Short answer: enter your home price, down payment, rate, and term above, and the calculator shows your complete monthly payment — not just principal and interest, but property tax, homeowners insurance, PMI, and HOA too. That’s the number your budget actually has to cover.
How to use this calculator
- Home price — the purchase price of the house.
- Down payment — what you pay upfront. 20% avoids PMI; less than 20% usually triggers it on conventional loans.
- Interest rate — your mortgage APR. Use the rate from your Loan Estimate, not a national average.
- Loan term — 30 years is standard; 15 years means higher payments but far less total interest.
- Property tax — annual property tax divided by 12, or enter your best estimate. Rates vary enormously by state and county.
- Homeowners insurance — your annual premium divided by 12.
- PMI — private mortgage insurance, if your down payment is under 20%. Enter the monthly amount from your Loan Estimate, or leave it at the default estimate.
- HOA dues — monthly homeowners association fees, if any.
Results update instantly. Everything runs in your browser — your numbers never leave your device.
How the math works
Your monthly mortgage payment has up to six parts, commonly called PITI (plus HOA):
- P — Principal: the part of your payment that reduces the loan balance.
- I — Interest: the lender’s charge, computed monthly on the remaining balance.
- T — Property tax: your county/city tax, collected monthly and held in escrow.
- I — Insurance: homeowners insurance premium, also escrowed.
- PMI — Private mortgage insurance: required on most conventional loans with less than 20% down.
- HOA — Homeowners association dues: flat monthly fee in many condos and planned communities.
The principal & interest portion uses the standard amortization formula:
M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ − 1)
where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12), and n is the total number of payments. The other components are simply added on top: tax ÷ 12, insurance ÷ 12, monthly PMI, and HOA dues.
An important subtlety: P&I stays fixed on a fixed-rate mortgage, but the total payment can still change year to year because property taxes and insurance premiums get reassessed. When borrowers say “my mortgage payment went up,” it’s almost always the escrow portion, not the loan itself.
A worked example
Say you buy a $400,000 home with 20% down ($80,000), borrowing $320,000 at 7% for 30 years, with illustrative tax and insurance figures:
- Principal & interest: $320,000 at 7% over 360 payments = $2,128.97/month
- Property tax: $3,600/year → $300/month
- Homeowners insurance: $1,800/year → $150/month
- PMI: $0 (20% down avoids it)
- HOA: $0
Total monthly payment: $2,738.97
Over 30 years you’d pay about $766,428 total — meaning roughly $446,428 in interest on a $320,000 loan. That ratio surprises first-time buyers, and it’s exactly why the rate and term you choose matter so much.
Now suppose you put only 10% down ($40,000) and borrow $360,000 at the same rate, with illustrative PMI of $160/month:
- Principal & interest: $360,000 at 7%/30yr = $2,395.09/month
- Tax + insurance: $450/month (same as above)
- PMI: $160/month
- Total: $3,005.09/month — about $266 more than the 20%-down scenario, every month, until PMI drops off.
Try your own numbers above — the difference a bigger down payment makes is usually larger than people expect.
What is escrow, and why do lenders require it?
Escrow is the account your loan servicer uses to pay your property tax and homeowners insurance bills on your behalf. Each month, 1/12 of the annual tax and insurance cost is added to your mortgage payment and deposited into escrow; when the bills come due, the servicer pays them from that account.
Lenders require escrow on most loans with less than 20% down because unpaid property taxes can create a tax lien that takes priority over the mortgage — the lender’s collateral is at risk. With 20%+ down, many lenders let you waive escrow and pay taxes and insurance yourself, though some charge a small fee for the privilege.
Federal rules (RESPA) limit the escrow “cushion” to two months of payments, and your servicer must send you an annual escrow analysis. If taxes rise, you’ll see a shortage and your monthly payment increases the following year — the most common reason payments change on fixed-rate loans.
PMI: what it costs and how to get rid of it
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, against default on low-down-payment conventional loans. Typical cost ranges from about 0.3% to 1.5% of the loan amount per year depending on your down payment and credit score — on a $360,000 loan at 0.5%, that’s $150/month or $1,800/year for insurance that benefits someone else.
The good news: PMI isn’t forever. Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act:
- Automatic termination: PMI must end automatically when your balance reaches 78% of the original home value through scheduled payments.
- Borrower-requested cancellation: you can ask your servicer to cancel PMI once your balance hits 80% of the original value, provided you have a good payment history and meet the servicer’s requirements.
- FHA loans differ: FHA mortgage insurance (MIP) generally lasts for the life of the loan if your down payment was under 10% — refinancing into a conventional loan is the usual escape route.
Ways to avoid PMI entirely: put 20% down, use a VA loan (no PMI for eligible veterans — well-known), take a piggyback second mortgage, or find a lender offering lender-paid mortgage insurance (usually in exchange for a slightly higher rate — do the math on which costs less).
15-year vs 30-year: the real trade-off
The calculator defaults to 30 years, but try switching to 15 — the payment jumps while total interest collapses. On that $320,000 loan at an illustrative 6.5% 15-year rate, P&I would be about $2,788/month versus $2,129 on the 30-year — roughly $659 more per month — but total interest drops from ~$446,000 to roughly $182,000, a savings of about $264,000.
The 15-year mortgage is a forced-savings machine; the 30-year mortgage is a flexibility machine (you can always pay extra toward principal when you have it). Our full comparison walks through the math: 15 vs 30 Year Mortgage — Which Saves You More?.
What this calculator doesn’t do
- It doesn’t include closing costs (typically 2–5% of the purchase price) — that’s a separate upfront expense. See our guide on whether closing costs can be rolled into a mortgage.
- It uses the rate you enter — it can’t predict what rate you’ll actually qualify for.
- Tax and insurance are estimates you provide; real figures come from the county assessor and your insurer.
- It doesn’t model adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), where P&I changes after the fixed period.
- It is an educational planning tool, not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much house can I afford on my salary?
A common guideline is the 28/36 rule: spend no more than 28% of gross monthly income on housing and no more than 36% on all debt. On a $100,000 salary ($8,333/month), that’s about $2,333/month for housing. Enter that as your target total payment in the calculator above and adjust the home price until the numbers line up. Our detailed walkthrough: How Much House Can I Afford on a $100K Salary?.
What is PITI in a mortgage payment?
PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four core components of a mortgage payment. Lenders use PITI (plus HOA and PMI where applicable) to judge affordability. When someone quotes “a $2,100 mortgage payment,” ask whether that’s P&I only or full PITI — the difference is often $400–$600/month.
How can I avoid paying PMI?
Put 20% down, use a VA loan if eligible, take a piggyback second mortgage, or choose lender-paid mortgage insurance (usually at a slightly higher rate). If you already pay PMI, request cancellation at 80% loan-to-value or wait for automatic termination at 78%. Details: How to Avoid PMI.
Why did my mortgage payment go up if I have a fixed rate?
Almost certainly escrow: your property taxes or homeowners insurance premium increased, so the servicer raised the escrow portion of your payment. Check your annual escrow analysis statement — it shows exactly what changed. Your principal & interest portion cannot change on a fixed-rate loan.
Is a 15-year mortgage always better than a 30-year?
Not always. The 15-year saves enormous interest but demands a much higher payment, reducing your flexibility and the cash available for investing, emergencies, or other goals. If the higher payment would strain your budget, the 30-year with occasional extra principal payments is often the safer choice.
Does the calculator include homeowners insurance and taxes?
Yes — that’s the point. Enter your annual property tax and insurance premium and the calculator adds 1/12 of each to every monthly payment, matching how escrow works on a real loan. If you don’t know them yet, use local averages as placeholders and refine later.
Should I roll closing costs into my mortgage?
You can — through lender credits, a slightly higher rate, or a larger loan amount — but it raises your balance and total interest. Rolling $9,000 of closing costs into a $280,000 loan at 6.75% adds about $58/month and roughly $12,000 in lifetime interest. Our full analysis: Can Closing Costs Be Rolled Into a Mortgage?.
Related calculators
- Loan Amortization Calculator — full month-by-month schedule for any loan
- Mortgage Rate Buydown Calculator — temporary and permanent buydown math
- Free Financial Calculators — every PayoffCalc tool in one place
Methodology reviewed September 2026. P&I computed with the standard US fixed-rate amortization formula; tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA added as stated monthly amounts. This page is educational content, not financial advice.