Mortgage Calculator

A standard mortgage payment covers principal (reducing the loan balance) and interest (the lender's charge). Many lenders also collect property taxes and homeowners insurance through escrow, making your actual monthly outgoing higher. This calculator covers principal and interest only — add your expected escrow amounts for the full picture.

A larger down payment reduces your loan principal, lowering every monthly payment and cutting total interest over the loan's life. Putting down 20%+ also eliminates Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which typically costs 0.5–1.5% of the loan per year. On a $400,000 home, going from 10% to 20% down saves roughly $100–150/month in PMI alone.

A 15-year mortgage typically has a lower interest rate and you pay far less total interest — often half as much as a 30-year loan. The trade-off is significantly higher monthly payments (typically 40–50% more). A 30-year mortgage maximises monthly cash flow. Use this calculator to run both scenarios with your actual numbers.

Use the annual percentage rate (APR) your lender has quoted, or a current market rate for your loan type. Even a 0.5% rate difference on a 30-year $300,000 mortgage changes total interest by over $30,000 — always shop multiple lenders before committing.

A common guideline: total monthly housing costs (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) should not exceed 28% of gross monthly income. Total debt payments including car loans, student debt, and credit cards should stay under 36–43%. Lenders call these the front-end and back-end DTI (debt-to-income) ratios.