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§ 02 — Loan

How much will the bank actually take?

Enter a loan amount, rate and term — we'll work out repayments, total interest paid, and the year-by-year balance schedule. The current big-four variable average is pre-filled.

Updated · May 2026·Source: RBA · big-four lenders·Read · 5 min

Your inputs

A$
%
yrs
Repayment frequency
Repayment type

Inputs local. Nothing sent anywhere.

The result

Your repayment · monthly

$3,973

at 6.18% over 30 years

Total interest
$780,142
Total repaid
$1,430,142
Interest %
55%
Annual repaid
$47,671

§ Where your dollars go

Principal 45% · Interest 55%

Principal you borrowedInterest to the bank

§ Year-end balance, every 5 years

YearRepaid that yearInterestRemaining
5$238,357$194,540$606,183
10$238,357$178,723$546,549
15$238,357$157,196$465,389
20$238,357$127,899$354,931
25$238,357$88,025$204,599
30$238,357$33,758$0.00

Repayment calculated using the standard amortisation formula. Real lender quotes can vary with fees, comparison rate, and offset balances.

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How the calculation works

Australian home loans use a standard amortisation formula: each repayment covers the interest accrued that period, with anything left over paid against the principal. Early on, almost all of the payment is interest. Late in the loan, almost all of it is principal.

Two levers do most of the work: the rate, which the RBA's cash rate steers, and the term, which most lenders cap at 30 years. A 1% rate change on a $650,000 loan over 30 years swings the monthly repayment by about $410.

Repayment frequency matters too. Switching from monthly to fortnightly while keeping the same amount works out to 13 monthly payments a year instead of 12 — quietly shaving years off the term and tens of thousands off the interest.

§ Letters & replies

Mortgages, answered.

Questions Australians ask most about repayments, interest and term.

Should I switch to fortnightly repayments?+ open

If you pay half the monthly amount fortnightly, you make 26 half-payments — equivalent to 13 monthly payments a year. On a $650k 30-year loan at 6.18%, that shortens the term by about 4 years and saves around $130k in interest.

P&I vs interest-only — which?+ open

Principal & interest pays down the loan; interest only doesn't. IO is cheaper monthly but you still owe the full balance when the IO period ends. Most owner-occupiers should be on P&I; investors sometimes use IO for tax timing.

What's the difference between rate and comparison rate?+ open

The advertised rate is just the interest. The comparison rate folds in most fees (annual, ongoing, settlement) into an annual percentage — closer to your real cost. Compare loans on the comparison rate, not the headline.

How does an offset account change things?+ open

An offset reduces the balance interest is calculated on. $50k sitting in an offset against a $650k loan means you only pay interest on $600k — every day it stays there. Effectively a tax-free return equal to your mortgage rate.