Mortgage calculator.
This free mortgage calculator works out your full monthly mortgage payment with taxes and insurance, not just principal and interest. Add PMI and HOA dues to see your true PITI payment, the total interest, and a year-by-year amortization schedule. For context as you test rates: the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.48% as of June 4, 2026, per Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.
Estimate your payment
LiveTotal monthly payment
$2,270
full PITI · 20% down
PMI is included only while your loan is above 80% of the home price. Estimate for planning, not financial advice. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is stored.
The short answer
What is a monthly mortgage payment?
A monthly mortgage payment is everything you pay the lender each month: loan principal and interest, plus property tax, home insurance, and any PMI or HOA dues collected with it. Lenders call this PITI. For a $350,000 home with 20% down at 6.5%, the full payment is about $2,270 a month.
How this mortgage calculator works
Your loan amount is the home price minus your down payment. The calculator spreads that loan across every month of your term using standard amortization to get the principal and interest, then adds the monthly share of your property tax and home insurance, any PMI, and your HOA fee. Most mortgage calculators stop at principal and interest; this one shows the payment your lender will actually quote.
For the $350,000 example above, principal and interest is about $1,770 a month. Add $350 of property tax and $150 of insurance and the real monthly cost is about $2,270, before any PMI or HOA. Over 30 years that loan costs about $357,200 in interest, which is why the rate and term matter more than any other inputs.
Make it count
Three ways to cut the cost.
Reach 20% to drop PMI
Putting 20% down, or reaching 20% equity later, removes private mortgage insurance. By federal law it must end automatically at 78% of the original value, so it never lasts forever.
A shorter term
A 15-year term costs more each month than a 30-year, but the total interest bill is often less than half, because the balance clears twice as fast.
A lower rate
Even half a percent off the rate saves tens of thousands over the life of the loan, so compare lenders, and compare offers by APR, not the headline rate.
Year by year
Your mortgage amortization schedule.
Early payments are mostly interest because the balance is largest at the start. As you pay the loan down, more of every payment goes to principal. The schedule below shows it for each year of principal and interest; the amortization calculator breaks any loan down the same way.
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Balance |
|---|
Principal and interest only; taxes, insurance, PMI and HOA are not part of the loan balance.
At today’s rates
Monthly mortgage payment by home price.
Principal and interest on a 30-year fixed loan with 20% down at 6.48%, the average 30-year rate reported by Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey on June 4, 2026. Add your local taxes and insurance on top.
| Home price | Loan (20% down) | Monthly P&I |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $200,000 | $1,262 |
| $300,000 | $240,000 | $1,514 |
| $350,000 | $280,000 | $1,766 |
| $400,000 | $320,000 | $2,018 |
| $450,000 | $360,000 | $2,271 |
| $500,000 | $400,000 | $2,523 |
How to calculate a mortgage payment by hand
Subtract your down payment from the home price to get the loan amount.
Divide the annual interest rate by 12 for the monthly rate, and multiply the term in years by 12 for the number of payments.
Multiply the loan by the monthly rate times (1 plus the monthly rate) raised to the number of payments, then divide by that same power minus 1. This gives principal and interest.
Add one-twelfth of your annual property tax and home insurance.
Add monthly PMI if your down payment is under 20%, plus any HOA dues, for the full PITI payment.
The full guide
The complete mortgage guide.
What is really inside a mortgage payment, what the loan costs upfront and over time, and the levers that lower it.
What is included in a mortgage payment (PITI)
A full housing payment is summed up as PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance, with PMI and HOA added where they apply. Principal is the part of each payment that reduces what you owe. Interest is the cost of borrowing, largest at the start and shrinking as the balance falls.
Property taxes are set by your local government, usually a percentage of the home value. Home insurance is required by lenders. Both are commonly collected through an escrow account: the lender takes one-twelfth of the annual bills with each payment, holds the money, and pays the tax office and insurer for you when the bills come due. Escrow does not change what you owe, it just smooths the bills into the monthly payment. PMI applies when your down payment is under 20%, and HOA dues apply to condos and some communities and sit on top of the loan.
Mortgage amortization, in plain terms
A fixed-rate mortgage keeps the same principal and interest payment for the whole term, but the split inside it changes every month. Because interest is charged on the balance you still owe, the early years are mostly interest and the balance barely moves. As the balance shrinks, more of each payment attacks the principal and the loan clears faster near the end.
This is why extra principal payments early on are so powerful: every extra dollar removes all the future interest that dollar would have cost. The schedule above shows the shift year by year, and the loan calculator applies the same math to any fixed-rate loan.
Down payment, PMI and the 20% rule
Your down payment does three things at once: it shrinks the loan, lowers the monthly payment and reduces total interest. Reaching 20% down also avoids private mortgage insurance, an extra monthly charge that protects the lender, not you. If 20% is out of reach, that is fine, many buyers put down 3% to 10%; a savings plan toward 20% equity gets the PMI removed later.
PMI removal is a legal right, not a favor. Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act you can request cancellation once your balance reaches 80% of the home’s original value, and the lender must end it automatically at 78% if you are current on payments, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Set the PMI field to your quoted rate to see what it adds while it applies.
Closing costs: the upfront bill
On top of the down payment, buying a home carries one-time closing costs, typically 2% to 5% of the purchase price. On a $300,000 home that is roughly $6,000 to $15,000. The bill bundles lender fees (origination, underwriting), third-party fees (appraisal, title search, title insurance), prepaid items (the first escrow deposit, interim interest) and government recording charges.
Closing costs are negotiable in parts: lenders must give you a Loan Estimate, so collect two or three and compare line by line. Some buyers roll closing costs into the loan or take a slightly higher rate in exchange for a lender credit; both trade a smaller upfront bill for a larger monthly payment.
15-year vs 30-year mortgage
A 30-year term spreads the loan over more months, so the monthly payment is lower and easier to afford, but you pay interest for longer. A 15-year term costs more each month, carries a lower rate, and builds equity much faster. At the June 2026 average rates, the same $320,000 loan looks like this:
| Term | Rate | Monthly P&I | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 6.48% | $2,018 | $406,628 |
| 15-year fixed | 5.79% | $2,664 | $159,551 |
The 15-year payment is about $646 more per month, and the total interest saving is roughly $247,000. Some buyers take the 30-year for the lower required payment, then pay extra to clear it closer to 15 years while keeping the option to drop back if money gets tight.
Fixed vs adjustable, points and APR
Most US mortgages are fixed-rate, so the rate never changes. An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) starts lower but can reset higher after the intro period, shifting rate risk to you; this calculator models fixed-rate loans. Points are an upfront fee, usually 1% of the loan per point, paid to buy a lower rate; they pay off only if you keep the loan past the break-even year.
The rate is the cost of the loan itself; the APR folds in points and certain fees, so it is the fairer number for comparing offers. Two loans with the same rate can have very different APRs. The APR calculator shows what fees do to a quoted rate.
FHA, VA and USDA loans: small and zero down payments
Conventional loans are not the only route. FHA loans, backed by the Federal Housing Administration, allow down payments from 3.5% with more flexible credit requirements, in exchange for a mortgage insurance premium that works like PMI. VA loans let eligible veterans and service members buy with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance, though a one-time funding fee usually applies. USDA loans offer zero-down financing on eligible rural and some suburban homes, with income limits.
You can model any of these here: enter the smaller down payment, and use the PMI field for FHA mortgage insurance. The trade-off is always the same: less money down means a bigger loan, a bigger payment, and more total interest.
How much house can you afford? The 28/36 rule
Lenders commonly size loans with the 28/36 rule: your housing payment (the full PITI) should stay under about 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt payments together, including cars, cards and student loans, under about 36%. On an $80,000 income, that caps housing near $1,867 a month, which at current rates roughly matches a $300,000 to $330,000 home with 20% down, depending on taxes.
Work it from your own numbers: take gross monthly income from the annual income calculator, multiply by 0.28, and test home prices above until the full payment fits. Staying under the cap leaves room for maintenance, which typically runs 1% to 2% of the home value a year.
How to pay off your mortgage faster
Three habits shorten a mortgage. Extra principal payments: even $100 a month early in the term removes years of future interest. Biweekly payments: paying half the monthly amount every two weeks makes 26 half-payments, the equivalent of 13 monthly payments a year; on the $320,000 loan above that clears the mortgage almost 6 years early and saves about $92,000 in interest. Refinancing to a shorter term or lower rate, when the numbers justify the closing costs; the refinance calculator finds the break-even point.
Check your loan has no prepayment penalty first, and weigh the opportunity cost: if your rate is low, investing spare cash may beat paying the mortgage down early.
The formula
No black box.
Here is the math.
Principal and interest come from the amortization formula; taxes, insurance, PMI and HOA are added on top to give the full monthly payment.
See amortization ›# Full monthly payment (PITI)
payment = P&I + tax/12 + insurance/12 + PMI + HOA
# Principal & interest
P&I = L × [ r(1+r)ⁿ ] / [ (1+r)ⁿ − 1 ]
# worked example
$280,000 loan, 6.5%, 30y → $1,770 P&I
+ $350 tax + $150 ins → $2,270/moQuestions
Mortgage questions.
How much is the monthly payment on a $300,000 house?
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With 20% down ($60,000) at the June 2026 average rate of 6.48% over 30 years, the $240,000 loan costs about $1,514 a month in principal and interest. Property tax, home insurance and any PMI or HOA come on top, so the full payment is typically $1,900 to $2,100.
What is included in a mortgage payment?
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Most lenders bundle PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Principal and interest pay off the loan; taxes and insurance are usually collected into an escrow account and paid for you. PMI is added on down payments under 20%, and HOA dues apply to some properties.
What is PMI and when is it required?
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Private mortgage insurance protects the lender when your down payment is below 20% on a conventional loan. It typically costs 0.3% to 1.5% of the loan per year, added to the monthly payment, and it ends once you build enough equity.
When can I remove PMI from my mortgage?
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Under the Homeowners Protection Act you can request cancellation once your balance falls to 80% of the home’s original value, and the lender must remove it automatically at 78% if you are current on payments. Paying extra principal gets you there sooner.
Should I choose a 15-year or 30-year mortgage?
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A 30-year has a lower monthly payment but more total interest; a 15-year costs more each month, usually carries a lower rate, and cuts the lifetime interest by more than half. Try both terms above to compare the payment against the total cost.
How much are closing costs?
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Typically 2% to 5% of the purchase price, paid once at closing. On a $300,000 home that is roughly $6,000 to $15,000, covering lender fees, appraisal, title work, recording charges and the first escrow deposit. They are separate from the down payment.
How much house can I afford?
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A common guide is the 28/36 rule: keep the full housing payment under about 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt payments under 36%. On an $80,000 income that means a housing budget near $1,867 a month, then work back to a price using the calculator above.
About the developer
Jean Borg
Jean builds and maintains every calculator on freecalculators.pro from Malta, with a focus on tools that are fast, free and show their working. The mortgage calculator uses standard amortization maths, cites current rates from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and is provided for planning and education, not as personalised mortgage or financial advice. Page last updated June 10, 2026.