A prepayment penalty (also known as an early payoff fee) is an additional fee charged by some lenders if you pay off your loan early. All personal loans come with a specified loan term — a.k.a. the amount of time you have to completely repay the loan balance (plus interest) you borrowed.
Negotiate with your lender
Some lenders may be willing to negotiate with you to reduce or even remove the prepayment penalty, but you'll need to call and ask. They may be more likely to negotiate if you've made your payments on-time every time.
Early repayment fees are designed to cover the lender's loss incurred if you end your loan early. To fully understand why these fees are sometimes imposed, it helps to know the backstory of your loan (cue flashback music): Your personal loan is approved.
Interest-based fee: This style of prepayment penalty is based on how much interest you'd pay over a certain period of time. Some lenders, for example, might charge a year or two's worth of interest as a prepayment penalty.
Under the Consumer Credit Regulations 2004, a lender can charge up to two months' additional interest if you choose to pay-off your loan early. This is reduced to a maximum of one month's interest if your loan has less than 12 months left of its term.
You could save interest and free up room in your budget by paying your auto loan off early. There are several options available — including refinancing, paying biweekly and rounding up payments, just to name a few. Confirm your lender doesn't charge a prepayment penalty since the cost could be more than what you save.
Prepayment penalties can be charged in a variety of ways. They may be calculated as a percentage of the remaining loan amount — typically 1 to 2 percent. The penalty could be equal to a certain number of months' interest. Or some lenders may charge a flat fee.
We calculate your settlement figure by following the Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004. This means, we calculate your final figure by working out how much is left to pay on your finance agreement, minus the remaining amount of interest. We also include all admin fees in your final balance.
When you pay off your loan early, you'll be cutting down on the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan. These savings can be particularly pronounced if you have a high interest rate loan, explains Forbes contributor Casey Bond.
Typically, ERCs range from 1% to 5% of the remaining loan, and this percentage tends to decrease each year you're into the deal.
Ask for a reduced, lump-sum payment.
In some instances of serious financial hardship, your lender or credit card provider may be willing to settle your outstanding balance for less than what you owe — provided you can offer them a large lump-sum payment.
If you're on a fixed rate of interest
Most lenders allow you to pay up to 10% of your loan balance each year without incurring an ERC. This is called an annual overpayment allowance (AOA). If you go over your AOA, there could be an ERC so it's worth checking with your lender what your AOA is to avoid this.
Paying off the loan early can put you in a situation where you must pay a prepayment penalty, potentially undoing any money you'd save on interest, and it can also impact your credit history.
You can't avoid paying the ERC unless you wait until your mortgage deal ends and no fee applies. However, if the ERC is lower than the interest rate on your current deal or if you're switching to a cheaper mortgage, you may find that, over time, the lower interest rate outweighs the cost of the ERC.
You can't prepay, renegotiate or refinance a closed mortgage before the end of the term without a prepayment charge. But, most closed mortgages have certain prepayment privileges, such as the right to prepay 10% to 20% of the original principal amount each year, without a prepayment charge.
Sometimes lenders like to see that you're clearing your debt over time in monthly repayments as it shows you're managing your money well. However, it could still be worthwhile using extra cash to repay your loan early as any negative impact on your credit file is likely to be small and temporary.
Yes, paying off a personal loan early could temporarily have a negative impact on your credit scores. But any dip in your credit scores will likely be temporary and minor. And it might be worth balancing that risk against the possible benefits of paying off your personal loan early.
There are some differences around how the various data elements on a credit report factor into the score calculations. Although credit scoring models vary, generally, credit scores from 660 to 724 are considered good; 725 to 759 are considered very good; and 760 and up are considered excellent.
A prepayment penalty is only allowed during the first three years after the loan is consummated. After three years, a prepayment penalty isn't allowed. (12 C.F.R. § 1026.43(g) (2024).)
Because of the high interest rates and risk of going upside down, most experts agree that a 72-month loan isn't an ideal choice. Experts recommend that borrowers take out a shorter loan. And for an optimal interest rate, a loan term fewer than 60 months is a better way to go.
Payments would be around $377 per month. According to the results, it will take you 60 months, an interest rate of 5% of $2,645, to fully pay your $20,000 car loan. However, the monthly cost of a $20,000 car loan will depend on your repayment period and the annual percentage rate (APR).