Statutory cost checker · Updated September 2026
Payday loan calculator
Payday pricing is not a rate a lender picks — it is a fee schedule written into state law. Pick your state and an amount: the calculator applies that state's own schedule and returns the legal maximum fee, the total owed and the equivalent APR, so the number you see is the law, not a lender's estimate.
The law, computed
What a $300 payday loan costs by state
25 jurisdictions allow storefront payday · equivalent APR runs from ~93% (Iowa) to ~421% (Missouri) · 13 priced out by 36% APR caps · 13 prohibit the product
| State | Max fee on $300 | Total repaid | Max term | Equivalent APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $52.5 | $300 + $52.5 | 10-31 days | ~206% |
| Alaska | $50 | $300 + $50 | 14-30 days | ~203% |
| California | $45 | $300 + $45 | Max 31 days | ~177% |
| Delaware | — | — | Max 60 days | — |
| Florida | $35 | $300 + $35 | 7-31 days | ~137% |
| Idaho | — | — | Max 31 days | — |
| Indiana | $44 | $300 + $44 | 14-31 days | ~173% |
| Iowa | $35 | $300 + $35 | Max 31 days | ~137% |
| Kansas | $45 | $300 + $45 | 7-30 days | ~182% |
| Kentucky | $46 | $300 + $46 | 14-60 days | ~93% |
| Louisiana | $60.25 | $300 + $60.25 | Max 30 days | ~244% |
| Michigan | $42 | $300 + $42 | Max 31 days | ~165% |
| Mississippi | $60 | $300 + $60 | Max 30 days | ~243% |
| Missouri | — | — | 14-31 days | — |
| Nevada | — | — | Max 35 days | — |
| North Dakota | $60 | $300 + $60 | Max 60 days | ~122% |
| Oklahoma | $45 | $300 + $45 | 12-45 days | ~122% |
| Rhode Island | $45 | $300 + $45 | 13 days min | ~421% |
| South Carolina | $45 | $300 + $45 | Max 31 days | ~177% |
| Tennessee | $45 | $300 + $45 | Max 31 days | ~177% |
| Texas | $60–$75 | $300 + $60–$75 | 7-180 days | — |
| Utah | — | — | Max 10 weeks for interest accrual | — |
| Washington | $45 | $300 + $45 | Max 45 days | ~122% |
| Wisconsin | — | — | Max 90 days | — |
| Wyoming | $60 | $300 + $60 | 8-31 days | ~235% |
Fees are each state's statutory schedule applied to $300 — the legal ceiling, not a lender offer. Equivalent APR = (fee ÷ amount) × (365 ÷ max term days); shown where the state fixes a term. "—" marks contract-priced markets (Texas CSO and states without a published schedule), where the state's official typical example is the only lawful total. Dataset refreshed September 2026.
How payday loan APR is calculated
A payday loan has no interest rate to calculate — it has a fee, fixed by statute, that the lender converts into an APR only when disclosure rules require it. The conversion is one line of arithmetic: APR = (fee ÷ amount) × (365 ÷ days) × 100. Take California: the schedule allows $45 on a $300 loan with a term up to 31 days, so (45 ÷ 300) × (365 ÷ 31) × 100 ≈ 177%. Borrow the same dollars for half as long and the APR doubles while the fee stays put — which is why short terms, not big fees alone, produce triple-digit rates.
Two costs the formula deliberately excludes: rollover charges where a state permits renewals, and the bank fees you eat when an ACH debit bounces. Those are contract and circumstance, not statute — the table above is the ceiling, and a compliant lender charges up to it, never past it.
Cash advance fee at a bank — a different product
Half the searches for a cash advance calculator are actually about credit cards. A card cash advance is a withdrawal against your credit line, and it prices nothing like a payday loan: issuers typically charge a percentage of the amount with a flat minimum, ATM operators add their own fee, and interest starts accruing the day the money leaves the ATM — there is no grace period. The bank's own fee schedule is the only number worth calculating with; the ranges quoted anywhere else are marketing. For a $300 gap, the honest comparison is three numbers: your card's cash-advance cost from its fee schedule, your state's payday ceiling from the table above, and a credit-union PAL at the 28% federal cap.
Questions people ask about payday loan costs
How is interest calculated on a payday loan?
Payday loans are priced as a fee, not an interest rate: the state sets a dollar charge per $100 borrowed (or a tiered schedule), and the lender may not exceed it. To express that fee as an APR, divide the fee by the amount, divide again by the term in days, and multiply by 365. A $45 fee on a $300 loan for 31 days works out to (45 ÷ 300) × (365 ÷ 31) ≈ 177% APR — the same dollars, annualized so you can compare them with any other credit.
What is the average payday loan APR?
There is no single number, because every state sets its own fee — this page's table computes the equivalent APR for a $300 loan at each state's maximum term. The spread runs from about 93% in Iowa to about 421% in Missouri. The "400% payday APR" figure quoted in national coverage is the two-week equivalent of the standard $15-per-$100 fee, not a universal price.
How do I calculate the APR from a fee?
APR = (fee ÷ amount) × (365 ÷ days until repayment) × 100. Example: a $60 charge on a $400 loan repaid in 14 days is (60 ÷ 400) × (365 ÷ 14) × 100 ≈ 391% APR. The calculator above does this conversion automatically from each state's statutory schedule, using that state's maximum loan term.
How much of a payday loan can I get?
Your state decides. Statutory caps run from $50 in the smallest markets to $1,000 in the largest, and a few states price the maximum as a share of income instead — New Mexico and Nevada, for example, cap the loan at a percentage of your gross monthly paycheck. Select your state in the calculator: the amount slider stops at the state's legal maximum.
Is a cash advance fee the same thing as a payday loan fee?
No — "cash advance" describes two different products. A payday cash advance is the state-regulated loan this page prices. A credit-card cash advance is a withdrawal against your card's credit line: the issuer charges a percentage of the amount with a flat minimum, plus ATM fees, plus interest that typically accrues from the day of withdrawal with no grace period. The issuer's own fee schedule is the only reliable source for that math — banks do not publish one universal rate.
Why is the APR on a small loan so high?
Because APR annualizes a cost that is charged over weeks. The statutory fee itself is fixed by law — 15% of face value in California, $20 per $100 in Mississippi — and the lender cannot raise it. Annualizing the same fee over a shorter term produces a bigger number, which is why comparing APRs only makes sense at similar terms. The number that answers "can I afford it" is the total you repay by the due date — the calculator shows both.
LendMap USA is an information platform, not a lender: every figure here is the statutory ceiling computed from state law — not an offer of credit.