Most calculators stop at the settlement offer. This one finishes the math: minus fees, minus account fees, minus the tax line . tHe all-in number, in ranges you can actually use.
The calculator itself is under construction and launches with the tools section. When it goes live, you type in your unsecured balances, a settlement range and your fee quote, and it returns an all-in savings number with the subtraction shown, not a headline promise. Nothing you enter leaves your browser. We do not store it, email it or sell it.
Until the tool ships, this page carries the full formula so you can run the math in a spreadsheet or on a napkin. It is the same arithmetic our editors run for readers who send us their numbers. And when a company quotes you a savings figure, you will be able to reverse it. That is the whole point.
Start with the debt you enroll. Estimate what it settles down to. Then subtract, in this order. First, the settlement fee, typically 15-25% of enrolled debt at most firms, charged only after a settlement you approve. Ask in writing whether that percentage rides on what you enrolled or on what they settled. Same rate, thousands of dollars apart.
Second, the account fees, commonly around $10 to set up plus $10 a month for the dedicated savings account, running the full 24-48 months. Third, the late fees and penalty interest your balances pick up while you stop paying and save. Fourth, the tax line: forgiven debt over $600 can come back as income on a 1099-C. What survives that subtraction is your actual saving. Most ads never show it.
An honest output here is a range, not a number. Settlement outcomes depend on which creditors negotiate with settlement firms, what your hardship looks like on paper, and how each account file plays out. Nobody can promise those in advance. A firm quoting a guaranteed percentage is quoting a hope.
So read the result in layers. The low end is what happens if settlement is slow or partial, and it is the end you should plan your budget against. The middle reflects what the industry's published results suggest is common. The high end needs almost everything to go right. Use this calculator for illustration and comparison, not as advice about your specific situation.
Print or screenshot your inputs, then ask five questions on the call and get each answer in writing. Is the fee a percentage of enrolled or settled debt, and what is my total fee in dollars if everything settles at 50%? Which of my creditors refuse to negotiate with settlement companies, all of them, by name?
What exactly do I pay, and what do I get back, if I quit in month 18? What state license number covers me, and how does my quote fit my state's cap? Then run their answer through the estimator. A quote that shrinks when you do the subtraction told you everything. A firm that squirms at any question told you more.