This page links to four different software programs to calculate credit math functions, including calculating an Annual Percentage Rate (APR), a Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR), and Rule of 78 rebates. Each program has different limitations, such as whether it is compatible with MacOS or iOS. Some of the programs deal with irregular payments better than others or offer features the others do not. One program is a web-based calculator available from the federal government, and the other three were developed for NCLC. The NCLC programs are quite old and NCLC no longer supports them, but they have been informally tested and should be usable for most versions of Microsoft Windows. The federal government program was updated in December of 2022 and should work with any operating system.
These programs use only one method each of estimating APRs, but the Federal Reserve Board sanctions several methods for computing APRs and allows creditors to disregard certain irregularities and to disclose APRs with certain tolerances. See the discussion in Truth in Lending § 5.5.
FFIEC Tool
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) software is an online tool for verifying annual percentage rates and reimbursement adjustments. This program includes relevant finance charge and APR tolerances for verifying the accuracy of annual percentage rates and finance charges on loans secured by real estate or a dwelling. The online APR program also is a tool for verifying Military Annual Percentage Rates (MAPR) for loans subject to the Military Lending Act. It handles irregular payments. As an online tool it has the distinct advantage over the two NCLC programs in that it is compatible with any operating system—Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS, etc.
The FFIEC is a council with representation by the major federal agencies with authority to regulate banking and credit. The FFIEC updated this program on December 15, 2022, and the linked page will indicate any more recent updates. This makes this tool more recently updated by decades compared to the two NCLC calculation tools. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has discontinued use of the OCC’s Annual Percentage Rate Calculation Program for Windows (APRWIN) in favor of this FFIEC computational tools.
The FFIEC program does not retain any entered information, so results should be printed out or otherwise saved after use. Although the FFIEC states that great care has been taken in the preparation of these programs, the FFIEC makes no warranty of complete accuracy. Further, the FFIEC does not recommend this program over other methods to calculate annual percentage rate or yields.
Consumer Law Math Program
(Developed for NCLC)
Consumer Law Math, for Windows, provides a user-friendly way of calculating the Annual Percentage Rate and Rule of 78 rebates, and making amortization charts, for regular transactions and transactions in which only the first and last payment are irregular. Of the three programs, it is the simplest and easiest to use. It is not compatible with MacOS.
Consumer Law Math must first be installed on your hard drive before you can use it. Before installing, close other active applications. Unzip the file downloaded above and double-click Setup.exe. When finished with the setup process, the Consumer Law Math icon (a pencil) will be on the Start > Programs menu. (Users can create a desktop shortcut by right clicking the Consumer Law Math icon on the Programs menu and then clicking Send to > Desktop shortcut.).
Usage pointers:
- “Settings” allows for changes in screen colors and print fonts and how to enter dates.
- There is no need to type “0” for zero in various entries.
- Tab, Enter or Down Arrows accepts or skips over any entry. Shift, Tab” or “Up Arrow” backs up to the prior entry. The Left and Right Arrow keys are active only when editing text, not for moving from box to box.
Consumer Law Math is copyright (c) 2002 by Custom Legal Software, all rights reserved. NCLC thanks Custom Legal Software for providing this software.
NCLC DOS-based APR Calculator (for Windows)
Disclaimer
This zip file is made available as an open-source resource using freely accessible software on the internet. While we aim to share valuable resources, NCLC does not guarantee the accuracy, efficacy, or suitability of these files for any particular purpose. Users assume all risks associated with downloading, accessing, and utilizing the files. For any questions or concerns, please refer to the original source or consult a qualified professional.
Description: The NCLC DOS-based APR Calculator is NCLC’s original APR calculator and can still be used on Windows. This version was first released around 1992. It calculates the Annual Percentage Rate and will create amortization schedules for regular and irregular transactions. It can calculate the APR for single-advance loans with one or more payments and any loan term.
The optional amortization schedule includes Rule of 78 refunds. It cannot prepare amortization charts for split rate or variable rate transactions. Although originally designed for DOS-based computers, we are making it available for use on Windows computers by combining it with a freeware program called vDOS.exe. Click the button above to download a zip file containing all of the files needed. Unzip the file to a location of your choice on your computer. To run it, simply double-click the file called NCLC_DOS_APR_via_vDos. It is not compatible with MacOS.
The NCLC DOS-based APR Calculator is copyright (c) 1995 by the National Consumer Law Center, all rights reserved. NCLC thanks Mark Leymaster, Renaissance Software, for developing this program.