Skip to main content

Loan · FINANCIAL TOOLS

Loan Balance Transfer Calculator

Work out whether switching your loan to a lower rate pays for itself, and after how many months.

Understand the calculation

Calculation logic, formula, example and guardrails behind the estimate.

How it works

Both loans are computed on the same principal and the same remaining term, so the only difference is the rate. That keeps the comparison honest: a new loan over a longer tenure would show a lower instalment while costing more in total, which is how transfers are often mis-sold.

The switching cost is the processing fee on the new loan, any foreclosure penalty on the old one, and the fixed legal and valuation charges. All of it is payable upfront.

More detail

The break-even is that cost divided by the monthly reduction in instalment. It is the number that decides the question, because a transfer that takes forty months to repay itself on a loan with thirty months left is a loss dressed as a saving.

Where the new rate does not reduce the instalment at all, no break-even is reported rather than a meaningless figure — there is nothing for the cost to be repaid from.

To compare against simply prepaying instead, use the prepayment calculator.

To find what you actually still owe, see the loan balance calculator.

To see what a different tenure would do, try the home loan EMI calculator.

Formula

Break-even months = Switching cost ÷ (Old EMI − New EMI); Net saving = Interest saved − Switching cost

Both EMIs use the standard reducing-balance formula over the same remaining term. The break-even is undefined rather than infinite when the new EMI is not lower, which is why it is reported as absent.

Switching cost
Processing fee plus foreclosure penalty plus legal and valuation charges.
Interest saved
The difference in total interest between the two loans over the remaining term.
Worked example

₹40,00,000 outstanding with fifteen years left, moving from 9% to 8%, with a 0.5% processing fee, ₹10,000 of other charges and no foreclosure penalty.

  1. 01Current instalment₹40,570.66
  2. 02New instalment₹38,226.08
  3. 03Monthly saving₹2,344.58
  4. 04Switching cost₹20,000 + ₹10,000 = ₹30,000
  5. 05Break-even₹30,000 ÷ ₹2,344.58 = 12.8 months
  6. 06Interest saved over the term₹4,22,024
  7. 07Net saving₹3,92,024

Thirteen months to recover the cost, against fifteen years of remaining term — comfortably worthwhile. Note how much the term matters: on the same loan with two years left rather than fifteen, the interest saved would be a fraction of the ₹30,000 cost, and the identical one-percent rate cut would be a mistake.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about the loan balance transfer calculator and the assumptions behind it.

Disclaimer

This calculator is provided for general information and planning only. It is not investment, tax or legal advice, and it does not take your personal circumstances into account. Outputs are estimates based on the assumptions stated on this page, exclude taxes and charges unless said otherwise, and market-linked returns are not guaranteed — the value of investments can fall as well as rise. Lending terms, rates and eligibility are decided by the lender. For advice on your own situation, speak to a qualified professional, several of whom you can consult on Finvestalk.