Amortization

Amortization summary:

• Amortization breaks down loan payments into principal and interest portions.

• Amortization can be a planning tool. For example, you could amortize a loan to figure out how you could make the most impact with extra payments.

• Loan amortization shows the steady progress you’ll make against your loan over time through regular payments.

Amortization definition and meaning

Amortization, or loan amortization, is a financial term that tells you how loan payments are spread out over a fixed time period, how much of each payment goes to interest charges, and how much is applied to the principal balance owed.

When you amortize an installment loan, you break it down into its monthly payments with a clear view of how much of each payment is applied to interest charges, and how much is applied to the balance that you still owe. You can get a snapshot of this breakdown on an amortization schedule.

Key concept:

The predictable, systematic reduction of the loan balance over time through regular payments.

More about amortization

Amortization is financial lingo for how an installment loan breaks down over its life. Amortization is a mathematical calculation, but you don’t have to learn the formulas. Use a free amortization calculator online. Just plug in your loan amount, interest rate, and repayment term. You’ll get an amortization schedule that shows you all of the details.

Loan amortization is a useful tool for understanding how the interest works on your loan, and how changing the loan amount, payment amount, loan term, or interest rate could affect the monthly and overall cost of the loan. 

Amortization: a comprehensive breakdown

Loan amortization is the process that breaks down a loan into a series of fixed payments over a specific period of time. 

Key components of amortization include:

• Loan amount

• Interest rate

• Repayment term

• Payment amount

• Extra payment amounts, if any

When you first take out a loan, a larger portion of your monthly payment will go toward interest charges. That’s because your principal balance is bigger, and you get charged interest based on how much you owe.

As you make regular payments, your loan balance goes down. The portion of each payment that goes toward interest gets smaller and smaller, while the portion that is applied to the outstanding balance gets bigger and bigger.

Amortization is a snapshot of your loan progression from the first payment to the last. Loan amortization could inform your decision about whether to take a loan and how to manage your payoff strategy. 

Fun fact: Amortization is also an accounting method. A business can spread out the value of intangible assets (like a patent or trademark) over time using amortization. 

The amortization concept is the same for loans and for assets. It’s a way to show decreasing value over time. For a loan, the thing that’s decreasing is the amount you owe. For a business, the thing that’s decreasing is the value of an asset.