How to use this calculator
- Enter the home’s price and your down payment. The percent of the price shows under it.
- Choose the loan type (conventional, FHA or VA), the term and the interest rate from your quote (not the APR). For VA, say whether it’s your first VA loan and whether you’re exempt from the funding fee.
- Enter the property tax as a percent of the price (the yearly bill divided by the price) and a year of home insurance. On a conventional loan with less than 20% down, tick the quote box if you have a mortgage insurance quote; otherwise it’s estimated from your down payment.
- Set the years you expect to keep the loan, until you sell or refinance. It decides what a bigger down payment, a shorter term or points are worth.
- Under More options, add HOA dues, points, how fast taxes and insurance rise, or a second loan to compare.
The numbers already filled in are an example. Replace them with your own.
How it's calculated
The loan is the price less the down payment, plus any FHA upfront premium or VA funding fee added to it. Its payment is the level amount that repays it over the term at a twelfth of the yearly rate each month, rounded to the cent, and the loan is run month by month as an amortization schedule: each payment pays that month’s interest first, and the last payment is whatever is left. Property tax is a twelfth of the yearly rate on the price, insurance a twelfth of the yearly premium.
Mortgage insurance follows the loan type. A conventional loan above 80% of the price carries a monthly premium on the whole loan, from your quote or estimated from the down payment, until the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the price or the loan’s midpoint. FHA charges 1.75% upfront and a yearly premium worked out each loan year on the average scheduled balance, HUD’s own method, for 11 years or the life of the loan. VA charges a funding fee from the statute’s table and no monthly premium.
An example
A $395,000 home with $39,500 down on a 30-year conventional loan at 7.25% borrows $355,500. The payment is $2,425.14 of principal and interest, $292.96 of property tax, $144.75 of insurance and $130.35 of estimated mortgage insurance: $2,993.20 a month. You could ask to cancel the mortgage insurance after 8 years 8 months, and it ends on its own after 9 years 10 months.
What a bigger down payment earns
Putting 20% down instead ($79,000) borrows $316,000 with no mortgage insurance, a payment of $2,593.39. The extra cash is compared with what it saves: the lower payments over the 10 years you keep the loan, and the smaller balance you’d still owe at the end. The yearly rate at which they balance is the rate the extra cash earns, stated the way a loan’s rate is (a monthly rate times 12): 11.37%, well above the 7.25% rate, because the last 10% of the price also carries the mortgage insurance. With 5% down the payment would be $3,191, and with 3% down $3,403, as the estimated premium rises with the loan’s share of the price.
FHA and VA
With 3.5% down on an FHA loan, the upfront premium of $6,670 is added to the loan, the yearly premium starts at $173.94 a month and lasts the life of the loan, and the payment is $3,257.44. A conventional loan with 20% down would save 11.83% a year on the extra cash at the same rate. On a VA loan with no down payment, the $8,493 funding fee is added to the loan and there’s no monthly premium: $3,190.24 a month.
Assumptions and limits
- A fixed rate for the whole term, on a one-unit home you’ll live in. Adjustable rates aren’t modeled.
- Mortgage insurance on a conventional loan is borrower-paid and monthly, at one rate on the whole loan for as long as it lasts. Without a quote, the rate is estimated from the down payment at the rates Fannie Mae uses in its consumer estimates: 0.44% of the loan a year at 10% down or more, 0.62% at 5%, 1.10% below 5%. A real premium also depends on your credit score and the insurer, so a quote beats the estimate.
- It ends on its own at 78% of the price on the original schedule, if you’re current on your payments, or at the loan’s midpoint, under the Homeowners Protection Act; you can ask to cancel it at 80% with a good payment history and proof the home’s value hasn’t fallen. Paying extra can reach 80% sooner; the automatic date doesn’t move. If the home gains value, your servicer may cancel it sooner on a new valuation (Fannie Mae’s servicing guide: 75% of the current value after two years, 80% after five), so what a bigger down payment saves can be less than shown. The Act’s high-risk loan exception isn’t modeled.
- The home’s original value is taken as the price, which assumes the appraisal came in at or above it.
- FHA’s upfront premium and VA’s funding fee are added to the loan here; you can pay them in cash instead. At exactly 10% down, FHA’s handbook ends the yearly premium after 11 years; the statute’s wording (“less than 90 percent”) would keep it for the whole loan, and this uses the handbook. VA assumes full entitlement.
- FHA and VA buyers are compared with a conventional loan at 20% down, at the same rate. FHA and VA rates are often lower than conventional ones, so use Compare another loan to price a conventional quote of your own.
- Points are a percentage of the loan amount, paid at closing; lender credits aren’t modeled. Other closing costs, including the interest from closing to the end of that month, aren’t included; your Loan Estimate lists them.
- Property tax is a percent of the price; insurance and dues are dollar amounts; all three rise by the rate you set. They’re the same whatever loan you choose, so they’re left out of the comparisons.
- Payments are monthly and on time, with no extra payments. The mortgage payoff calculator shows what extra payments save once you have the loan.
- Income tax is ignored, including any deduction for mortgage interest or mortgage insurance premiums.
- The yearly rates are before tax and assume you keep the loan the years you enter. They’re stated the way a loan’s rate is: a monthly rate times 12.
- Loan limits (the conforming limit and FHA’s) are shown as notices for the contiguous states; your county’s may be higher. Lenders’ own rules on credit and income aren’t checked; the home affordability calculator works out what a lender would approve.
- The default price is the median price of new houses sold in 2026’s third quarter ($393,300, Census Bureau and HUD), rounded; the default rates are Freddie Mac’s weekly survey averages for 30- and 15-year loans in late October 2026, to the nearest eighth. The tax and insurance defaults are national figures; use your own.
Input field details
What to enter in each box, where to find the number, and how this calculator treats it. When two calculators give different answers from the same numbers, it's usually because they handle one of these differently.
Home price
The price you expect to pay for the home.
Where to find itThe listing, or the offer you plan to make.
How this tool treats itThe price is also taken as the home’s value for mortgage insurance and the loan-to-value ratio, which assumes the appraisal comes in at or above it. When an appraisal is lower, lenders use the lower figure.
Allowed range$10,000 to $50,000,000
Down payment
The cash you’ll put toward the price, in dollars.
Where to find itYour savings, less what you’ll keep for closing costs and reserves.
How this tool treats itThe loan is the price minus the down payment. The loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is that loan as a share of the price; for a conventional loan it is cut to two decimals, not rounded, so 80.001% counts as 80%. Closing costs other than points are not part of the down payment. A down payment at or above the price means there’s no loan.
Allowed range$0 to $50,000,000
Loan type
Conventional, FHA or VA, as the lender offers it.
How this tool treats itA conventional loan above 80% of the price carries private mortgage insurance until the dates below. An FHA loan adds an upfront premium of 1.75% of the loan, financed, and a yearly premium paid monthly, worked out by HUD’s own method on the scheduled balance: for 11 years with 10% down or more (or the whole loan, if that is shorter), otherwise for the whole loan. A VA loan has no monthly mortgage insurance, and adds a one-time funding fee to the loan instead.
Not includedUSDA loans, adjustable rates and jumbo-loan underwriting.
Term
How many years the loan runs.
How this tool treats itA shorter term has a higher payment and less interest over the loan, and its balance reaches 78% of the price sooner, so mortgage insurance ends sooner.
Allowed range10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years
Interest rate
The interest rate on the loan, to three decimals (7.25 or 6.875). Not the APR.
Where to find itThe Loan Estimate, page 1, "Interest Rate".
How this tool treats itEach monthly payment pays the month’s interest first, a twelfth of the rate on the balance rounded to the cent, and the rest is principal, which lowers what you owe. The payment is the same every month; the last one is adjusted so the balance ends at exactly zero. The APR adds the lender’s charges to the rate, so it is higher.
Allowed range0% to 20%
Not includedA rate that changes: the rate is fixed for the whole term.
Which VA loan is this?
Whether this is your first VA-backed loan or you’ve had one before.
Where to find itYour own history; your Certificate of Eligibility shows entitlement used.
How this tool treats itThe VA funding fee is a percentage of the loan by your down payment: 1.25% with 10% down or more, 1.50% with 5% to under 10%, and below 5% down, 2.15% on a first use or 3.30% on a later one (38 U.S.C. 3729). It is added to the loan here; you can pay it in cash instead.
I’m exempt from the VA funding fee
Tick it if you don’t owe the funding fee.
Where to find itYour Certificate of Eligibility states whether you’re exempt.
How this tool treats itExempt borrowers include veterans receiving VA disability compensation, surviving spouses of veterans who died from a service-connected disability, and service members on active duty who were awarded the Purple Heart (38 U.S.C. 3729(c)).
Property tax
The yearly property tax as a percentage of the price.
Where to find itThe listing’s tax bill or your county assessor: divide the yearly bill by the price.
How this tool treats itThe payment shown is PITI plus dues and mortgage insurance: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Lenders usually collect a twelfth of the yearly tax and insurance each month into an escrow account and pay the bills from it. Tax, insurance and dues rise each year by the rate you set under More options.
Allowed range0% to 10% a year
Home insurance
The yearly homeowners insurance premium.
Where to find itAn insurance quote for the home.
How this tool treats itA twelfth of it is added to each monthly payment.
Allowed range$0 to $100,000 a year
I have a mortgage insurance quote
Tick it if a lender has quoted you a private mortgage insurance rate for this loan.
How this tool treats itPrivate mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the lender on a conventional loan above 80% of the price. Without a quote, its rate is estimated from the down payment: 0.44% of the loan a year with 10% down or more, 0.62% with 5%, and 1.10% below 5%, the rates Fannie Mae uses in its consumer estimates. It ends on its own after the payment that brings the scheduled balance to 78% of the price, if you’re current on your payments, and no later than the loan’s midpoint; you can ask to cancel it once the scheduled balance reaches 80%, with a good payment history and if the home hasn’t lost value (12 U.S.C. 4902).
Not includedLender-paid or single-premium insurance, and cancellation on a new appraisal after the home gains value.
Mortgage insurance, % of the loan a year
The yearly premium rate from your quote, as a percentage of the loan.
Where to find itThe lender’s quote, or the monthly "Mortgage Insurance" on page 1 of the Loan Estimate: times 12, divided by the loan amount.
How this tool treats itPaid monthly at one rate on the whole loan for as long as the insurance lasts. It applies to your own down payment; the other down payments compared use the estimate. A real premium depends on your credit score and the insurer.
Allowed range0% to 3% a year
Years you'll keep this loan
How many years you expect to keep this loan, until you sell or refinance.
How this tool treats itThe costs over that time count the interest, the mortgage insurance and the points, and what you’d still owe at the end. The yearly rate on the extra cash of a bigger down payment is the rate at which the cash you put in equals the interest, insurance and balance it saves over these years, stated the way a loan’s rate is: a monthly rate times 12, before tax.
Allowed range1 to 30 years
HOA dues
The monthly homeowners association dues, if the home has them.
Where to find itThe listing or the association.
Allowed range$0 to $20,000 a month
Points
The points you’d pay for this rate, as a percentage of the loan (1 point is 1%).
Where to find itThe Loan Estimate, page 2, "% of Loan Amount (Points)".
How this tool treats itPoints are paid at closing to buy a lower rate, so enter the rate they buy. They are a percentage of the whole loan, including any financed FHA premium or VA fee, and are counted in the cash at closing and the costs.
Allowed range0 to 5 points
Not includedLender credits, and closing costs other than points.
Yearly rise in taxes, insurance and dues
How much you expect property tax, home insurance and dues to rise each year.
How this tool treats itApplied once a loan year. The principal and interest do not change.
Allowed range0% to 20% a year
Compare another loan
Tick it to price a second loan on the same home and down payment: another term, rate or points.
How this tool treats itThe two are compared by the yearly rate on the money the second loan asks for or frees, over the years you keep the loan. With more points, the break-even is the first payment after which the savings and the lower balance have covered the extra points.
Its term
The second loan’s term.
Allowed range10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years
Its interest rate
The second loan’s interest rate, to three decimals. Not the APR.
Where to find itThat loan’s Loan Estimate or quote.
Allowed range0% to 20%
Its points
The points the second loan’s rate needs, as a percentage of the loan.
How this tool treats itWhen it has more points than the first loan, the same extra cash is also priced as a bigger down payment on the first loan instead.
Allowed range0 to 5 points
Questions
How is a mortgage payment calculated?
What does PITI include?
When does PMI go away?
How much should I put down on a house?
How long does FHA mortgage insurance last?
What is the VA funding fee?
Is a 15-year or a 30-year mortgage better?
Are mortgage points worth it?
Version history
- October 30, 2026 (version 1.0.0): First version: the monthly payment with taxes, insurance, dues and mortgage insurance by loan type; when mortgage insurance ends; down payments compared at one price; and what a bigger down payment or another loan is worth as a yearly rate.