $4,160.00
- 13.000% in Ontario
- Price with tax
- $42,160
- Amount financed
- $32,160
- After the down payment and the trade in
- Payments
- 60 (5 years)
- Total interest
- $6,505.23
- Total paid to the lender
- $38,665
Tax rate for Ontario applies to 2026. Read the published rate.
Assumptions
- The rate is divided by twelve to reach a monthly rate, which is how a vehicle loan is quoted in both countries.
- Canada: the calculator applies GST, HST, PST or QST at the published rate for the province or territory you pick. Quebec's QST is applied to the same base as GST here.
- The United States: only the state level rate is applied. County, city and district taxes are common and would push the figure higher.
- Where a trade in reduces the taxable amount, the reduction is the full allowance. Some places cap it or do not allow it, so the switch is yours to set.
- Registration, licensing, documentation fees, extended warranties and dealer add ons are not included. Anything rolled into the loan raises the payment.
- A negative equity balance carried over from an earlier loan is not modelled. Add it to the price if you want to see the effect.
Sources
- GST and HST rates by province and territory, Canada Revenue Agency, checked 30 August 2026
- Financing or leasing a car, Federal Trade Commission, checked 30 August 2026
The rate used for the province or state you picked links from the results panel, with the year it applies to.
How this works
The payment on a car loan is set by three numbers: what you finance, the rate, and how long you take. Only the first is really under your control at the dealership, and it is not the sticker price. It is the price plus sales tax, less the cash you put down and whatever the dealer allows for your old vehicle.
Tax is where the arithmetic surprises people. On a thirty eight thousand dollar car in a province charging thirteen percent, tax adds nearly five thousand dollars, and if you finance it you pay interest on that too. Trading in usually cuts the bill twice: the allowance reduces the amount you borrow, and in most places it also reduces the amount that gets taxed, because the tax applies to the difference rather than the full price.
Term length is the lever dealers reach for when a payment sounds too high. Stretching a loan from sixty months to eighty four drops the payment noticeably and raises the interest by more than most buyers expect. It also keeps you owing more than the vehicle is worth for longer, which becomes a problem if you want to sell or if the car is written off.
A rate quoted by a dealer is not always the rate a lender offered. Financing arranged through the seller can carry a markup over what the bank behind it charges. Getting a quote from your own bank or credit union before you sit down gives you a figure to compare, and this page will show you what the gap costs over the term.