Tom takes out a loan of $20,000 with a 7% annual compounded interest rate. If he pays it back in three years, what will be his total repayment amount?

1 answer

To calculate the total repayment amount for a loan with compound interest, you can use the formula for compound interest:

\[ A = P(1 + r)^n \]

where:

  • \( A \) is the total amount to be repaid,
  • \( P \) is the principal amount (the initial loan),
  • \( r \) is the annual interest rate (in decimal),
  • \( n \) is the number of years the money is borrowed.

Given:

  • \( P = 20,000 \) (the loan amount),
  • \( r = 0.07 \) (7% annual interest rate),
  • \( n = 3 \) (the loan period in years).

Now, substituting the values into the formula:

\[ A = 20000(1 + 0.07)^3 \]

Calculating \( (1 + 0.07)^3 \) first:

\[ 1 + 0.07 = 1.07 \] \[ (1.07)^3 = 1.07 \times 1.07 \times 1.07 \approx 1.225043 \]

Next, multiply this by the principal:

\[ A \approx 20000 \times 1.225043 \approx 24500.86 \]

Therefore, Tom's total repayment amount after three years will be approximately $24,500.86.