Financial Tools
Car Affordability Calculator
Determine how much car you can realistically afford. Start from the monthly payment you are comfortable with and work back to the sticker price.
Monthly Payment You Can Afford
Monthly Take-home Pay (optional, to check the share)
Interest Rate (% APR)
Loan Term
Down Payment
Trade-in Value
Sales Tax (% in your state)
Title and Fees (% of price)
Values shown are examples. Edit them to match your situation.
What You Can Afford
| Maximum Car Price | $0 |
| Maximum Loan | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $0 |
| Title and Fees | $0 |
| Total Interest Over the Loan | $0 |
| Total Cost Including Cash Down | $0 |
| Payment as Share of Take-home Pay | n/a |
For illustration only, not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter and do not constitute an offer, rate quote or approval.
Questions people ask
How does the page turn a monthly budget into a car price?
It finds the loan that your monthly payment clears over the term at your interest rate, adds your down payment and trade-in, and divides by one plus the sales tax and fee percentages. The result is the highest sticker price that fits your budget.
Are sales tax and fees included?
Yes. Sales tax and title and fees are both percentages of the price, and the page takes them out of what you can spend, so higher rates lower the maximum price.
What does Payment as Share of Take-home Pay show?
It divides your monthly payment by the take-home pay you enter. The field is optional; leave it blank and the line shows n/a.
Does the result include insurance, fuel or maintenance?
No. Those are not inputs here, so the monthly payment covers the loan alone. Leave room in your budget for the running costs of the car.
