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How do I calculate a loan if the interest rate changes after six months?

Jill Newman, CPA
Financial Advisor
Jill Newman is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Ohio with over 20 years of accounting experience. She has experience working as an accountant in public accounting firms, nonprofits, and educational institutions, and has also honed her communication skills via an MA in English, writing jobs, and as a teacher. She received her CPA from the Accountancy Board of Ohio in 1994 and has a BS in Business Administration/Accounting.

Jill Newman, CPA

Financial Advisor

Expert Answer

Calculate the first six months of interest at that rate and add it to the principal. Then, continue your calculation using this amount with the adjusted rate of interest.

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Question

How do I calculate my interest payments monthly when I miss payments?

Jill Newman, CPA
Financial Advisor
Jill Newman is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Ohio with over 20 years of accounting experience. She has experience working as an accountant in public accounting firms, nonprofits, and educational institutions, and has also honed her communication skills via an MA in English, writing jobs, and as a teacher. She received her CPA from the Accountancy Board of Ohio in 1994 and has a BS in Business Administration/Accounting.

Jill Newman, CPA

Financial Advisor

Expert Answer

Typically when you miss a payment the monthly payment amount does not change, but you will be charged a late fee which could be a fixed amount or an amount per day until the payment is made. However, if you do need to calculate the interest on missed payments, you would add the principal amount from the payments you missed and then use that amount in your calculation with the monthly interest rate. A loan amortization schedule will show you exact breakdown of principal to interest for each payment.

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Question

How do I calculate interest payments?

Michael R. Lewis
Business Advisor
Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He has a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael R. Lewis

Business Advisor

Expert Answer

An interest payment is based upon the annual interest rate and the principal amount outstanding for the period. Presuming that you are making interest payments only on a term loan, divide the interest rate stated in the loan documents by the number of payments made in a year. Multiply the result times the principal outstanding. For example, if you have a $10,000 loan at 10% interest, your annual interest payments would total $1,000. If you make quarterly payments, you would pay $250 each quarter.

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Question

To pay off debt is it better to get a loan or a line of credit?

Michael R. Lewis
Business Advisor
Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He has a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael R. Lewis

Business Advisor

Expert Answer

A line of credit is not a loan, but the lender's agreement to provide a loan under certain conditions specified in the line of credit agreement. Lenders usually charge fees for a line of credit since it restricts their lending capacity. However, a line of credit until funded does not provide any cash to repay another loan. As a consequence, it appears that you will need to make a loan to pay off an older loan.

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