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Fixed-rate home loan

Mortgage payment calculator

Estimate your housing payment, lifetime interest, and how payment frequency or extra principal may change the payoff.

Results are educational estimates based on the assumptions you enter. They are not financial advice, a lender quote, an approval decision, or a guarantee. Actual costs may differ.
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Mortgage details

Required fields are marked. Example defaults are educational, not recommendations.

Basic inputs
Illustrative example: $400,000.
$320,000
Down payment format
May be $0, but cannot exceed the home price.
Enter your own nominal annual rate. Example only: 6.5%, not a current quote.
Payment schedule
Bi-weekly uses half the monthly principal-and-interest payment every two weeks, resulting in 26 payments per year.
Sets the calendar timing for the amortization schedule and extra payments.
Additional costs
Closing costs
Closing cost format
Included in cash needed; not financed or added to the loan.
Taxes, insurance, and association fees
Property tax format
For maintenance, repairs, utilities, or other recurring home expenses.
Annual cost increases

Each increase compounds after every full payment year. Enter 0% to keep that cost level.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Defaults to 1.5% when the down payment is below 10%. Edit it to match your assumption. Applied to outstanding principal as an educational estimate.
Extra payments
Extra principal
With a bi-weekly schedule, this monthly amount is spread across 26 payments per year.
Monthly extras begin in this payment month; annual extras begin with its 12th payment month.
One-time extra payments

A practical guide to mortgage payments

This calculator answers how a conventional fixed-rate mortgage may translate into monthly housing costs and long-term repayment. It is useful when comparing terms, planning cash for closing, or exploring whether optional extra payments fit your plan.

How to use the calculator

  1. Enter a home price and choose whether the down payment is a percentage or dollar amount.
  2. Supply the annual interest rate from the scenario or quote you want to evaluate, then choose a term and payment schedule.
  3. Open Additional costs to add taxes, insurance, HOA fees, other recurring housing costs, PMI, or closing costs.
  4. Review the first-payment estimate, lifetime metrics, cost chart, and schedules. Change one assumption at a time to understand its effect.

Understanding the results

The estimated initial payment combines scheduled principal and interest with the allocated share of entered taxes, insurance, HOA, other recurring costs, and applicable PMI. Cash needed is separate: it combines down payment and closing costs. Total housing payments through payoff include loan payments and the ongoing non-loan costs modeled during the mortgage period; they exclude the down payment and closing costs. Total cost of homeownership during the mortgage adds cash needed to those payments.

How to calculate a mortgage payment for a $500k house

Illustrative assumptions: a $500,000 home with 20% down ($100,000), leaving a $400,000 loan. Enter the fixed annual rate you want to explore; for example, a user-entered 6.5% rate over 30 years produces principal and interest of about $2,528 per month.

Add property tax and homeowners insurance to estimate the rest of PITI. Property taxes and insurance vary by location, assessment rules, coverage, and insurer, so enter assumptions that fit your scenario. Add PMI when it applies to your loan and HOA fees when the property has them.

Amortization allocates each scheduled principal-and-interest payment between interest and principal. Early payments generally include more interest; as the loan balance falls, more of the scheduled payment goes toward principal. This example is neither a lender quote nor financial advice.

Mortgage payment formula

For principal P, periodic rate r, and n scheduled payments, the level principal-and-interest payment M is:

M = P x r x (1 + r)n / ((1 + r)n - 1)

Monthly schedules use 12 periods per year. Bi-weekly pays half the standard monthly amount every two weeks, resulting in 26 payments per year. Each period, interest is the opening balance multiplied by the applicable periodic rate. Extra payments do not recast the regular payment.

Worked example

Illustrative assumptions: a $400,000 home, 20% down, a user-entered 6.5% annual fixed rate, and a 30-year term, before property costs.

The original loan is $320,000. Applying the formula produces scheduled principal and interest of about $2,023 per month. This example is for explaining the method, not a current rate or recommendation.

Assumptions and limitations

  • The model covers conventional fixed-rate repayment, not adjustable-rate, FHA, VA, or USDA loan rules.
  • Property tax based on a percentage uses the original price for its starting amount. Property tax, insurance, HOA, and maintenance or other recurring costs then compound once per payment year at their entered annual increase assumptions. Escrow adjustments are not forecast separately.
  • PMI is simplified. Appreciation, seasoning, appraisal requirements, and statutory or lender cancellation rules are not modeled.
  • Closing costs increase cash needed but are not financed. Extra payments are applied after scheduled principal and do not recast the loan.
  • Bi-weekly dates advance in exact 14-day intervals. Actual lenders may use different accrual, posting, or payment-processing conventions.
  • Calculations use full floating-point precision and round only for display. Lender statements may use different day-count or cent-rounding conventions.

See the mortgage payment methodology for calculation conventions.

Frequently asked questions

Does this mortgage estimate include taxes and insurance?

It includes property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA fees, PMI, and other recurring housing costs only when you enter those assumptions. The headline is the first modeled month, not a lender escrow quote.

How do extra payments change a mortgage?

Extra payments reduce principal after the scheduled payment. The regular principal-and-interest payment stays the same in this model, so the payoff period becomes shorter and modeled interest generally falls.

How are bi-weekly mortgage payments calculated?

Bi-weekly uses half the standard monthly principal-and-interest payment every two weeks, resulting in 26 payments per year. That is equivalent to making 13 monthly payments each year.

When does PMI stop in this calculator?

Modeled PMI stops when the scheduled closing balance reaches the selected percentage of the original home value. Actual cancellation can depend on loan type, payment history, seasoning, appraisal, and law.

Are closing costs financed?

No. They are added to estimated cash needed but not to principal or the scheduled payment. Enter a loan amount that includes them only if you are intentionally evaluating a different financed balance.

Why must I enter an interest rate?

The site does not provide live or recommended rates. Enter a quote or an educational scenario so the source and timing of that assumption remain clear.

Glossary

Amortization
The gradual repayment of principal through scheduled payments over time.
Principal
The loan balance before interest and housing costs.
Loan-to-value (LTV)
The loan balance divided by the original home value in this model.
Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Insurance that may be required for some conventional loans with a higher LTV.
HOA
Homeowners association fees, modeled here as a level monthly cost.
Other costs
User-entered recurring maintenance, repair, utility, or similar housing expenses, modeled as a level monthly cost.