Mortgage Calculator 🏡
Calculate your complete monthly mortgage payment — including P&I, property tax, homeowner's insurance, PMI, and HOA. Plus full amortization schedule.
Loan Details
Fill in your loan details to see your complete monthly payment
What's Included in a Mortgage Payment (PITI)?
- Principal (P): The portion reducing your loan balance
- Interest (I): Cost of borrowing — higher in early years
- Taxes (T): Property tax, typically 0.5%–2.5% of home value per year
- Insurance (I): Homeowner's insurance, average $1,200–$2,000/year
- PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance — required when down payment is <20%
What Is PMI and When Can You Remove It?
PMI protects the lender if you default. It costs 0.5%–1.5% of the loan amount annually. Once you reach 20% equity (80% LTV), you can request PMI removal. It automatically cancels at 78% LTV under the Homeowners Protection Act.
30-Year vs 15-Year Mortgage
- 30-Year: Lower monthly payment, more total interest paid, more flexibility
- 15-Year: Higher payment, significantly less total interest, build equity faster
- Rule of thumb: If you can afford 15-year payments, you'll save tens of thousands in interest
Current Mortgage Rate Trends (2024)
As of 2024, 30-year fixed mortgage rates are approximately 6.5%–7.5%, significantly higher than the 2020–2021 historic lows of 2.7%–3.1%. Always shop multiple lenders — even 0.25% difference can save $10,000+ over the loan lifetime.
Worked Example
Consider a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment ($80,000), leaving a $320,000 loan at 7% over 30 years. The principal-and-interest payment is about $2,129 per month. Over 30 years you would pay roughly $766,000 in total — about $446,000 of which is interest, more than the loan itself. Adding property tax and insurance (the full PITI) typically pushes the real monthly cost several hundred dollars higher.
How Much House Can You Afford? The 28/36 Rule
Lenders commonly apply the 28/36 rule: your monthly housing payment (PITI) should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income, and your total debt payments — including the mortgage, car loans, and credit cards — should not exceed 36%. For a household earning $8,000 a month, that caps housing at about $2,240 and total debt at $2,880. Staying within these limits keeps you comfortably able to absorb other expenses and unexpected costs.
Fixed vs Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
A fixed-rate mortgage locks your interest rate for the entire term, giving predictable payments — ideal when rates are low or you plan to stay long-term. An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) offers a lower introductory rate for an initial period (e.g., 5 years), then adjusts periodically with the market. ARMs can save money if you plan to sell or refinance before the rate resets, but they carry the risk of rising payments later.
Points and Closing Costs
Beyond the down payment, budget for closing costs of roughly 2–5% of the loan amount, covering appraisal, title, and origination fees. You can also pay discount points upfront — typically 1% of the loan for about a 0.25% rate reduction — which lowers your monthly payment. Points pay off only if you keep the loan long enough to recover their cost, so calculate the break-even point before buying them.
Frequently Asked Questions — Mortgage Calculator
Principal is the original loan amount you borrowed. Interest is the cost of borrowing that money, charged as a percentage of the remaining balance. Early in a mortgage, most of your payment goes to interest. Over time, more goes to principal — this is called amortization.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required when your down payment is less than 20% of the home price. It protects the lender, not you. Once your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio reaches 80% — either through payments or home appreciation — you can request PMI removal. Under the Homeowners Protection Act, lenders must cancel PMI automatically at 78% LTV.
A 15-year mortgage has higher monthly payments but you pay significantly less total interest (often 40–50% less) and build equity faster. A 30-year mortgage has lower monthly payments, giving you more cash flow flexibility. Choose 15-year if you can afford the payments; choose 30-year if you need lower monthly obligations or plan to invest the difference.
A common guideline is the 28/36 rule: spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing costs (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) and no more than 36% on total debt payments. Most lenders use your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio — they typically approve loans where total debt is under 43% of gross income.
An amortization schedule is a complete table of your mortgage payments showing how each payment is split between principal and interest over the life of the loan. It shows your remaining balance after each payment. In the early years, a larger share goes to interest; later, more goes to principal.
A larger down payment reduces your loan amount, lowering monthly payments and total interest paid. Putting at least 20% down eliminates PMI. A 10% down payment vs 20% on a $400,000 home can cost an extra $150–250/month in PMI alone. Every additional dollar in down payment saves approximately that amount times the interest rate annually.