401(k) Loan Repayment Paycheck Calculator
See how much a 401(k) loan takes out of each paycheck, the interest paid back to your account, the payoff schedule, and the tax if you leave your job.
401(k) Loan Repayment Paycheck Calculator
Your loan
Federal rules cap a plan loan at $50,000 (less your highest loan balance in the past 12 months), or half your vested balance if that's lower. Any amount over the cap is taxed as a distribution. Qualified disaster loans can go to $100,000.
Your loan paperwork shows the rate. Many plans charge the prime rate plus 1 or 2 points, fixed for the life of the loan.
Repayment term
Only for a loan used to buy your main home, and only if your plan allows a longer term. The 5-year limit doesn't apply to that loan.
Pay frequency
Your paycheck (optional)
Leave it blank to skip the take-home and tax estimates. The loan payment and schedule don't need it.
Filing status
State
If you leave your job
0 means you leave right after taking the loan.
Age in the year you leave
Leaving in or after the year you turn 55 waives the 10% additional tax on this plan's distributions (qualified public safety employees: age 50 or 25 years of service).
Your paycheck (estimate)
This payment is more than your estimated take-home pay.
Add your annual salary to see take-home pay now and while you repay.
Estimates only. Not tax or legal advice. Your taxes don't change: the payment comes out of after-tax pay.
If you leave before it's repaid
Enter the months until you leave to see what you'd still owe.
If you don't repay or roll it over
Add your salary to estimate the income tax on this balance.
Uses 2026 federal figures and treats your salary as that year's income.
Payoff schedule by year
| Year | Paid | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|
| Paycheck | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|
These rows use the exact payment. Your plan rounds each payment to the cent, so its last payment can differ by a few cents.
Notes
- Your taxes don't change. A 401(k) loan payment comes out of after-tax pay, so your take-home drops by exactly the payment.
- State figures are estimates. The state math holds some income-based amounts fixed, so they're rough far from typical incomes.
- Missed payments while you still work there aren't modeled. After any cure period (at most to the end of the next calendar quarter), the whole balance plus accrued interest becomes a deemed distribution. It can't be rolled over, and the rule of 55 doesn't apply to it.
- Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. Take-home and state figures are estimates before other deductions and state payroll programs. Your plan's rate, fees, minimums and payoff rules can differ. Some states add their own tax on early distributions, which isn't modeled.
Pay44
Paycheck Calculator US
Track your 401(k) loan payment in Pay44
Add a Custom deduction set to After tax with your loan payment per paycheck, and Pay44 shows your new net pay after federal, state and FICA taxes.
Free · No sign-up needed
How a 401(k) loan comes out of your paycheck
A 401(k) loan is paid back by payroll deduction. Federal rules require substantially level payments, made at least quarterly, over no more than 5 years, and plans usually take one installment from every paycheck. The calculator runs the standard loan payment formula on your plan's rate and the number of paychecks in the term.
Here's the default example. A $10,000 loan at 8% over 5 years, repaid every two weeks, is 130 payments of $93.45. That's about $12,148 in total, and about $2,148 of it is interest. The interest doesn't go to a lender: it goes back into your own 401(k) account.
Pay frequency changes the payment more than the total. Repaid monthly, the same loan is $202.76 a month; twice a month it's $101.25, and weekly it's $46.69. Paying more often trims the interest a little because the balance falls sooner. To see how pay periods line up, try the pay period converter.
Your plan sets the rate, often the prime rate plus 1 or 2 points, fixed for the life of the loan. It's on your loan paperwork.
Why your take-home drops by the full payment
Loan repayments aren't plan contributions, so they don't reduce your taxable wages. Federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare stay exactly where they were, and your net pay falls by the whole payment. A regular 401(k) deferral works the other way and lowers your income tax; the 401(k) contribution calculator shows that side.
Take a single filer earning $60,000 in Texas, paid every two weeks. In 2026 their estimated take-home is $1,938.08 per paycheck. With the $93.45 loan payment it's $1,844.63, so the loan takes 4.8% of each check. For take-home pay in your own state, start from the state paycheck pages.
The "taxed twice" worry applies only to the interest. The principal was never taxed when you borrowed it, so repaying it from after-tax pay just restores what you took out. The interest comes out of after-tax pay and is taxed again when you withdraw it from a traditional 401(k) in retirement. You can't deduct it, either.
What happens if you leave your job with a loan balance
When you leave, payroll deductions stop. Many plans then ask you to repay the balance or offset it, which means reducing your account by the unpaid amount. An offset counts as an actual distribution.
If the loan was in good standing when you left, the offset is a qualified plan loan offset (code M on Form 1099-R). You can roll the same amount into an IRA or a new employer's plan until your tax-return due date, including extensions, for the year of the offset, and then none of it is taxed. If you don't, it's ordinary income, plus the 10% additional tax if you leave before the year you turn 55. That's the rule of 55; qualified public safety employees get it at 50 or after 25 years of service.
Say you leave 24 months into the $10,000 loan above. You've made 52 payments, and $6,471.39 is still unpaid. Single at $60,000, that adds about $776.57 of 2026 federal income tax and $647.14 of additional tax, $1,423.71 before any state tax. Roll it over in time and the cost is $0. If you're weighing a cash-out instead, the 401(k) early withdrawal tax calculator runs the same tax math. For your last check and any severance, see the final paycheck calculator and the severance pay tax calculator.
401(k) loan rules in brief
- How much: the lesser of $50,000 (minus your highest loan balance in the past 12 months) or half your vested balance. A plan may allow up to $10,000 even when that's more than half. A qualified disaster loan can go to $100,000.
- How long: 5 years at most, unless the loan buys your main home and your plan allows a longer term.
- How often: substantially level payments at least every quarter, and in practice from each paycheck.
- Missed payments: a plan can allow a cure period to the end of the next calendar quarter. After that, the whole balance plus accrued interest is a deemed distribution: taxable and not eligible for rollover.
- Leave and military service: payments can pause for up to a year of unpaid leave, though the loan still has to be repaid within the original term. During military service a plan can suspend them longer and extend the term by that time.
- Interest: not deductible on a loan secured by your elective deferrals.
To keep the payment in view on every paycheck, add it to the Pay44 app as a Custom deduction set to After tax.
Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. Your plan's loan policy sets the rate, fees and payoff rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about 401(k) loan repayment paycheck calculator
How much will a 401(k) loan take out of my paycheck?
It depends on the amount, your plan's rate, the term and how often you're paid. A $10,000 loan at 8% over 5 years, repaid every two weeks, takes $93.45 from each of 130 paychecks. Repaid monthly, it's $202.76 for 60 months. On the every-two-weeks schedule you pay about $2,148 in interest over the 5 years, and all of it goes back into your own account.
Are 401(k) loan repayments pre-tax or after-tax?
After-tax. Loan repayments aren't plan contributions, so unlike a 401(k) deferral they don't lower your taxable wages. Federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare stay the same, and your take-home drops by the full payment. Repayments also don't count toward the 2026 $24,500 elective deferral limit, so you can keep contributing if your plan allows it. The 401(k) contribution calculator shows how a deferral changes your paycheck.
Is the interest on a 401(k) loan taxed twice?
Yes, the interest is. The principal isn't: it was never taxed when you borrowed it, and paying it back just restores it. The interest comes out of after-tax pay, then gets taxed again as ordinary income when you withdraw it from a traditional 401(k) in retirement. You can't deduct it either: interest on a loan secured by your elective deferrals isn't deductible (IRC 72(p)(3)). On the $10,000 example, that's about $2,148 of interest over 5 years.
What happens to my 401(k) loan if I quit or get laid off?
Payroll deductions stop, and many plans then require the balance to be repaid or offset against your account. If the loan was in good standing when you left, you can roll the offset amount into an IRA or a new employer's plan until your tax-return due date, including extensions, for that year. If you don't, it's taxed as ordinary income, plus a 10% additional tax if you leave before the year you turn 55. Leave 2 years into the $10,000 loan with $6,471 unpaid, single at $60,000, and you'd owe about $777 in federal income tax and $647 in additional tax, plus any state tax. The final paycheck calculator covers your last check.
What happens if I miss a 401(k) loan payment?
Your plan can allow a cure period that runs to the end of the calendar quarter after the quarter the payment was due. Miss that too, and the whole outstanding balance, including accrued interest, becomes a deemed distribution. It's taxable, it can carry the 10% additional tax, and it can't be rolled over. You'll get a Form 1099-R with code L.
How much can I borrow from my 401(k)?
The lesser of $50,000 (minus your highest loan balance in the past 12 months) or half your vested balance, counting any loan you already have. Some plans let you borrow up to $10,000 even when that's more than half. With a $40,000 vested balance, the limit is $20,000. The loan has to be repaid within 5 years unless you use it to buy your main home.
Can I pay off a 401(k) loan early?
Usually, yes. Paying early also cuts the interest. Your plan sets the method, often a lump-sum check or a payment through the company that runs the plan. Check your plan's loan policy for the payoff amount and any rules.
Is a 401(k) loan better than a personal loan?
It has real advantages. There's no credit check, nothing gets reported to the credit bureaus, and the interest goes back into your own account instead of to a lender. The costs are easier to miss: the borrowed money sits out of the market while you repay it, the interest is taxed twice, and leaving your job can make the unpaid balance taxable. To compare cashing out instead, try the 401(k) early withdrawal tax calculator.