1. Home
  2. Financial
  3. Mortgage Calculator

Mortgage Calculator

Work out the real monthly cost of a home — principal, interest, taxes, insurance and PMI — plus a year-by-year amortization schedule.

Runs in your browser Free, no sign-up Updated 2026-08-21

Your details

$

Please enter a valid value.

%

Please enter a valid value.

%

Please enter a valid value.

$

Please enter a valid value.

$

Please enter a valid value.

$

Please enter a valid value.

$

Please enter a valid value.

Fill in the form to see your result.

How a mortgage payment is actually built

People talk about “the mortgage payment” as one number, but it is really four or five numbers stacked together. Lenders call the stack PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Add private mortgage insurance and HOA dues and you have the amount that actually leaves your account each month.

  • Principal — the slice that reduces what you owe.
  • Interest — the lender's fee, calculated on the balance that is still outstanding.
  • Property tax — usually collected monthly into an escrow account and paid to your county once or twice a year.
  • Homeowners insurance — also escrowed in most cases.
  • PMI — required by most conventional lenders when you put down less than 20%. Budget 0.4%–1.2% of the loan per year.
  • HOA dues — never escrowed, but very real.

A quote of “$2,100 a month” from a lender is often only principal and interest. The number in this calculator is the full stack, which is the one that matters for your budget.

The formula behind the number

Monthly principal & interestM = P × [ i(1 + i)n ] / [ (1 + i)n − 1 ] P = loan amount (price − down payment) i = annual rate ÷ 12 n = term in months

This is the standard amortizing-loan formula. It solves for the fixed payment that reduces the balance to exactly zero after n months. Because interest is charged on the remaining balance, early payments are mostly interest and later payments are mostly principal — which is why the amortization table above looks so lopsided in year one.

Worked example

A $420,000 home with 20% down means a $336,000 loan. At 6.5% over 30 years, i = 0.0054167 and n = 360, giving a principal-and-interest payment of about $2,124. Add $400 of property tax and $150 of insurance per month and the real cost is roughly $2,674.

How much house can you actually afford?

Two rules of thumb do most of the work:

  • The 28% rule — total housing cost should stay under 28% of gross monthly income.
  • The 36% rule — all debt payments together (housing, cars, student loans, minimum card payments) should stay under 36%. Lenders call this your debt-to-income ratio, and many will stretch to 43% or higher.

Being approved for a number is not the same as that number being wise. Approval maths ignores childcare, retirement contributions, maintenance (budget 1% of the home's value per year) and the fact that your income might not be perfectly stable.

Try setting your extra monthly payment to $200 above. On a typical 30-year loan that alone can cut four to six years off the term and tens of thousands off the interest.

Frequently asked questions

What are closing costs and how much should I budget?

Closing costs typically run 2–5% of the purchase price and cover loan origination, appraisal, title insurance, escrow setup, recording fees and prepaid taxes and insurance. On a $400,000 home that is $8,000–20,000, payable on top of the deposit. Your lender must give you a Loan Estimate within three days of applying.

Should I pay points to lower the rate?

One point costs 1% of the loan and typically cuts the rate by about 0.25%. Divide the cost by the monthly saving to get the break-even point, usually four to seven years. Points are worth it if you are confident you will stay past that; they are wasted money if you sell or refinance sooner.

Does this mortgage calculator include property taxes and insurance?

Yes. Enter your annual property tax and homeowners insurance and both are divided by twelve and added to the monthly figure, exactly as an escrow account would. PMI is added automatically whenever your down payment is below 20%.

What is a good interest rate on a mortgage?

“Good” is relative to the market at the time you borrow, not to a historical number. What you can control is your credit score, your down payment, your debt-to-income ratio and whether you shop more than one lender. A difference of half a percentage point on a $350,000 loan is around $110 a month and roughly $40,000 over thirty years, so shopping around is worth real money.

Is a 15-year or 30-year mortgage better?

A 15-year loan carries a lower rate and dramatically less total interest, but the monthly payment is roughly 45–50% higher. A 30-year loan keeps you flexible and lets you make voluntary extra payments in good months. Change the term in the calculator and compare the total-interest figure to see the trade-off for your own numbers.

How do extra payments shorten the loan?

Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, so the interest charged in every remaining month is calculated on a smaller balance. The effect compounds. The calculator re-amortizes the loan with your extra payment included and shows the new payoff date and the interest saved.

Does the calculator show my exact payment?

It shows a very close estimate. Your lender's final figure can differ slightly because of the exact closing date, escrow cushions, loan-level price adjustments, HOA transfer fees and local tax rules. Use this to plan and compare; use the Loan Estimate document for the legally binding numbers.

Related calculators

Loan CalculatorFinancialAuto Loan CalculatorFinancialCompound Interest CalculatorFinancialSalary CalculatorFinancial