The Truth in Lending box, number by number
Updated November 6, 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice. ResearchLoan is not a lender.
The Truth in Lending box is a federal disclosure that sets out four figures: the APR, the finance charge, the amount financed and the total of payments. Read together, they tell you what a loan costs as a percentage and in dollars, before you agree to it.
Why the box exists
The Truth in Lending Act and its rule, Regulation Z, require lenders to disclose the cost of consumer credit in a standard way before you are bound by the loan. The purpose is simple. Two lenders may describe the same cost in very different language, so the law makes them use the same four labels.
The box usually sits near the top of the agreement, often with the payment schedule right below it. On a phone it may appear as a short table you have to scroll to. If you can't find these four labels, stop and ask the lender where they are before you accept anything.
The four numbers on one worked example
The figures below are invented to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote and they don't describe any lender's pricing.
Say you borrow $300 for 14 days and the fee is $45.
| Label | In this example | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Amount financed | $300 | How much credit you are actually getting |
| Finance charge | $45 | What the credit costs in dollars |
| Total of payments | $345 | What leaves your account if you pay on schedule |
| APR | About 391% | The same cost as a yearly rate |
Amount financed: check it against what you asked for
This is the credit provided to you or on your behalf, after certain prepaid charges come off. If you ask for $500 and a $25 charge is taken up front, the amount financed can read $475. That difference matters when the money is meant to cover one specific bill. Compare this figure with the bill, not with the amount you typed into a form.
Finance charge: the plainest number in the box
The finance charge is the dollar cost of the credit if you make every payment when it is due. It includes interest and certain fees. Many people find this the easiest figure to act on, because you can hold it against the alternative: what would a late fee, a reconnection fee or an overdraft cost you instead?
Total of payments: the figure to compare with your budget
This is every scheduled payment added together. On a single payment loan it is one withdrawal, due on one date, so ask yourself what else that paycheck has to cover. On an installment loan it is spread out, and the total can run much higher than the amount financed even when each payment looks small.
APR: useful, but only on the right comparison
APR states the cost as a yearly rate. In the example above, $45 on $300 is 15% for 14 days, and 15% repeated across a year's worth of 14 day periods comes to about 391%. You won't necessarily pay that much in dollars, because the loan does not last a year. The rate is a way to compare, not a bill.
Two loans of similar length compare well by APR. Two loans of very different length don't, because a short loan can show a higher rate and a smaller dollar cost at the same time. When lengths differ, read the APR and the total of payments side by side.
What the box leaves out
Four numbers assume everything goes to plan, so they say little about what a slip costs. Keep reading below the box for these items:
- The payment schedule: the dates and amounts. Check each date against the day your pay lands.
- Late and returned payment charges: a failed withdrawal may cost you once with the lender and again with your bank.
- Renewal terms: whether the loan can roll over, and what happens to the principal if it does.
Our guide to loan agreement clauses worth finding covers those parts of the paperwork. If the name of the lender is unfamiliar, you can also check a lender's license yourself.
Questions about the box
Is APR just another word for the interest rate?
No. The interest rate covers interest only. APR folds in required fees as well, so it can be higher than the interest rate shown elsewhere on the same offer.
When should I see these numbers?
Before you are bound by the loan. Read them on the offer itself, and save a copy or a screenshot of the page before you accept.
Why does a two week loan show such a large APR?
Because a fee charged over a short period is being expressed as if it repeated all year. The dollar figures tell you what this particular loan costs, and the APR tells you how expensive that money is compared with other credit.