Mortgage Calculator

The $2,076 loan payment and the $2,601 that leaves your account

Your result splits into two layers: the loan payment itself (principal and interest, driven by your rate, term, and loan amount) and the recurring costs of owning the home (property tax, homeowners insurance, PMI, and HOA, where they apply). Add them together and you get the full monthly housing estimate — the number that needs to fit your budget, not just the loan payment a lender quotes first. The lifetime figures below the monthly numbers show total interest paid over the full term and the projected payoff date, both of which shift immediately when you change the rate, term, down payment, or add extra payments. Use the amortizationPaying off a loan through regular payments that gradually shift from mostly interest to mostly principal. schedule to see the principal-to-interest split move month by month, and the scenario comparison to test decisions side by side before you commit to one.

A $400,000 home with 20% down ($80,000), a $320,000 loan, a 6.75% fixed rate, and a 30-year term produces principal and interest of about $2,076 a month. Add estimated property tax of $400/month (1.2% annually) and homeowners insurance of $125/month, and the full monthly housing payment comes to roughly $2,601 before any HOA dues. Over the full 30-year term, this loan accrues about $427,188 in total interest — more than the original loan amount. Because the down payment is 20%, PMI does not apply here; a smaller down payment would add a mortgage-insurance line until the loan-to-value ratio falls below 80%. Change any input — rate, term, or down payment — and every one of these figures updates immediately.

That $525 gap is the point: this estimates the whole monthly cost of a home loan — principal and interest, plus taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA where they apply — from the price, down payment, rate, and term you enter. It projects total interest and the payoff date too, so you can compare scenarios before talking with a lender.

Principal and interest is one line of five

The core formula computes the level monthly principal-and-interest payment that fully repays the loan over its term. Add recurring ownership costs — property tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA — to get the full monthly housing payment: the number that actually leaves your account each month.

Written out, that first line is the standard amortizing-loan formula: M = P × [r(1+r)ⁿ] / [(1+r)ⁿ − 1], where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly interest rate, and n is the number of monthly payments. It produces a level payment that fully repays the loan by the end of its term. The other four lines never amortize: taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA are recurring charges on their own schedules, entered separately rather than folded into P.

Six assumptions sit behind every figure above:

• Loan amount is calculated from home price minus down payment.
• Principal and interest use the standard fixed-rate amortizing loan formula.
• Annual property tax and homeowners insurance assumptions are converted to monthly costs.
• PMI is estimated when down payment assumptions imply a loan-to-value ratio above 80%.
• Extra payments are modeled as additional principal payments that can shorten payoff time and reduce interest.
• Closing costs, points, income, and existing debt are optional planning inputs and do not represent underwriting or approval.

PMI starts below 20% down and ends at 78% loan-to-value

Private mortgage insurance is usually required when your down payment is under 20% (loan-to-value above 80%). It protects the lender, not you. You can typically request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and it often falls off automatically at 78%. Extra principal payments or rising home value get you there sooner. The calculator applies it automatically below 20% down — which is why the first-time-buyer preset above charges PMI on a $400,000 home with $20,000 down, and the 20%-down presets show no PMI line.

VA loans are the exception: they charge no mortgage insurance at any down payment, and a one-time VA funding fee takes its place. The VA loan calculator works out that fee from VA’s own chart and the payment with taxes and insurance.

The 28% and 36% caps that turn a payment into a price ceiling

The affordability section runs the arithmetic in both directions. Enter your gross income and existing monthly debts and it applies the housing-ratio and debt-to-income caps you set — 28% and 36% by default, both editable — to estimate a maximum comfortable payment. Reverse-solve instead and it works back from a target payment to a maximum home price. Neither direction is an approval — those caps are conventions you can move, not underwriting.

Buying outside the US? The arithmetic changes, not just the currency

This calculator follows US conventions: a rate compounded monthly, property tax and homeowners insurance in the payment, and PMI below 20% down. Other countries price a home loan differently enough to need their own calculator, so each has one:

• UK Mortgage Calculator — the payment after a fixed deal ends, and Stamp Duty Land Tax with first-time buyer relief.
• Canadian Mortgage Calculator — semi-annual compounding, CMHC insurance on under 20% down, accelerated payments and the stress test.
• Home Loan EMI Calculator — the Indian EMI, prepayment that cuts tenure or EMI, RBI loan-to-value limits and the tax benefit.
• Australian Mortgage Calculator — fortnightly repayments, LMI, the 5% Deposit Scheme, offset accounts and the 3% buffer.

What stays the same everywhere is the amortization itself: each payment covers the interest on the balance still owed, and the rest repays the loan. What changes is how often the rate compounds, which insurance is added to the loan, which taxes fall due on purchase, and which payment schedules lenders offer — so a US calculator set to pounds or rupees gives a confidently wrong answer.

Five mortgages this calculator gets wrong

This calculator is built for a standard fixed-rate purchase mortgage. It is probably not the right tool — and something else will serve you better — in these cases:

None of these are hard walls — you can still use this calculator to sanity-check a number or compare a scenario. They are the cases where we would rather point you somewhere more accurate than let an estimate stand in for the real thing.

Where this estimate and your lender’s Loan Estimate will disagree

A lender quote reflects your exact rate, fees, points, escrow setup, mortgage insurance, and rounding, plus your credit profile and the property — none of which a calculator can know precisely. Treat this estimate as a planning figure and rely on the lender’s official Loan Estimate for the binding numbers.

Three limitations are structural:

• Does not include every lender fee, rate-lock term, escrow rule, closing cost, tax reassessment, or insurance quote.
• PMI and tax estimates are simplified and may differ from lender, insurer, county, or escrow calculations.
• This is not a loan approval, preapproval, quote, or financial recommendation.

And none of it is financial advice. Every result here is an educational estimate built from your assumptions and a standard formula — not a loan offer, underwriting decision, or financial recommendation. For a binding rate, payment, or approval, use your lender’s official Loan Estimate and speak with a qualified professional.

Sources

• When can I remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) from my loan? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs the PMI rules: you can request cancellation at 80% loan-to-value, and it must terminate automatically at 78% of the original value.

• What is an escrow or impound account? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs how lenders collect property taxes and homeowners insurance through an escrow account inside the monthly payment.

• Understanding your Loan Estimate (the lender’s official figures) — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs the point that the lender’s official Loan Estimate, not a calculator, holds the binding rate, payment, and closing figures.

• Owning a Home — shop and compare mortgage offers — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs shopping multiple lenders and comparing offers using guided tools before committing.

• Difference between a mortgage interest rate and an APR — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs comparing loan offers by APR (rate plus fees), not by the interest rate alone.

• What is a debt-to-income ratio? (the 28/36 guideline) — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs the educational 28/36 affordability reference used in the income comparison.

• What fees or charges are paid when closing on a mortgage and who pays them? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Backs the closing-cost and cash-to-close items that sit outside the monthly payment.

• My Home by Freddie Mac — homebuyer and mortgage education — Freddie Mac

  Backs general homebuyer and mortgage education referenced in the guide.

Related calculators

More in Finance, or browse all calculators.

Read the guides

For the full picture on how your payment compares to the total cost of the loan over time, see Mortgage Payment vs Total Loan Cost: What Borrowers Often Miss.

For how principal and interest split over the life of the loan, see How Amortization Works: Principal, Interest, and Loan Balance Explained.

For how lenders weigh this payment against your income, see What Is a Good Debt-to-Income Ratio and How to Calculate It.