Mortgage Calculator
Estimate your full monthly housing payment, principal, interest, property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA (PITI), plus total interest and payoff time. Add an extra payment or switch to biweekly to see how much sooner you'd be mortgage-free.
Results
| Principal & interest | - |
|---|---|
| Taxes, insurance, PMI & HOA | - |
| Total monthly payment | - |
| Total interest paid | - |
| Payoff time | - |
| Total of all payments | - |
Monthly payment breakdown
Loan balance over time
Amortization schedule
Showing year-end rows for readability.
| Month | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Understanding your mortgage payment
A mortgage is a loan secured by your home, repaid in fixed monthly installments over a set term, most commonly 30 or 15 years. The payment is calculated with the standard amortization formula, which solves for the one fixed amount that, paid every month at your interest rate, pays the balance down to exactly zero by the final payment. Because the amount is fixed but your balance keeps shrinking, the split between interest and principal changes every single month. That shifting split is the single most important thing to understand about a mortgage, and it is why two loans with the same payment can cost wildly different amounts of total interest.
How each payment is split
Every month, the lender first charges interest on the balance you currently owe. On a $300,000 loan at 6%, the monthly interest rate is 0.5% (6% ÷ 12), so your very first month's interest is $1,500. If your payment is $1,798.65, then only $298.65 of that first payment actually reduces your balance, the rest is interest. The next month, interest is charged on the slightly smaller balance, so a few dollars more go to principal. This continues, accelerating gently, until in the final years almost the entire payment is principal. The amortization schedule in this calculator shows that progression row by row, and the "balance over time" chart shows why the curve is nearly flat at the start and steep at the end.
What's actually in your monthly bill: PITI
Principal and interest are only part of what you pay. Lenders bundle several other housing costs into one monthly figure they call PITI:
- Principal & Interest, the loan repayment described above.
- Taxes, property tax, collected monthly into an escrow account and paid to your local government on your behalf.
- Insurance, homeowners insurance, also escrowed; and, if your down payment was under 20%, PMI (private mortgage insurance), which protects the lender, not you, until you reach about 20% equity.
- HOA dues, not strictly part of PITI, but a real monthly cost for condos and many planned communities.
This calculator totals all of these so the "total monthly payment" line reflects what actually leaves your account, not just the loan portion. A $1,799 principal-and-interest payment can easily become a $2,400 real payment once taxes, insurance, PMI and HOA are added, the kind of surprise that wrecks a housing budget built on the loan number alone.
A worked example
Suppose you borrow $300,000 at a fixed 6% over 30 years. Principal and interest come to $1,798.65 a month. Over the full 360 payments you'd pay about $347,515 in interest, more than the house itself. Now add $200 a month in extra principal. The loan pays off in roughly 24 years instead of 30, and total interest drops by tens of thousands of dollars, because every extra dollar permanently removes future interest on that dollar for the rest of the term. Try it above: type 200 into the extra-payment field and watch the payoff time and total interest both fall instantly.
Extra payments and biweekly schedules
There are two popular ways to pay a mortgage down faster. The first is simply adding a fixed extra amount to each monthly payment. The second is biweekly payments: you pay half your monthly amount every two weeks. Because there are 52 weeks in a year, that's 26 half-payments, the equivalent of 13 full monthly payments a year instead of 12. That one extra payment per year, applied entirely to principal, typically shaves four to six years off a 30-year loan. This calculator models biweekly using that "13th payment" method so you can compare it against a plain extra-payment strategy. Both work for the same underlying reason: they attack principal, and less principal means less interest compounding against you every month that follows.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Budgeting off principal and interest alone. Always budget the full PITI figure. Taxes and insurance rise over time, so your escrow payment, and total bill, will creep up even on a fixed-rate loan.
- Forgetting PMI falls off. Once you reach ~20% equity you can usually request PMI cancellation, lowering your payment. Set zero in the PMI field to see that future payment.
- Assuming a longer term is cheaper. A 30-year loan has a lower monthly payment than a 15-year, but costs far more total interest. Compare both here before deciding.
- Ignoring the opportunity cost of extra payments. Paying extra guarantees a return equal to your interest rate, but that money is then locked in the house. Weigh it against other goals like retirement contributions or an emergency fund.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator include property tax and insurance?
Yes. Enter your annual property tax and homeowners insurance, plus any monthly PMI and HOA, and the "total monthly payment" line adds them to principal and interest. Leave them at zero to see principal and interest only. Escrow costs are shown for budgeting but don't affect the loan payoff schedule.
How much does one extra payment a year really save?
On a typical 30-year loan it usually removes four to six years and tens of thousands of dollars in interest, because the extra money goes entirely to principal and stops that principal from accruing interest for the rest of the term. Switch the frequency to biweekly, or add an extra monthly amount, to see your exact figure.
Should I choose a 15-year or 30-year mortgage?
A 15-year loan has a higher monthly payment but a lower rate and dramatically less total interest; a 30-year loan is easier to afford month to month but costs much more overall. Enter each term above and compare the "total interest paid" line to see the trade-off for your numbers.
What is PMI and when does it go away?
PMI is private mortgage insurance, usually required when your down payment is under 20%. It protects the lender if you default. You can typically request cancellation once you reach about 20% equity, and it falls off automatically at 22% by law on most loans.
Are these numbers an exact quote?
No. This is an educational estimate. Your actual rate, taxes, insurance and fees depend on your lender, location and credit. Use it to understand the trade-offs and budget realistically, then get a formal Loan Estimate from a lender for exact figures.