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EspañolCash Advance Example: $300 Payday, $500 Credit Card, $100 App, Worked to the Penny
Three cash advance examples, three answers. A $300 payday advance at $15 per $100 costs $45 for two weeks, so you repay $345 at 391% APR. A $500 credit card cash advance at a 5% fee and 29.99%, repaid after 30 days, costs $37.32, so you repay $537.32. A $100 app advance costs anywhere from $0 to $20 depending on how fast you want it and whether you leave the tip on. One formula produces all of them, and this page shows every step so you can swap in your own numbers.
The one formula
Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.22) requires the APR on a closed-end loan to be computed by the actuarial method in Appendix J, accurate within one eighth of a percentage point. When there's a single repayment, Appendix J collapses to: finance charge divided by amount financed, times 365, divided by days. The finance charge is any fee "imposed ... as an incident to or a condition of the extension of credit" (12 CFR 1026.4), which means the payday "fee" and the card "fee" both count. The CFPB's reference case is $15 per $100 for two weeks, which it calls "almost 400 percent." Below it's worked to two decimals.
Example 1: a $300 payday cash advance for 14 days
The same request produces a different transaction in each state, because the state writes the price rule. Five variants:
| Variant and price rule | Cash in hand | Term | Finance charge | Total repaid | APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. $15 per $100 (CFPB example) | $300.00 | 14 days | $45.00 | $345.00 | 391.07% |
| B. Florida: 10% plus verification fee up to $5 (Fla. Stat. 560.404, 560.309) | $300.00 | 14 days | $35.00 | $335.00 | 304.17% |
| C. California: $300 check, 15% of face, borrower gets the rest (Fin. Code 23035, 23036) | $255.00 | 14 days | $45.00 | $300.00 | 460.08% |
| D. Texas: typical 662% APR, regulator-reported, 2023 (CRL) | $300.00 | 14 days | $76.18 | $376.18 | 662% |
| E. Under a 36% cap or the Military Lending Act (32 CFR 232.4) | $300.00 | 14 days | $4.14 | $304.14 | 36% |
Variant A: $45 / $300 = 0.15. 0.15 x 365 = 54.75. 54.75 / 14 = 3.9107. APR 391.07%.
For B, Florida: 10% of $300 is $30, plus up to $5 for verification, $35. $35 / $300 = 0.11667. 0.11667 x 365 = 42.58. 42.58 / 14 = 3.0417. APR 304.17%. Some Florida lenders charge less than the $5 maximum, which is why the statute says "up to."
C is the one that trips people up. California caps the check you write at $300 and the fee at 15% of that face amount, so the fee is $45 and you receive $255. $45 / $255 = 0.17647. 0.17647 x 365 = 64.41. 64.41 / 14 = 4.6008. APR 460.08%. That matches the California figure CRL reports from regulator data, which is a decent check on the method. You asked for $300 and got $255; the APR is higher than variant A on the same $45 because the fee is measured against less money.
D runs backwards. Texas doesn't cap credit access business fees, so there's no statutory fee to plug in; instead take CRL's June 2023 typical rate of 662% and solve for the charge: $300 x 6.62 x 14 / 365 = $76.18. Total $376.18. Label that "typical, 2023," not a price list.
Under E, the 36% ceiling: $300 x 0.36 x 14 / 365 = $4.14. Total $304.14. That's what the same two weeks costs in a 36% cap state or for an active-duty borrower anywhere.
Now the part the APR can't show. Pew's 2016 research found the average payday borrower "in debt for five months of the year, spending an average of $520 in fees to repeatedly borrow $375," with 80% of loans taken within two weeks of repaying the last one. Apply that to variant A: ten consecutive two-week periods at $45 each is $450 in fees, and the $300 principal is still owed at the end. Florida's statute changes that math directly: it bars rollovers and requires a 60-day grace period with no additional charge if the borrower asks for one (560.404). Your state page says which rule you're under.
Example 2: a $500 credit card cash advance
Inputs: a fee of "3% to 5% of the cash advance amount or $10, whichever is higher," using 5% ($25); a cash advance APR of 29.99% (Experian's example rate; one issuer disclosed 29.74% variable in August 2026 per CNBC Select); interest from the transaction date with no grace period; and a $2.50 ATM fee where the advance is taken at a machine. For comparison, the Federal Reserve's G.19 average on card accounts assessed interest was 22.15% in May 2026.
The card's disclosed 29.99% doesn't include the $25 fee, because open-end APR under 12 CFR 1026.14(b) is just the periodic rate scaled to a year. So the last column below is an all-in annualized cost I've computed, not the rate the issuer prints.
| Scenario | Amount | Term | Fee plus interest (plus ATM) | Total repaid | APR or all-in cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2a. Repaid in full after 30 days | $500 | 30 days | $25.00 + $12.32 | $537.32 | 90.8% all-in |
| 2b. Same, taken at an ATM | $500 | 30 days | $25.00 + $12.32 + $2.50 | $539.82 | 96.9% all-in |
| 2c. Fee posted to balance, six equal monthly payments | $500 | 6 months | $25.00 + $46.86 | $571.86 | 29.99% stated |
| 2d. Contrast: $500 purchase paid within the grace period | $500 | 30 days | $0.00 | $500.00 | 0% |
Scenario 2a: interest is $500 x 0.2999 x 30 / 365 = $12.32 (issuers use a daily periodic rate, so a penny either way is normal). Total cost $25 + $12.32 = $37.32. All-in: $37.32 / $500 = 0.07464. 0.07464 x 365 = 27.24. 27.24 / 30 = 0.908. About 90.8%. The reason it's triple the stated rate is the fee: $25 for 30 days is, on its own, 5% x 365 / 30 = 61% a year.
Adding the $2.50 ATM fee (2b): total cost $39.82, and $39.82 / $500 x 365 / 30 = 0.969, about 96.9%.
2c is an installment calculation. The $25 fee posts to the balance, so you owe $525 at 29.99%, which is 2.4992% a month. The standard payment formula is balance times the monthly rate, divided by one minus (one plus the monthly rate) to the power of negative six. (1.024992) to the sixth power is 1.15963, its reciprocal is 0.86234, and one minus that is 0.13766. $525 x 0.024992 = $13.12. $13.12 / 0.13766 = $95.31 a month. Six payments total $571.86, so interest is $571.86 minus $525, or $46.86, and the total cost is $71.86. That matches Experian's published six-month table for a $500 advance, which is reassuring.
Small advances get the worst of it. A $100 card advance carries the $10 minimum fee (since 5% would be only $5) plus $100 x 0.2999 x 14 / 365 = $1.15 in two-week interest, $11.15 in all, within four dollars of the $15 payday charge in variant A.
Example 3: a $100 app cash advance, 10 days to payday
The CFPB's July 2024 spotlight gives the market's actual numbers: average advance $106, average fee $3.18 when a fee is charged, about 10.5 days to payday, roughly 90% of workers paying at least one fee, $68.88 a year in fees across 27 advances. The FTC's November 2024 complaint against one direct-to-consumer app alleged express fees of $3 to $25, a default tip of 15%, and a $1 monthly membership. Those two sources supply every input below.
No APR appears on the app because the CFPB's December 23, 2025 advisory opinion says covered employer-based programs aren't "credit" under Truth in Lending and their optional expedite fees and tips aren't finance charges (direct-to-consumer apps aren't addressed). The right-hand column is the same single-payment formula applied anyway.
| Scenario | Amount | Term | Fees paid | Total repaid | APR-equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3a. Standard delivery (one to three business days), no tip | $100 | 10 days | $0.00 | $100.00 | 0%, plus any membership |
| 3b. CFPB average fee | $100 | 10 days | $3.18 | $103.18 | 116.1% |
| 3c. $5 express fee, no tip | $100 | 10 days | $5.00 | $105.00 | 182.5% |
| 3d. $5 express fee plus the default 15% tip | $100 | 10 days | $20.00 | $120.00 | 730% |
Scenario 3b: $3.18 / $100 = 0.0318. 0.0318 x 365 = 11.61. 11.61 / 10 = 1.161. APR-equivalent 116.1%. The CFPB's own 109.5% uses its $106 average: $3.18 / $106 = 0.03, times 36.5, equals 1.095.
For 3c and 3d: $5 / $100 x 36.5 = 1.825, or 182.5%. Then the tip is 15% of $100, so $15, plus the $5 express fee, $20 total. $20 / $100 x 36.5 = 7.30, or 730%. A $1 monthly membership adds $12 a year on top, about $0.44 per advance at 27 advances, and it's the only charge you pay whether or not you borrow.
The line that isn't in the table is the one that hurts. The app debits your account on the scheduled payday. If the deposit lands a day late, your bank may charge an NSF or overdraft fee; one app user's review put theirs at $35. A $35 bank fee on a $100 advance is bigger than every app fee in the table combined, and it's the reason the cheapest-looking option can turn out the most expensive.
All three examples side by side
| Example | Amount | Term | Cost | Total repaid | APR or equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payday, $15 per $100 | $300 | 14 days | $45.00 | $345.00 | 391% |
| Payday, Florida rule | $300 | 14 days | $35.00 | $335.00 | 304% |
| Payday, California rule ($255 in hand) | $255 | 14 days | $45.00 | $300.00 | 460% |
| Payday under a 36% cap | $300 | 14 days | $4.14 | $304.14 | 36% |
| Card advance, repaid in 30 days | $500 | 30 days | $37.32 | $537.32 | 90.8% all-in |
| Card advance, six monthly payments | $500 | 6 months | $71.86 | $571.86 | 29.99% stated |
| App, average fee | $100 | 10 days | $3.18 | $103.18 | 116% |
| App, express fee plus tip | $100 | 10 days | $20.00 | $120.00 | 730% |
What changes the answer
- Your state. The same $300 request is $45, $35, $4.14, or $255 in hand depending on the statute. Your state page has the rule with its citation.
- How fast you repay. The $25 card fee is 61% a year over 30 days and a fraction of that over six months; the payday fee doesn't shrink no matter how early you pay.
- Optional charges. Express fees and tips move a $100 app advance from 0% to 730%. Standard delivery and a zero tip are choices on the screen.
- Rollovers. Ten renewals of variant A cost $450 on a $300 principal that's still outstanding. Some states, Florida among them, bar the rollover outright.
- Military status. Active-duty members and dependents get variant E everywhere under 32 CFR 232.4, all fees included.
The cash advance calculator on this site runs these same steps on any amount, fee, and term. This site is a loan-request service, not a lender; the numbers here are worked from public price rules, and the figures that bind you are the finance charge and APR on the lender's disclosure, which Regulation Z requires before you sign. Whatever the row, the total repaid column is what leaves your account on payday.
Sources
State caps, maximum terms and the regulator for your state are cited on the state pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the APR on a cash advance?
Divide the finance charge by the cash you received, multiply by 365, divide by the number of days until repayment, then multiply by 100. For $45 on $300 over 14 days: 0.15 x 365 / 14 = 3.91, or 391%. That's the single-payment case of the Appendix J method in Regulation Z.
Is the fee included in the APR?
On a payday-style advance, yes: the fee is the finance charge, and the APR is the fee converted to a yearly rate. On a credit card, no: the disclosed cash advance APR under 12 CFR 1026.14 is the periodic rate scaled up, and the 5% or $10 fee sits outside it. That's why scenario 2a shows 29.99% stated but 90.8% all-in.
Why does the California example give less cash?
California caps the check at $300 and the fee at 15% of the check, and the fee comes off the top. You write a $300 check, receive $255, and the APR is computed on the $255 you actually got: $45 / $255 x 365 / 14 = 460%.
Is 391% APR legal?
It depends on the state. Where the statute allows $15 per $100 on a two-week loan, it's the legal maximum. In the states with 36% all-in caps, and for covered military borrowers under the Military Lending Act, it isn't. Your state page lists the current rule and the regulator.
Which example is cheapest?
By the cost of the money alone, the app advance with standard delivery and no tip ($0) and the 36% cap loan ($4.14 on $300) are the cheapest rows, and the $500 card advance carried six months ($71.86) is the most expensive in dollars. In APR terms the express-plus-tip app advance (730%) and the Texas typical payday rate (662%) are highest. Pick by dollars for the term you'll actually use, then check that the repayment date is one your bank balance can survive.
Not a lender. Cost figures use the federal APR formula and the state rule named next to them; the state pages cite each statute. Full disclosures.
