CD Calculator
See what a certificate of deposit pays by the time it matures, from the APY your bank quotes or from the interest rate and how often it compounds.
12 months = 1 year, 60 months = 5 years.
Your CD after 1 year
$10,400.00
That is $400.00 in interest, if you leave the money and the interest in the CD until it matures.
| Deposit | $10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Interest earned4% APY for 1 year | +$400.00 |
| Balance at maturity | $10,400.00 |
The same deposit and APY for other terms
| Term | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | $98.53 | $10,098.53 |
| 6 months | $198.04 | $10,198.04 |
| 1 year | $400.00 | $10,400.00 |
| 18 months | $605.96 | $10,605.96 |
| 2 years | $816.00 | $10,816.00 |
| 3 years | $1,248.64 | $11,248.64 |
| 5 years | $2,166.53 | $12,166.53 |
Before taxes and without any early withdrawal penalty.
This is an estimate to help you plan, not financial advice. Your bank, lender or plan may round, time or charge things differently.
How this is calculated
Banks must disclose a CD's annual percentage yield (APY) along with its interest rate. The APY is figured with a formula set in Regulation DD, the federal Truth in Savings rule: APY = (1 + interest ÷ principal)365 ÷ days in term − 1. The rule assumes that the deposit and the interest stay in the account until the CD matures.
The calculator turns that formula around: balance at maturity = deposit × (1 + APY)months ÷ 12. Example: $10,000 at 4% APY for 12 months grows to $10,400.00, so $400.00 in interest. For 6 months it is $198.04, a little less than half of that, because the APY already counts interest earned on interest over a full year.
The regulation's own example: a bank pays $30.37 on a $1,000 six-month CD with 182 days. (1 + 30.37 ÷ 1,000)365 ÷ 182 − 1 = 6.18% APY. Regulation DD counts the actual days in the term; the calculator uses months ÷ 12, so its result can be a few cents different.
Interest rate and compounding. If you only know the interest rate, the APY depends on how often interest is added: APY = (1 + rate ÷ n)n − 1, with n = 365 for daily, 12 for monthly, 4 for quarterly and 1 for yearly compounding.
| Interest rate | Daily | Monthly | Quarterly | Once a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | 3.045% | 3.042% | 3.034% | 3% |
| 4% | 4.081% | 4.074% | 4.06% | 4% |
| 5% | 5.127% | 5.116% | 5.095% | 5% |
Not included: taxes on the interest and early withdrawal penalties. Under Regulation DD the bank must tell you, before you open the CD, whether a penalty can apply for taking money out early and how it is figured. If the bank pays the interest out instead of adding it to the CD, you earn less than the APY suggests.
Sources
Checked against the sources below on .
Questions people ask
How much does a $10,000 CD earn in a year?
At 4% APY, $400.00, for a balance of $10,400.00 after 12 months. At 5% APY it is $500.00.
What is the difference between APY and interest rate?
The interest rate is the yearly rate before compounding. The APY includes the effect of compounding over a year: 4% compounded daily is 4.081% APY. Federal rules require banks to show the APY.
How do I calculate CD interest?
Multiply the deposit by (1 + APY) raised to the term in years, then subtract the deposit. For $10,000 at 4% APY for 6 months: 10,000 × 1.04^0.5 − 10,000 = $198.04.
Is a CD insured?
CDs at FDIC-insured banks are covered by FDIC deposit insurance up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category.
What happens if I take money out of a CD early?
The bank can charge an early withdrawal penalty, for example a number of days' or months' interest. It has to disclose the penalty and how it is figured before you open the account.