Mortgage payment calculator (PITI + PMI)
US mortgage payment calculator that includes principal, interest, property tax, home insurance, HOA, and PMI when LTV exceeds 80% — and shows total interest over the full loan term.
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What the calculator includes
The widget computes the full monthly housing cost — what hits your bank account every month — not just principal and interest. The standard amortization formula gives the P&I portion. Property tax is computed as an annual percentage of home value, divided by twelve, because that is how most US lenders escrow it. Home insurance is the annual premium divided by twelve. PMI is computed only if the loan-to-value ratio exceeds 80%, at the rate you specify (typical 2026 range is 0.4% to 1.0% of the loan amount annually depending on credit profile and down payment size). HOA is added if applicable.
The total interest figure is the sum of all interest payments across the full amortization schedule. On a typical 30-year mortgage, total interest exceeds the original loan amount — at 6.5% on a $360,000 loan over 30 years, you pay approximately $458,000 in interest on top of the $360,000 principal. The total number is the right benchmark when comparing 15- vs 30-year, comparing a mortgage to an all-cash purchase, or evaluating the impact of prepayment.
The PMI threshold and why LTV matters
Conventional mortgages with less than 20% down require private mortgage insurance (PMI), an additional monthly cost ranging from roughly 0.4% to 1.0% of the loan amount annually depending on your credit profile and down payment. PMI exists to protect the lender against default risk — it provides no benefit to the borrower. The calculator flags whether PMI applies based on your LTV (loan-to-value) input and adds it to the monthly cost.
Three strategic implications. First, putting 20% down avoids PMI entirely, which on a $400,000 loan saves $1,600–$4,000 per year for several years until PMI would have come off automatically. Second, lender-paid mortgage insurance (LPMI) and piggyback loans (80/10/10 structures) are alternative ways to avoid monthly PMI; whether they work out better depends on the specific terms and how long you hold the loan. Third, on conventional loans, you can request PMI cancellation when your loan balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price (Homeowners Protection Act allows you to do this; lenders sometimes require an appraisal). Many homeowners miss this and continue paying PMI longer than required.
The 15-vs-30 question, mechanically
On the same $400,000 loan at typical 2026 rates, the difference between 15-year and 30-year terms is roughly: 15-year payment ~$3,400/month with ~$215,000 total interest; 30-year payment ~$2,500/month with ~$510,000 total interest. The 15-year saves about $295,000 in total interest in exchange for $900/month higher payment for 15 years. If you bank the $900/month difference at 7% real return over those 15 years, you have roughly $290,000 — strikingly close to the interest savings. The math is roughly a wash on opportunity cost.
Where the answer tilts depends on your discipline. If you would actually invest the $900/month difference in a tax-advantaged account, the 30-year + invest strategy usually wins by the tax-advantaged growth and the optionality of liquidity. If you would not invest the difference (it would silently dissolve into lifestyle spending), the 15-year wins by forced equity accumulation. The honest answer for a disciplined Roth IRA / 401(k) maxer is usually 30-year; for a reader with weaker savings discipline, 15-year.
What this calculator deliberately leaves out
Several things, all material. It does not model prepayments — extra principal payments can substantially reduce total interest and shorten the loan, with the most leverage from prepayments in the early years when the amortization is most interest-heavy. It does not model rate-and-term refinancing — if rates fall and you refinance, the total interest figure on the original loan becomes historical, not predictive. It does not model the home itself as an investment — home appreciation, transaction costs of buying and selling, opportunity cost of the down payment, and the imputed rent value of owning vs renting are all outside scope. For the full rent-vs-buy decision, additional analysis beyond a payment calculator is required.
It also does not model tax treatment of mortgage interest. The federal mortgage interest deduction applies to up to $750,000 of acquisition debt for primary residences (under post-2017 tax law), and only matters if you itemize rather than take the standard deduction — which most US households do not. For higher-income households who do itemize, the after-tax cost of mortgage interest can be meaningfully lower than the nominal rate; for everyone else, the rate is essentially the after-tax rate. This nuance is documented in the mortgage-shopping guide in the loans section.
The most useful application
Where this tool pays its weight is in surfacing the total monthly cost honestly, with PMI and taxes and insurance included, so the comparison between properties or loan structures is on equal footing. The headline rate and the principal-and- interest payment are the numbers lenders advertise; the PITI + PMI + HOA total is what determines whether the house is actually affordable on your monthly cash flow. Aiming for that total to be no more than 28% of your gross monthly income (the front-end DTI ratio used by most conventional lenders) is the conventional discipline; aiming lower is more comfortable; aiming higher is possible but typically means qualifying via compensating factors and accepting a less robust monthly budget.
Frequently asked
Why does this calculator include PMI, taxes, and insurance — not just principal and interest?
Because that is what shows up in your bank account each month. The principal-and-interest math from a basic amortization formula is the smaller half of most US homeowners' actual monthly housing payment. Property tax in many states adds $300–$800/month at typical home values; home insurance adds $100–$200; PMI on a loan above 80% LTV adds another $150–$400; HOA in many developments adds $200–$500. A "mortgage calculator" that shows you only P&I lies to you about what owning the home will actually cost month to month. The honest math is the PITI + PMI + HOA total.
When does PMI come off?
For conventional mortgages: PMI cancels automatically by federal law (the Homeowners Protection Act) when your loan balance reaches 78% of the original purchase price, based on the original amortization schedule. You can request cancellation earlier — at 80% LTV on the original purchase price — if you are current on payments and the lender has no other reason to deny. If your home has appreciated enough that you have more than 20% equity from current value, you can ask for an appraisal and request earlier cancellation, but lenders are not required to honor non-original-price LTV. For FHA loans: mortgage insurance premium (MIP) generally runs for the life of the loan on most modern FHA originations, which is a structural reason most borrowers refinance out of FHA into a conventional loan once they have 20% equity.
Should I pay points to buy down the rate?
Only if you will hold the loan past the break-even period. Each discount point costs 1% of the loan amount upfront in exchange for approximately a 0.25% rate reduction. On a $400,000 loan, one point is $4,000 upfront, in exchange for roughly $66/month in payment reduction. The break-even is $4,000 / $66 ≈ 60 months — five years. If you sell or refinance before five years, you lose money on the points. Most US homeowners do not hold their mortgages five years, so points generally do not pencil out. The exception is reader with a clear long-term horizon (no expected move, no expected refinance, fixed life plan) where the break-even is genuinely reachable.
What is the difference between interest rate and APR on a mortgage?
Interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. APR is interest rate plus required loan-related fees (origination fee, discount points, certain mortgage insurance premiums, certain closing costs) expressed as an annualized rate. APR is always higher than rate when fees exist. The federal Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) requires APR disclosure precisely so borrowers can compare loans on a cost-inclusive basis. When shopping lenders, compare APR not rate — two loans with the same 6.5% rate can have very different APRs depending on origination fees.
Should I get a 15-year or 30-year mortgage?
The 15-year saves substantial interest — at typical 2026 rates, a 15-year on a $400,000 loan pays roughly $150,000 in interest over the life vs roughly $510,000 for a 30-year. But the 15-year requires a monthly payment about 50% higher than the 30-year, which can be the difference between qualifying for the loan and not. The honest framework: if you can comfortably afford the 15-year payment and have a strong emergency fund, the interest savings is real money. If the 15-year payment leaves you cash-strapped or unable to fund retirement accounts, the 30-year with the freed monthly cash flow going to investments is mathematically better for most readers — equity returns over 30 years typically beat the 6-7% mortgage rate, especially in a Roth IRA where the gains are tax-free. The decision is bracket-, age-, and discipline-specific.