Mortgage Calculator

Estimate your real monthly house payment

Principal and interest are only part of the potential monthly housing cost. This mortgage calculator adds property tax, home insurance, estimated PMI and HOA so you see a broader planning total, with a colour-coded breakdown of where each dollar goes.

How to use it

1. Enter the home price and your down payment (the percentage updates automatically).
2. Set the interest rate and term (usually 30 or 15 years).
3. Add annual property tax, home insurance, any HOA fee, and a PMI rate.
4. Read your estimated monthly payment and the breakdown bar beneath it.

Worked monthly-payment example

Consider a fictional $400,000 home with $40,000 down, a $360,000 fixed-rate loan at 7% for 30 years, $4,800 annual property tax, $1,800 annual insurance, $75 monthly HOA dues and a 0.5% annual PMI input. Using the calculator’s model:

This example demonstrates the arithmetic, not an available loan or a statement of actual taxes, insurance or mortgage-insurance charges. Replace every input with a documented scenario you are comparing.

How the mortgage calculation works

The calculator subtracts the down payment from the home price, then applies the standard fixed-rate amortization formula to the resulting principal. Annual property tax and insurance are divided by 12. HOA dues are already monthly. If the starting down payment is below 20%, the entered annual PMI percentage is applied to the initial loan amount and divided by 12.

That last step is intentionally a simplified planning model. It does not model changing assessments or premiums, escrow adjustments, upfront charges, interest-rate changes, mortgage-insurance cancellation during the term or loan-specific rounding.

How this estimator handles the 20% line

For a simple comparison, this calculator includes the PMI rate you enter when the starting down payment is below 20% and shows zero PMI at or above 20%. That is an input rule for this estimator, not a promise about a real loan. The calculation does not remove PMI as the balance falls and does not model FHA, VA, lender-paid mortgage insurance, or lender-specific rules.

For many covered US mortgages, the CFPB says a borrower can generally request PMI cancellation when the scheduled balance reaches 80% of the home’s original value, subject to conditions. It also describes general automatic termination at 78% when payments are current. FHA and VA loans have different requirements, and rules outside the US differ.

Principal & interest is only part of it

The pure loan portion behaves like any amortizing loan — see our loan calculator for the amortization schedule and total interest over the life of the loan. This calculator does not assess whether a loan is affordable, verify income, or predict a lender’s approval decision.

Sources and assumptions

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that a total mortgage payment can include principal, interest, taxes, homeowners insurance and possibly mortgage insurance. Use the loan’s interest rate in this calculator; mortgage APR is a broader measure that can include points and other charges.

This tool assumes a fixed rate and level principal-and-interest payment. It is a planning estimate, not financial advice, an affordability decision, or a lender quote. Taxes, insurance, HOA dues, escrow, mortgage insurance, fees and rounding can all differ from the entered values.