This application helps you explore fixed-rate loan scenarios for both new or existing loans. For existing loans, this application will calculate the remaining principle and interest on the loan. “Loan or Pay Cash?”, is a unique feature which can provide insight to a common financial planning question on whether to borrow money or pay cash for a purchase? Or assist with deciding whether to pay off an existing loan with cash from savings or investments.
Entering values ...
The values that can be changed are represented in the color “blue”. These values can be changed by either using the slider or with the numeric keyboard. For a value higher than the slider maximum allowed is desired, then the user must use the numeric keyboard to enter the value.
Loan Term - can be entered in months or years. If months are entered, then the application will automatically adjust years to match and vis-a-versa. The loan term slider will advance number of months in twelve (12) month increments to a maximum of 360. Values above 360 maybe entered with the keypad to a maximum of 600 months (or 50 years).
Months Remaining - for an existing loan, this value represents the months remaining not to exceed the Loan Term value entered above. If this value is less than the Loan Term, the remaining principal and interest is calculated and displayed.
Federal Tax Rate %, State/Local Tax Rate % - enter your effective tax rate to be used in calculating the desired investment return rate estimates. You can often obtain this value from your last tax return. Most popular tax programs will automatically provide these values, otherwise they can be estimated by taking your Total Tax Expense and dividing by your Taxable Income. For personal advice regarding your financial situation and effective tax rates, please consult with a financial or tax advisor.
Explore - Loan or Pay Cash?
This feature estimates the desired investment rate of return and can help answer questions like ...
Do I borrow or pay cash (i.e. cash from savings or investments) for a purchase?
What minimal investment return (after taxes) would I need to cover the interest payments on the loan?
Should I pay off an existing loan?
The desired investment return rate calculated, is estimated using the remaining principal and term of the loan. This calculation assumes that the return from investments would be subjected to yearly taxes (i.e. taxes subjected to capital gains, dividend income, interest income, etc). The amount of the investment is decreased monthly by the amount of the monthly loan payments (i.e. principle & interest) and yearly for taxes on investments returns. This calculator assumes that any allowable tax deduction of loan interest (e.g. home mortgage) is factored into the effective tax rates input in the Federal Tax Rate and State/Local Tax Rate input values.
Desired investment return over loan term period:
This shows the average annual total return (%) desired from an investment and the actual return ($) over the remaining term of the loan. The picker provides 10 additional higher investment return scenarios for comparison purposes.