Tools

Total loss payout estimator

Estimate a total-loss settlement, what goes to your lender, and whether you would still owe money on a totaled car.

Runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent or stored by this site. Results are estimates for planning, not a quote or advice.

What it tells you

When an insurer declares a car a total loss, it pays the car's actual cash value — what a comparable car was worth just before the loss — rather than the cost of repairs. If you still owe money, the lender is paid first. This tool shows how the pieces add up and how big any shortfall would be.

How to use it

  1. Actual cash value. Start with the insurer's valuation report if you have one, or with prices of comparable cars for sale near you.
  2. Deductible. Enter your collision or comprehensive deductible for a claim on your own policy. If the other driver's insurer is paying, there is normally no deductible — enter zero.
  3. Sales tax and fees. Many states require insurers to include sales tax on a replacement car, and some require title and registration fees too. Check your state's rules.
  4. Loan or lease payoff. Ask your lender for the payoff amount, not the remaining payments.
  5. Gap coverage and salvage. Tick the boxes that apply.
  6. Repair estimate (optional). See how close the car is to the total loss threshold you test.

The math

  • Settlement = actual cash value + sales tax + fees − deductible − salvage value (only if you keep the car).
  • Paid to the lender = the smaller of the settlement and the payoff.
  • Still owed = payoff − settlement, if positive. This is the shortfall gap insurance is designed to cover.

Limits of the estimate

  • States decide when a car must be totaled: some use a percentage of value, others a total loss formula (repairs plus salvage value compared with the car's value). The threshold field is an editable example, not your state's rule.
  • Gap policies differ. Many do not cover your deductible, late fees, negative equity from a previous loan, or add-ons financed into the loan.
  • The insurer's valuation can be challenged with evidence; see how to negotiate a total loss settlement and the appraisal clause: settling a dispute over value.

Next: what happens when your car is totaled and the gap insurance calculator.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

Related guides

What happens when your car is totaled How insurers decide a car is a total loss, how state thresholds differ, what the settlement includes, and the paperwork from offer to payment. How insurers calculate actual cash value How insurers value a totaled or stolen car from comparable vehicles, adjust for mileage, options and condition, and add taxes and fees. How to negotiate a total loss settlement A step-by-step way to challenge a low total-loss offer with the valuation report, your own comparables and receipts, plus the escalation options if talks stall. What happens if your car is totaled and you still owe money How a total-loss payment is split with your lender, what happens when you owe more than the car is worth, and how gap and loan payoff coverage help.

Terms used here

Total loss A car so badly damaged that repairs would cost more than it is worth, or more than a state threshold, so the insurer pays its value instead. Actual cash value What a car was worth just before a loss — replacement cost minus depreciation — and the basis of most total-loss payouts. Total loss threshold The point, set by state law or insurer practice, at which a damaged car is declared totaled rather than repaired, often a percentage of its value. Owner-retained salvage Keeping your car after the insurer declares it totaled; the payout drops by the car's salvage value and the title is usually branded. Gap insurance Pays the difference between a totaled car's actual cash value and the larger balance still owed on its loan or lease. Salvage value What a damaged or totaled car is worth as a wreck, usually the amount an insurer expects to get for it at a salvage auction.

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