1,352 · calculator guide · August 24, 2026
What the rollover calculator shows
A payday-loan rollover normally delays the principal due date in exchange for another charge. The new charge may buy time without reducing the amount originally borrowed. This calculator makes that pattern visible by separating the first cycle fee, added renewal fees, cumulative fees and the total dollars paid when principal is finally repaid.
The model is intentionally narrow. It assumes the principal stays unchanged, every extension lasts the same number of days and each cycle uses the same fee per $100. Those assumptions match a common illustration but not every contract. Some arrangements require a partial principal reduction, change the charge, create a new loan or use an extended-payment plan instead.
A mathematical result does not establish that a renewal is lawful, offered or appropriate. Many states prohibit or limit rollovers, and a provider may apply a stricter policy. Check the state rule and written agreement before entering a hypothetical number of extensions. If renewal is not permitted, use zero rollovers and evaluate the actual repayment or plan terms instead.
Enter the original transaction, not a marketing example
Original principal is the amount borrowed and still owed. Do not enter the requested amount when the lender funded less, and do not include the first fee inside principal unless the agreement actually finances it. The amount financed, cash received and payoff amount can differ, so copy the value that the contract identifies as principal for this flat-fee model.
Fee per $100 is the charge for one cycle. Enter 15 when the document says fifteen dollars for each hundred dollars borrowed. If the document provides a single finance charge, divide that charge by principal and multiply by 100. Do not enter the disclosed APR in this field; APR and a dollar fee per hundred are different measurements.
Days per cycle should reflect the contractual interval from funding to the due date. Number of rollovers means extensions after the original cycle. Two rollovers therefore produce three fee events in the model: the original charge plus two renewal charges. The calculator limits the field to twenty to prevent accidental extreme entries, not to describe a legal maximum.
How cumulative renewal fees are calculated
The fee for one cycle equals principal divided by 100, multiplied by the entered fee per $100. Renewal fees equal that cycle fee multiplied by the number of rollovers. Cumulative fees add the original charge and all renewal charges. Total paid adds principal to cumulative fees, while estimated elapsed time multiplies cycle length by the total number of cycles.
Fees as a share of principal equals cumulative fees divided by principal, expressed as a percentage. This ratio is not the lender’s APR. It simply shows how large the accumulated charges have become compared with the dollars originally borrowed. Timing of payments, required fees and federal disclosure rules can produce a different standardized annual percentage rate.
The calculator treats each renewal charge as paid when that extension begins and the final displayed total as all charges plus principal. If fees are instead added to the outstanding balance, financed, assessed on another base or combined with late and returned-payment charges, the cash timing and total can differ. Rebuild the sequence from the actual ledger rather than forcing it into this template.
A $300 example with two extensions
Suppose the principal is $300, the fee is $15 per $100 and each cycle lasts fourteen days. One cycle costs $45. With no rollover, paying off the transaction requires $345 under these assumptions. The charge is already fifteen percent of principal even though the borrowing period is only two weeks.
After one rollover, another $45 has been paid to delay principal. Cumulative fees reach $90, twenty-eight days have elapsed and principal still has not fallen. Paying principal and the fees across the sequence produces a $390 total. After two rollovers, cumulative fees become $135 and the sequence reaches forty-two days; total dollars including principal become $435.
The third fee event does not mean the lender lent an additional $300. It represents another charge connected with continued use of the same principal in this simplified pattern. That distinction is why a “small extension fee” can be misleading when viewed alone. Record the entire sequence, including the balance after every payment.
Read fees, payoff and elapsed time together
Cumulative fees answer how much the entered series costs before principal. Total paid answers how many dollars leave the borrower across fees and final principal repayment. Elapsed time shows how long the unchanged principal remains outstanding. The fee-to-principal percentage provides a direct warning when repeated charges approach or exceed the amount initially received.
The displayed final total is not necessarily one payment due on the last day. Earlier rollover fees may already have been paid. For budgeting, create a separate timeline that places every debit on its real date. A household can be short even when the grand total is understood if a fee and essential bill fall before the next paycheck.
Do not interpret a lower fee-to-principal percentage as proof that another extension is affordable. The unresolved principal remains the central obligation. A renewal that consumes money needed for rent, food, utilities, insurance or transportation can worsen the next due-date gap even when the entered fee is mathematically correct.
Rollover, refinance and repayment plan are not synonyms
A rollover typically delays principal for a fee. A refinance may replace the old obligation with a new loan, possibly changing principal, term, price and disclosures. An extended repayment plan can divide an existing balance into smaller payments and may have different fees. The name used by an advertisement is less important than what happens to principal and total cost.
Before accepting a change, ask for a written schedule showing each payment, its date, the amount applied to principal, the amount applied to charges and the final payoff. If a payment reduces only fees, the next principal line should remain unchanged. If the company says a plan is free, confirm that no new finance, membership or processing charge is added elsewhere.
When payoff is difficult, contact the lender before the due date and ask what written options exist. The CFPB notes that availability of an extended repayment plan can depend on state law or lender policy. The calculator cannot request, negotiate or verify a plan and should not be used to recreate missing contract terms.
State restrictions and costs outside the model
State law may ban rollovers, cap their number, require principal reduction or regulate a differently named renewal. A national website or a selectable state in an online form does not prove that the entered sequence is lawful. Use the Borrow Radar state directory, then confirm current wording with the regulator or statute and identify the actual lender.
The result excludes late fees, nonsufficient-funds charges, bank overdraft fees, collection expenses and the cost of a failed debit attempt. It also excludes new borrowing after payoff. A reborrowed loan can create a similar economic sequence without being labeled a same-day rollover, so track transactions by dates and dollars rather than relying only on product names.
Stopping an ACH authorization or asking a bank to block a debit does not erase the debt. Payment rights and notice requirements must be handled separately from the cost estimate. Preserve agreements, notices, account statements and confirmation numbers if the payment activity does not match the authorization.
Use the estimate as a decision checkpoint
The safest use of the tool is prospective: reveal the possible cost before the first agreement or before a permitted renewal. It is also useful for reconstructing a simple sequence from statements. It cannot determine liability, resolve a dispute or tell a consumer to prioritize one legal obligation over another.
Borrow Radar does not receive the inputs, approve credit or send them to an offer. External uniqueness for this guide remains a publication gate, and the source date must be revisited when official guidance changes. Treat every number as an estimate until it matches the dated contract and payment record.
- Run the original cycle with zero rollovers and save that baseline.
- Add only extensions that are actually described in writing, one at a time.
- Compare cumulative fees with principal and with the household cash available on every due date.
- Ask whether a payment plan, creditor extension, credit-union product or community assistance has a lower verified total cost.
- Stop when the lender identity, state rule, fee allocation, debit date or final payoff cannot be confirmed.