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Mortgage Calculator

Estimate your monthly payment

Modify the values and click Calculate.

Home Price
$
Down Payment
%
Loan Term
years
Interest Rate
%
Start Date
🏠 Home Finance

Mortgage Calculator
payment & amortization.

Estimate your monthly mortgage payment, see the full amortization schedule, and factor in property taxes, home insurance, PMI, and HOA fees. Works for any fixed-rate loan.

Monthly paymentAmortization scheduleProperty taxPMIHome insuranceFree & instant

Step by step

How to use the Mortgage Calculator

1

Enter home price

Type the purchase price of the home you are buying or refinancing.

2

Set down payment & rate

Enter your down payment percentage and the annual interest rate for your loan.

3

Add optional costs

Check 'Include Taxes & Costs' to add property tax, insurance, PMI, HOA, and other monthly expenses.

4

Click Calculate

Instantly see your monthly payment, total interest, payoff date, and the full year-by-year amortization schedule.

Why use this calculator?

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Home purchase planning

Know your exact monthly obligation before making an offer. Compare different home prices, down payments, and loan terms side by side.

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Refinancing decisions

Model a new rate or shorter term to see how much interest you save and how your monthly payment changes.

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Budget & affordability

Include all recurring costs — taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA — to get the true monthly out-of-pocket cost, not just the principal and interest.

How mortgage payments are calculated

In the early years of a mortgage, the vast majority of each payment goes toward interest rather than principal. This is because interest is calculated on the outstanding balance — which is highest at the start. As you make payments and the balance falls, the interest portion shrinks and the principal portion grows. This gradual shift is called amortization.

The amortization schedule below the calculator shows this progression year by year (or month by month). By year 10 of a 30-year mortgage, you will have paid roughly a third of the total interest but reduced the principal by only about 15%. This is why extra payments made early in the loan have a disproportionately large impact on total interest savings.

Formula

M = P × [r(1+r)ⁿ] / [(1+r)ⁿ − 1]

M = monthly payment, P = loan principal (home price minus down payment), r = monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100), n = total number of monthly payments (years × 12). This formula gives the fixed monthly principal and interest payment for the entire loan term.

Worked example

Home price $400,000, 20% down → loan = $320,000. Rate 6.748% APR → monthly rate = 0.5623%. Term 30 years → 360 payments. M = $320,000 × [0.005623 × (1.005623)³⁶⁰] / [(1.005623)³⁶⁰ − 1] ≈ $2,075/month. Total payments = $747,000. Total interest = $427,000.

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What is a Mortgage?

A mortgage is a loan secured by real estate property. The lender provides the funds to purchase a home, and the borrower agrees to repay the loan — plus interest — over a fixed period, typically 15 or 30 years in the United States. Each monthly payment covers a portion of the original loan amount (principal) and the cost of borrowing (interest). Until the final payment is made, the lender holds a lien on the property.

In the U.S., the most common mortgage is the conventional 30-year fixed-rate loan, which accounts for 70–90% of all mortgages. Fixed-rate mortgages keep the same interest rate for the entire term, so the principal and interest portion of the monthly payment never changes. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) start with a fixed rate for a set period, then adjust periodically based on a market index.

Mortgage Calculator Components

Understanding each input helps you model different scenarios accurately.

Loan Amount

The amount borrowed from the lender — equal to the home price minus the down payment. The maximum loan amount a lender will approve generally correlates with household income and debt-to-income ratio.

Down Payment

The upfront cash payment toward the purchase price. Lenders typically prefer 20% or more. Putting down less than 20% usually requires PMI. A larger down payment lowers the loan amount, reduces the interest rate, and eliminates PMI sooner.

Loan Term

The number of years over which the loan is repaid. Common terms are 15, 20, and 30 years. Shorter terms carry lower interest rates but higher monthly payments. Longer terms lower the monthly payment but increase total interest paid.

Interest Rate (APR)

The annual cost of borrowing expressed as a percentage. Mortgage rates are quoted as Annual Percentage Rate (APR). A monthly rate of 0.5% equals a 6% APR. Even a small difference in rate has a large impact on total interest over a 30-year term.

Costs Associated with Home Ownership

The monthly mortgage payment is the largest cost, but several other recurring expenses add to the true cost of ownership.

Recurring Costs

Property Taxes

A tax levied by local governments on real estate. In the U.S., property tax is managed at the municipal or county level. Americans pay an average of about 1.1% of their property's value annually, though rates vary widely by state and county.

Home Insurance

Protects the owner against damage, theft, and liability. Lenders require homeowners insurance as a condition of the mortgage. Premiums depend on location, home value, coverage level, and the insurer.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Required when the down payment is less than 20%. PMI protects the lender — not the borrower — if the loan defaults. Annual PMI cost typically ranges from 0.3% to 1.9% of the loan amount and can be cancelled once the loan-to-value ratio reaches 80%.

HOA Fee

Homeowner association fees apply to condominiums, townhomes, and some single-family communities. They cover shared amenities and maintenance. Annual HOA fees are usually less than 1% of the property value but can be significant in high-amenity communities.

Other Costs

Utilities, routine maintenance, and repairs. A common rule of thumb is to budget 1% or more of the home's value per year for maintenance alone.

Non-Recurring Costs

These one-time costs are not included in the monthly payment calculator but are important to budget for.

Closing Costs

Attorney fees, title service, recording fees, appraisal, inspection, and more. Typically $8,000–$15,000 on a $400,000 purchase.

Initial Renovations

Flooring, paint, kitchen updates, or full remodels before or after moving in. Optional but common.

Moving & Furnishing

Moving company, new furniture, appliances, and miscellaneous setup costs for the new home.

Early Repayment and Extra Payments

Paying off a mortgage ahead of schedule reduces total interest and shortens the loan term. There are three common strategies.

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Extra Payments

Any payment above the required monthly amount reduces the principal directly. Even one extra payment per year can cut years off a 30-year mortgage.

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Biweekly Payments

Paying half the monthly amount every two weeks results in 26 half-payments — equivalent to 13 full monthly payments per year instead of 12.

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Refinancing

Taking a new loan at a lower rate or shorter term to replace the existing mortgage. Reduces interest cost but involves closing costs and qualification requirements.

Advantages of Early Repayment

Drawbacks to Consider

Brief History of Mortgages in the U.S.

In the early 20th century, buying a home required a down payment of around 50%, a short-term loan of three to five years, and a large balloon payment at the end. Only four in ten Americans could afford a home under those conditions. The Great Depression made things worse — one in four homeowners lost their homes.

To stabilize the housing market, the federal government created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Fannie Mae in the 1930s. These institutions introduced the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with modest down payments and standardized construction requirements, making homeownership accessible to a much broader population.

Post-World War II, returning soldiers used government-backed loans to purchase homes, sparking a construction boom. The FHA continued to support borrowers through the inflation crisis of the 1970s and the energy price collapse of the 1980s. By 2001, the U.S. homeownership rate reached a record 68.1%.

The 2008 financial crisis triggered massive mortgage defaults and forced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae. The FHA stepped in to stabilize the market, and by 2012–2013 the housing market had largely recovered. Today, the FHA and Fannie Mae continue to insure millions of residential mortgages, keeping long-term fixed-rate financing available to American homebuyers.

Frequently Asked Questions