Money
Mortgage Calculator
Principal, interest, taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance in one monthly figure — and the two separate dates on which that insurance can end.
When mortgage insurance stops — two dates, not one
Every calculator marks a single “20% equity” milestone. Federal law sets two, and they behave differently.
You may ask — 80% of original value
7 years and 11 months
In writing, and only if you ask. Payments you made ahead of schedule count towards this date.
Read at the sourceCancellation threshold from United States Code, read .
It stops on its own — 78%
9 years and 1 month
Automatic, but calculated on the original schedule alone. Paying ahead does not move this date.
Read at the sourceAutomatic termination threshold from United States Code, read .
Between those two dates there are 14 payments of mortgage insurance — $2,436 to $7,812 that a letter would have saved.
If the rate is not the one you entered
Nobody knows their rate before the offer arrives. Half a point either way changes the loan by this much — principal and interest only.
If the rate is lower
$2,158.38
at 6% · $417,017 interest
At the rate you entered
$2,275.44
at 6.5% · $459,160 interest
If the rate is higher
$2,395.09
at 7% · $502,232 interest
The same loan over other terms
A longer term always lowers the payment and always raises the price. Principal and interest only — taxes and insurance do not change with the term.
| Term | Monthly | Total interest | Total repaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | $3,135.99 | $204,478 | $564,478 |
| 20 years | $2,684.06 | $284,175 | $644,175 |
| 25 years | $2,430.75 | $369,224 | $729,224 |
| 30 years (your choice) | $2,275.44 | $459,160 | $819,160 |
Where the money goes
Scale tops out at $360,000
Amortisation schedule
| Year | Interest | Principal | Balance | Paid off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $23,282 | $4,024 | $355,976 | 1% repaid |
| 2 | $23,012 | $4,293 | $351,683 | 2% repaid |
| 3 | $22,725 | $4,581 | $347,102 | 4% repaid |
| 4 | $22,418 | $4,888 | $342,214 | 5% repaid |
| 5 | $22,090 | $5,215 | $337,000 | 6% repaid |
| 6 | $21,741 | $5,564 | $331,435 | 8% repaid |
| 7 | $21,368 | $5,937 | $325,498 | 10% repaid |
| 8Month 95: the balance reaches 80% of the original value. You may now ask, in writing, for mortgage insurance to be cancelled — it does not stop on its own. | $20,971 | $6,334 | $319,164 | 11% repaid |
| 9 | $20,547 | $6,759 | $312,405 | 13% repaid |
| 10Month 109: 78% on the original schedule — mortgage insurance now ends automatically, whatever the real balance. | $20,094 | $7,211 | $305,194 | 15% repaid |
| 11 | $19,611 | $7,694 | $297,500 | 17% repaid |
| 12 | $19,096 | $8,210 | $289,290 | 20% repaid |
| 13 | $18,546 | $8,759 | $280,531 | 22% repaid |
| 14 | $17,959 | $9,346 | $271,185 | 25% repaid |
| 15 | $17,333 | $9,972 | $261,213 | 27% repaid |
| 16 | $16,666 | $10,640 | $250,573 | 30% repaid |
| 17 | $15,953 | $11,352 | $239,221 | 34% repaid |
| 18 | $15,193 | $12,113 | $227,108 | 37% repaid |
| 19 | $14,382 | $12,924 | $214,184 | 41% repaid |
| 20From month 233, more of each payment goes to the balance than to interest. | $13,516 | $13,789 | $200,395 | 44% repaid |
| 21 | $12,592 | $14,713 | $185,682 | 48% repaid |
| 22 | $11,607 | $15,698 | $169,984 | 53% repaid |
| 23 | $10,556 | $16,750 | $153,234 | 57% repaid |
| 24 | $9,434 | $17,871 | $135,363 | 62% repaid |
| 25 | $8,237 | $19,068 | $116,295 | 68% repaid |
| 26 | $6,960 | $20,345 | $95,950 | 73% repaid |
| 27 | $5,598 | $21,708 | $74,242 | 79% repaid |
| 28 | $4,144 | $23,162 | $51,081 | 86% repaid |
| 29 | $2,593 | $24,713 | $26,368 | 93% repaid |
| 30 | $938 | $26,368 | $0 | 100% repaid |
The formula
Read at the sourceMonthly escrow fraction from Code of Federal Regulations, read .
Worked example
A $400,000 home with $40,000 down, 30 years at 6.5%, with $4,800 of tax and $1,500 of insurance a year:
- loan = $400,000 − $40,000 = $360,000, so 90% loan to value
- principal & interest = $2,275.44 a month
- escrow = ($4,800 + $1,500) ÷ 12 = $525.00 a month
- mortgage insurance = $174 to $558 a month on the published range
- total = $2,974 to $3,358 a month
- insurance may be cancelled on request after 7 years and 11 months, and ends by itself after 9 years and 1 month
Where this goes wrong
Waiting for mortgage insurance to fall off by itself
Reaching 20% equity does not end mortgage insurance; it earns you the right to ask for it to end. The automatic cut-off comes later, at 78% of the original value, and the law calculates that date from the schedule you started with — so overpaying brings forward the date you could have asked, and does nothing to the date it stops on its own. Borrowers who pay ahead and say nothing are the ones who pay the most insurance they did not owe.
Read at the sourceDefinition of original value from United States Code, read .
Questions
- Does mortgage insurance stop by itself at 20% equity?
- Not quite, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding on the subject. Federal law sets two different dates. At 80% of the original value you may request cancellation in writing, and payments you made ahead of schedule count towards it. It is only at 78% that cancellation becomes automatic — and that date is fixed by the original amortisation schedule, irrespective of what you have actually paid. Between the two you keep paying unless you ask.
- What counts as the "original value"?
- The lesser of the sales price and the appraised value at closing. It is fixed on the day you sign: a home that appreciates does not bring the automatic termination date forward, though rising value can support a borrower-requested cancellation with a new appraisal.
- Why do you show a range for mortgage insurance instead of a figure?
- Because the insurers do not publish their rate cards in the open — they route you to a quote platform, and the rate depends on your credit score, your down payment, the loan size and the loan type. Inventing a plausible-looking figure would be the easy option and it would be a guess dressed as a fact. Fannie Mae publishes a range, so that is what we show until you tell us the rate on your Loan Estimate.
- How is escrow worked out?
- Property tax and home insurance are divided by twelve and added to each payment, which is what RESPA allows a servicer to collect monthly. Servicers may also require a cushion of up to one sixth of the annual total, but that is collected at closing rather than every month, so it is not part of the monthly figure here.
- Is this the APR?
- No. This uses the nominal annual rate divided into twelve monthly periods, which is how the payment is actually built. The APR folds fees and points into a single figure, so for the same loan it is higher than the rate. Compare offers by APR; calculate payments from the rate.
- Does paying extra shorten the mortgage?
- Yes, and by more than most people expect, because an overpayment cancels every future interest charge the balance would have carried. It also brings forward the date you may ask to cancel mortgage insurance. What it does not do is move the automatic termination date, which the law pins to the original schedule.