Mortgage Calculator
Calculate your monthly mortgage payment (PITI — principal, interest, tax, and insurance), see the year-by-year amortization schedule, and find out the total interest you'll pay over the life of the loan. Set the home price, down payment, interest rate, and term — get the real cost of the home in seconds.
How to use the mortgage calculator
- Enter the home price and use the slider or input the down payment. The percentage and loan-to-value (LTV) update live.
- Set the interest rate (current 30-year fixed rates are typically 6%–7.5% in the US) and pick a term — 15, 20, or 30 years.
- Add property tax and home-insurance rates (annual %, default ~1.1% and ~0.4%).
- Read the results. Monthly PITI is the big number. Below: total interest, total paid, payoff date, and the interest share of total payments.
- Inspect the amortization. The stacked-bar chart shows principal vs. interest per year — watch how the principal slice grows over time.
Example: $480k house, $96k down, 6.75%, 30 years
Loan amount: $384,000. Monthly principal & interest: $2,491. With 1.1% property tax and 0.4% home insurance: total monthly PITI is about $3,091. Over 30 years you'll pay roughly $513,000 in interest — more than the original loan. Switch to a 15-year term and the monthly P&I jumps to about $3,400, but total interest drops to roughly $228,000.
Mortgage glossary
- Principal
- The amount borrowed.
- Interest
- The cost of borrowing, charged as a percentage of the outstanding balance.
- PITI
- Principal, Interest, Tax, Insurance — the four components of a typical escrowed monthly payment.
- APR vs. interest rate
- The interest rate is the simple cost of the loan. APR also folds in fees (origination, points, mortgage insurance) and is always equal to or higher than the rate.
- LTV (loan-to-value)
- Loan amount ÷ home price. Lower LTV = lower risk for the lender = better rate.
- PMI
- Private mortgage insurance, required by most lenders when LTV is above 80%. Typically 0.3%–1.5% of the loan per year.
- Escrow
- An account the lender uses to collect monthly tax and insurance amounts and pay them on your behalf.
- Amortization
- The schedule of how each payment is split between principal and interest over the life of the loan.
Frequently asked questions
- How much house can I afford?
- A common rule of thumb: total monthly housing costs (PITI) should be no more than 28% of gross monthly income, and total debt no more than 36% (the '28/36 rule'). Work backwards from your income to a comfortable PITI, then use the calculator to find the home price.
- Does the calculator include PMI?
- No — PMI is sometimes added as a separate line item by lenders. If your down payment is less than 20%, add about 0.5% of the home price annually to estimate PMI.
- Can I see the impact of extra payments?
- Not directly in this version. The amortization assumes the scheduled payment only; extra principal payments would reduce interest and shorten the term.