Mortgage planning tool
Mortgage Calculator
Estimate your monthly mortgage payment, interest, taxes, insurance, and payoff timeline. Adjust the figures, calculate when ready, and share the exact scenario with anyone.
Changing a field does not recalculate automatically. Press Calculate Mortgage after you finish setting your inputs.
The calculator estimates a fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan with monthly payments. Property tax, home insurance, HOA fees, and mortgage insurance are added to the monthly housing estimate. Lender fees, closing costs, escrow changes, and variable rates are not included.
| Period | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate to view your schedule. | ||||
Mortgage cost breakdown
Review the monthly costs included in the estimate. These amounts are included only after you press Calculate Mortgage.
Interest savings compare the selected extra payment against the same loan without extra principal payments.
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Explore more calculators on Its CD Calculator.
A mortgage calculator estimates your monthly mortgage payment, including principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and PMI, based on your loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. Enter your home price, down payment, and zip code above. Your full PITI payment updates instantly.
How to Use Mortgage Calculator
This mortgage payment calculator shows your full monthly housing cost, not just what goes to the lender. Here is what each input controls
Home price is the purchase price you have in mind, or your home’s current value if you are refinancing.
A down payment is the cash you put in upfront. Bring less than 20%, and most lenders will add private mortgage insurance (PMI) to your monthly cost; it stays until your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) drops to 80%.
Loan term sets your repayment timeline. Most buyers choose 30 years. A 15-year term means higher monthly payments but far less interest paid over time. If you are still deciding when to buy, aligning your closing date with a CD maturity date can free up down payment funds without penalties. Use our CD maturity calculator to map out the exact date your savings become available.
The interest rate is what the lender charges to borrow, shown as an annual percentage. Use a rate you have already received, or start with the national average the tool displays.
Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA fees are estimated from national averages. Enter your local figures for a truer PITI number: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance combined. That is the figure lenders look at when assessing your application.
Compare Current Mortgage Rates for Today
Rates move every day. Through 2026, 30-year fixed rates are sitting between 6.5% and 7.5% for most buyers, depending on credit score, loan type, and lender. A 0.5% difference on a $300,000 loan adds up to more than $30,000 over the life of the loan. Run your numbers against at least three lenders before making a decision. If you want to understand how interest rates work on shorter-term savings instruments before committing to a long mortgage, our guide on how to calculate CD rates breaks down rate mechanics in plain terms.
Factors That Affect Your Mortgage Payment
Down payment and home price define your starting loan balance. Reaching 20% down removes PMI and usually unlocks a better rate. On a $400,000 home, moving from 5% down to 20% down saves roughly $375 a month.
Loan term decides your repayment pace and total interest cost. A 15-year mortgage at 7% on $300,000 runs $2,696 per month, but you pay only about $185,000 in interest total versus over $418,000 on a 30-year.
The interest rate is where the real long-term money lives. A full percentage point difference on a $350,000 loan changes your lifetime interest cost by nearly $80,000.
Loan type determines your minimum down payment, PMI rules, and qualifying standards. Conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA loans each carry different costs and trade-offs.
| Loan Type | Min Down | PMI | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 3% | Yes, below 20% | Strong credit, flexible terms |
| FHA | 3.5% | Yes, life of loan | Lower credit scores, first-time buyers |
| VA | 0% | No | Veterans, active military |
| USDA | 0% | No (guarantee fee) | Rural and suburban buyers |
| Jumbo | 10%+ | Varies | Homes above $766,550 (2024 FHFA limit) |
Your credit score is one variable entirely in your control before you apply. A score above 760 typically earns you the best rate tier a lender offers. At 620, the same loan costs considerably more. On $300,000 over 30 years, a 1% rate gap driven by credit score can add $30,000 to $60,000 in total interest paid.
How We Calculate Your Results
The amortization formula spreads your principal and interest across equal monthly payments. Property tax and insurance are pulled from national averages; edit them if you know your local figures. PMI is added automatically when the down payment falls below 20% and removed once your LTV reaches 80%. All calculations assume a fixed-rate loan.
Mortgage Calculator Formula
Every mortgage payment is calculated using one standard formula:
M = P · [ r(1 + r)ⁿ / ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) ]
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| M | Monthly mortgage payment |
| P | Principal loan amount |
| r | Monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12) |
| n | Total number of payments (years × 12) |
Example: $280,000 loan at 7% APR over 30 years.
- r = 0.07 ÷ 12 = 0.005833
- n = 30 × 12 = 360
- M = $280,000 × [0.005833 × (1.005833)³⁶⁰] ÷ [(1.005833)³⁶⁰ − 1]
- M = $1,862.77 per month
Add estimated property taxes ($350/month) and homeowners insurance ($150/month), and your real monthly housing cost is closer to $2,362.77 before any HOA fees or PMI.
Total interest over 30 years on this loan: approximately $390,598 more than the original loan amount. An extra $200 per month from the start cuts roughly five years off the payoff and saves over $80,000 in interest. If you want to see how compound interest builds on the savings side, for example, on a CD held while you save for a down payment, our guide on how to calculate CD interest walks through the same compounding mechanics in a savings context.
A Brief History of U.S. Mortgages
Buying a home before the 1930s meant putting down 50% of the purchase price and repaying a short-term loan typically for 3 to 5 years that ended in a large balloon payment. Fewer than four in ten Americans could manage it.
The Great Depression broke that system. By 1933, roughly one in four American homeowners had lost their property to foreclosure. Congress responded with the National Housing Act of 1934, which established the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The FHA introduced the long-term, fixed-rate, fully amortizing mortgage, the structure that every mortgage payment calculator still uses today. Fannie Mae was created in 1938 to buy FHA-insured loans off bank balance sheets, giving lenders the capacity to keep issuing new ones.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 and the GI Bill introduced VA loan guarantees with no down payment requirement for returning veterans. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage cemented itself as the default American home loan through the 1950s building boom that followed.
The 2008 financial crisis exposed how fragile the system had become. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into federal conservatorship in September 2008 after catastrophic losses on mortgage-backed securities.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and established the Qualified Mortgage standard, including the 43% DTI ceiling that shapes conventional mortgage lending through 2026.
Understanding Your Results
Your results give you three numbers worth examining closely. The principal and interest split shows how amortization works in practice: early payments are mostly interest, and the balance reduction picks up speed in later years. The total loan cost is what most buyers do not look at: on a $280,000 loan at 7%, you repay roughly $670,000 over 30 years.
That is the true price of the home and understanding it is closely tied to the concept of how to calculate future value, which explains how money grows or compounds across time in either direction. The payoff date gives you a concrete milestone and shapes every refinancing or extra payment decision going forward.
How Much House Can You Afford?
A practical starting point is the 28/36 rule: keep your total monthly housing cost under 28% of your gross income and all monthly debt under 36%.
On $90,000 a year, your gross monthly income is $7,500. The 28% ceiling puts your maximum PITI at around $2,100. At 2026 rates, that supports a loan somewhere between $270,000 and $290,000, depending heavily on where you live and what property taxes look like in your state.
Many buyers saving for a down payment keep funds in a certificate of deposit; in the months before closing, our CD APY calculator shows exactly what your savings will earn before you need them.
Lenders are often more flexible than 28/36 suggests. Conventional lenders commonly approve up to 43% DTI. FHA lenders can stretch to 50% when you have strong compensating factors. Think of 28/36 as a personal discipline tool, not just a lender threshold. Where you live changes your monthly payment dramatically. A Texas mortgage calculator will show a much higher PITI than the same loan run through a mortgage calculator for Kansas, Hawaii, Alabama, or Idaho purely because of property tax rates.
What to Consider Next
A payment that looks fine on paper can still fail a lender’s DTI check. Total up all monthly debt obligations car payments, student loans, minimum card payments, and your projected PITI. If the combined figure exceeds 43% of your gross monthly income, pay down existing debt before applying. A cleaner DTI tends to unlock better rates too.
Your monthly housing cost extends well past the mortgage payment itself. Closing costs run 2% to 5% of the loan, which is $6,000 to $15,000 on a $300,000 loan, paid at signing. Annual maintenance on the same home will typically run another $3,500 to $7,000. Neither number appears in any standard mortgage calculator. If you are budgeting a renovation or landscaping project alongside your home purchase, our Cubic Yard Calculator can help you estimate material volumes before you get contractor quotes.
First-time buyers should check their state’s housing authority before locking a rate. Texas has TDHCA, Kansas has KHRC, Alabama has AHFA, Idaho has IHFA, and Hawaii has HHFDC. Each offers programs that reduce the cash you need upfront. If your down payment is sitting in a CD that has not matured yet, check your penalties before withdrawing early. Our CD early withdrawal penalty calculator helps you weigh the cost against the timing of your closing date.
Sources:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mortgage Basics: consumerfinance.gov
- Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), 2024 Conforming Loan Limits: fhfa.gov
- Tax Foundation, State Property Tax Rankings 2025: taxfoundation.org
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Home Loan Guaranty Program: va.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program: rd.usda.gov
- Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, 12 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.
- Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA): tdhca.state.tx.us
- Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC): kshousingcorp.org
- Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA): ahfa.com
- Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA): idahohousing.com
- Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC): dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc