Mortgage Payment Calculator
Calculate your monthly mortgage payment with optional taxes, insurance, and PMI (PITI). See your total interest, LTV, and how overpaying can shorten your loan.
Your monthly payment (P+I)
$2,128.97
You'll pay $2,128.97 per month for 30 years. Your loan-to-value ratio is 80.0%. Over the life of the mortgage you'll pay $446,428.47 in interest on top of the $320,000.00 you borrowed.
Balance and interest over time
Year-by-year breakdown
| Year | Payments | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,547.62 | $22,297.02 | $3,250.59 | $316,749.41 |
| 2 | $25,547.62 | $22,062.04 | $3,485.58 | $313,263.83 |
| 3 | $25,547.62 | $21,810.07 | $3,737.55 | $309,526.28 |
| 4 | $25,547.62 | $21,539.88 | $4,007.74 | $305,518.54 |
| 5 | $25,547.62 | $21,250.16 | $4,297.46 | $301,221.09 |
Formula
A standard amortising mortgage uses the same formula as any other fixed-rate loan:
M = P × r(1+r)n / ((1+r)n − 1),
where P is the loan amount (home price minus deposit), r is
the monthly rate (annual rate divided by 12), and n is the term in months.
With a 25- or 30-year term this means early payments are mostly interest and later payments
are mostly principal — the chart above shows the crossover. Optional taxes and insurance are
added directly to the monthly outflow without affecting the schedule.
When this calculator helps
Shopping for a home in the US means knowing your monthly payment before you make an offer, and this calculator gets you there fast. Enter the purchase price, your down payment, an interest rate and a loan term, and it returns your monthly principal and interest, the total interest over the life of the loan, and your loan-to-value ratio. Fill in the optional taxes, insurance and PMI fields and it also shows your full PITI — the all-in payment most lenders actually collect.
It is built for the questions buyers wrestle with before locking a rate: what would a $400,000 house cost each month, how much does putting 20% down save versus 10%, how much more would a half-point higher rate add over 30 years. The extra-payment field lets you see how paying a little more each month chips away at the principal and shortens the loan.
How to read your result
The headline figure is your monthly principal and interest. The total interest figure shows what the loan costs on top of the amount you borrowed — over a 30-year term that number is often close to the loan amount itself, which is why the term you choose matters so much. Your loan-to-value ratio (loan divided by home price) drives whether you owe PMI: above 80% LTV, most conventional lenders require it until you pay down to 78%.
Term and rate pull against each other. A 30-year loan keeps the monthly payment low but piles up far more total interest than a 15-year loan at the same rate; a 15-year payment is higher each month but saves a fortune over time. The base figure here is principal and interest only — your real monthly check usually also includes escrowed property taxes, homeowners insurance and any PMI, which is why the optional PITI line gives a truer picture.
A worked example
Say you are buying a $400,000 home with $80,000 down, leaving a $320,000 mortgage at 7% over 30 years. The monthly principal and interest works out to about $2,129, and over the full term you would pay roughly $447,000 in interest — more than the amount borrowed. Your LTV starts at 80%, so you would just avoid PMI. Add a $200 monthly overpayment and you would pay the loan off years early and save tens of thousands in interest, which the calculator quantifies for you.
Common mistakes to avoid
The usual traps are mistaking principal and interest for the whole payment, and underestimating how much the long term costs you in interest.
- Budgeting only for P+I and forgetting escrowed property taxes and homeowners insurance, which can add hundreds of dollars a month.
- Overlooking PMI when your down payment is under 20% — it is a real monthly cost until your LTV drops to 78%.
- Ignoring closing costs, which typically run 2–5% of the loan amount and are due upfront, separate from the monthly payment.
- Assuming an adjustable-rate teaser stays put; an ARM resets after its fixed period, unlike the 30-year fixed this calculator models.
How US mortgages actually work
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the backbone of the US market and something of a national peculiarity. It is sustained by the secondary market — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy loans from lenders, taking interest-rate risk off the banks — which is why American borrowers can lock a single rate for three decades when most countries cannot. The payoff is predictability: your principal and interest never change, even if rates climb. Adjustable-rate mortgages exist and start cheaper, but they reset; this calculator assumes one fixed rate throughout.
Most US lenders also escrow taxes and insurance, collecting one-twelfth of the annual cost with each payment and paying the bills on your behalf — which is why PITI, not bare principal and interest, is the number that leaves your account. Property tax varies enormously by state and county, homeowners insurance is effectively mandatory, and PMI applies until you build 20% equity. Use the Tax & insurance fields to fold those into the estimate, and remember closing costs are a separate upfront expense.
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Frequently asked questions
What is PITI?▾
PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four components of a typical US monthly mortgage payment when the lender escrows taxes and insurance on your behalf. The headline number on this calculator is just principal + interest (P+I); when you fill in the optional Tax & insurance section, a separate sub-line shows the full PITI figure.
When is PMI required?▾
Most US conventional lenders require Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) when your deposit is less than 20% of the home price (LTV above 80%). PMI typically costs 0.5–1% of the loan amount per year, paid monthly. Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, PMI must be cancelled automatically when your scheduled balance reaches 78% LTV (or earlier if you request it at 80%). Enter your PMI as a monthly figure in the Tax & insurance section.
Why does the 30-year fixed dominate the US market?▾
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is a US peculiarity supported by the secondary market (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy these loans from lenders, transferring interest-rate risk away from banks). It gives borrowers a predictable monthly payment for the life of the loan — most other countries don't offer terms this long at fixed rates. ARMs (Adjustable-Rate Mortgages) reset periodically; this calculator assumes a single fixed rate for the full term.
Should I overpay my mortgage?▾
Federal CFPB rules ban prepayment penalties on most qualified residential mortgages originated since 2014, so overpaying is generally free and effective — every extra dollar reduces principal directly and saves compound interest. Older loans or some non-QM products may still charge a prepayment penalty; check your loan documents. The 'Extra monthly payment' field above shows the time and interest savings.
Should I include property tax and insurance in my budget?▾
Yes — even if your lender doesn't escrow them, they're part of the true cost of owning. Property tax in the US ranges roughly 0.3–2.5% of home value per year by state and locality; homeowner's insurance averages around 0.5% of home value. Use the Tax & insurance section to model them; the headline P+I stays separate so you can compare lender quotes apples-to-apples.