CD Early Withdrawal Penalty Calculator

See our CD penalty calculator and a list of banks’ penalties to find out what an early withdrawal costs.
Spencer Tierney
By Spencer Tierney 
Updated
Edited by Sara Clarke
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Certificates of deposit, unlike regular savings accounts, keep your funds under lock and key for a specified term. And banks give a good incentive not to tinker with the lock: Withdrawing before the CD term's end usually costs you.

A CD penalty is the interest earned in a CD for a fixed number of days or months, which makes this charge tricky to know. But you can get an estimated dollar amount for what a penalty can cost you by using our calculator below.

CD early withdrawal penalty calculator

See what an early withdrawal from a CD can cost, with help from a list of penalties at some banks and credit unions. (Skip down to that list.)

» Withdrawing early for a better CD rate? Consider when breaking a CD early pays off

Calculator assumptions

The CD early withdrawal penalty calculator assumes three things:

  1. The penalty is in terms of simple interest. This means that the penalty doesn’t factor in compounding, and that aligns with many banks’ approach to penalties.

  2. CD interest, outside the penalty, is compounded daily, which is typical for online high-yield CDs. If your CD is compounded monthly, results may differ slightly.

  3. There are no partial withdrawals for CDs. Although some banks allow this, many don’t, so our calculator follows suit. If your bank lets you withdraw part of your CD early, the penalty tends to be for the withdrawn amount instead of the full CD balance at the time of withdrawal.

No-penalty CDs: the big exception

Early withdrawal penalties are standard, but some CDs let you withdraw for free at any time, generally after the first week. These no-penalty CDs don't have the highest rates, but you can find yields comparable to high-yield savings accounts. (Check out NerdWallet's best savings accounts.)

No-penalty CDs have a big plus over savings accounts: Your rate is locked in. (See more details about the best no-penalty CDs.)

» See more options: Best CD rates

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Tip about banks vs. credit unions

Credit unions often use different terms than banks when describing the same type of account. Banks call them CDs, while credit unions call them certificates or share certificates. Banks say interest, while credit unions say dividends.

🤓Nerdy Tip

CD penalties can be measured in days or months. Here’s a rough guide to convert from days to months: 60 days = 2 months; 90 days = 3 months; 120 days = 4 months; 180 days = 6 months; 270 days = 9 months; 540 days = 18 months; 720 days = 24 months.

CD early withdrawal penalties at banks and credit unions

Here’s a look at CD penalties at some notable banks and credit unions.

Financial institution (click to read our review)

Early withdrawal penalty

  • For 3-month to 2-year CDs: 60 days of interest.

  • For 3-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 4-year CDs: 120 days of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 150 days of interest.

  • For 6-month to 1-year CDs: 3 months of interest.

  • For 18-month to 5-year CDs: 6 months of interest.

  • For 1-month to 5-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 6-month to 23-month CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 2-year to 10-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 3-month to 1-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 13-month to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 6-month to 9-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 1-year to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 6-year CDs: 270 days of interest.

Financial institution (click to read our review)

Early withdrawal penalty

Alliant Credit Union*

  • For 3-month to 17-month certificates: Up to 90 days of dividends.

  • For 18-month to 23-month certificates: Up to 120 days* of dividends.

  • For 2-year to 5-year certificates: Up to 180* days of dividends.

  • For 3-month to 2-year CDs: 60 days of interest.

  • For 3-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 4-year CDs: 120 days of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 150 days of interest.

American Express Bank

  • For 1-year to 3-year CDs: 270 days of interest.

  • For 4-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 540 days of interest.

Bank5 Connect

  • For 6-month CDs: 3 months of interest.

  • For 1-year to 3-year CDs: 6 months of interest.

  • For 1-month to 2-month CDs: All interest or 7 days of interest, whichever is greater.

  • For 3-month to 11-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 1-year to 59-month CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 5-year to 10-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

Barclays

  • For 1-year to 2-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 3-year to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

Bask Bank

  • For 6-month to 1-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 18-month to 2-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union

  • For 3-month to 1-year certificates: 90 days of interest.

  • For 18-month to 5-year certificates: 180 days of interest.

BMO Alto

  • For 6-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 1-year CDs and longer: 180 days of interest.

Bread Savings

  • For 1-year to 3-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 4-year to 5-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 6-month to 1-year CDs: 3 months of interest.

  • For 18-month to 5-year CDs: 6 months of interest.

  • For 1-month to 5-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 6-month to 23-month CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 2-year to 10-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

CIT

  • For 6-month to 1-year CDs: 3 months of interest.

  • For 13-month to 3-year CDs: 6 months of interest.

  • For 4-year to 5-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

Citibank

  • For 3-month to 1-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 13-month to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

Connexus Credit Union

  • For 1-year certificates: 90 days of dividends.

  • For 2-year to 3-year certificates: 180 days of dividends.

  • For 5-year CDs: 1 year of dividends.

  • For 3-month to 9-month CDs: 3 months of interest.

  • For 1-year to 3-year CDs: 6 months of interest.

  • For 4-year CDs: 9 months of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 18 months of interest.

  • For 7-year to 10-year CDs: 2 years of interest.

EverBank

  • For 3-month CDs: 22 days of interest.

  • For 6-month CDs: 45 days of interest.

  • For 9-month CDs: 68 days of interest.

  • For 1-year CDs: 91 days of interest.

  • For 18-month CDs: 136 days of interest.

  • For 2-year CDs: 182 days of interest.

  • For 30-month CDs: 228 days of interest.

  • For 3-year CDs: 273 days of interest.

  • For 4-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 456 days of interest.

Live Oak Bank

  • For 6-month to 18-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 2-year to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 6-month to 9-month CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 1-year to 5-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 6-year CDs: 270 days of interest.

Navy Federal Credit Union*

  • For 3-month to 1-year certificates: Up to 90 days of dividends.

  • For 18-month to 5-year certificates: Up to 180 days of dividends.

  • For 6-year to 7-year certificates: Up to 1 year of dividends.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union**

  • For 6-month certificates: Most recent 90 days of dividends.

  • For 1-year to 7-year certificates withdrawn before the first year ends: 1 year of expected dividends.

  • For 1-year to 7-year certificates withdrawn after the first year: 30% of total expected dividends for the full term of the certificate.

Popular Direct

  • For 3-month CDs: 89 days of interest.

  • For 6-month CDs: 120 days of interest.

  • For 1-year to 2-year CDs: 270 days of interest.

  • For 3-year to 4-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 5-year CDs: 730 days of interest.

Quontic Bank

  • For 6-month CDs: All interest.

  • For 1-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 2-year to 5-year CDs: 2 years of interest.

Sallie Mae Bank

  • For 3-month to 1-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 13-month to 3-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 4-year to 5-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 3-month to 1-year CDs: 90 days of interest.

  • For 13-month to 3-year CDs: 180 days of interest.

  • For 4-year to 5-year CDs: 1 year of interest.

  • For 3-month to 1-year CDs: 3 months of interest.

You only pay dividends, regardless of how early you withdraw. Many banks have a fixed penalty that allows them to take from your original CD deposit if you withdraw your CD early enough. But Alliant's and Navy Fed's type of penalty is different: If you withdraw your certificate before it reaches the maximum days of the penalty, such as 90 days of interest for a 1-year certificate, the penalty is only the dividends you've earned for the days your certificate was opened.

Many CD penalties are in days' worth of interest or dividends already earned, but PenFed uses expected dividends. PenFed's penalty has a greater chance of dipping into your original deposit, meaning you can lose money from a certificate.

On a similar note...

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