CD Early Withdrawal Penalty Calculator: Should You Break Your CD?
Most CD penalties are a number of days of interest. Enter your CD, its penalty and the new rate you could get to see whether switching comes out ahead.
Switching pays
The penalty is about $123.29. Over the 12 months left, staying earns $250.00; breaking the CD and moving to 4.60% earns $331.04 net of the penalty — $81.04 more.
The higher rate earns back the penalty after 7.3 months.
Today's best 1 year CD rates
- Popular Direct 4.60% 12 months
- Barclays 4.50% 12 months
- Sallie Mae Bank 4.50% 12 months
- Capital One 4.40% 11 months
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs 4.40% 12 months
From the institutions we track, verified daily. See all rates.
How the penalty works
A penalty of "180 days of interest" on a $10,000 CD at 2.5% APY is about 10,000 × 0.025 × 180 / 365 = $123. Some banks take the penalty from principal if not enough interest has been earned yet.
Switching pays when the extra interest from the new rate over the remaining months is larger than the penalty.
Questions
How much is a typical CD early withdrawal penalty?
Common penalties are 90 days of interest for terms of a year or less and 180–365 days for longer terms, but each institution sets its own. The exact penalty is in the account disclosure.
Can I withdraw part of a CD?
Some institutions allow partial withdrawals with a penalty on the amount withdrawn; others require closing the whole CD.