Estimate a Fixed-Rate Mortgage Payment
The calculator separates monthly principal and interest from the property tax and homeowners insurance amounts you enter. This helps compare loan sizes and fixed rates, but it is not a lender quote, affordability approval or complete housing budget.
Use Your Loan Estimate and Local Cost Estimates
- Enter the home price and down payment percentage. The difference is the amount financed; a 100% down payment produces no loan payment.
- Enter the annual contractual interest rate, not APR, and a whole term from 1 to 50 years. The model uses monthly compounding and equal scheduled payments.
- Enter yearly property tax and homeowners insurance estimates. Use 0 explicitly if you want to exclude either cost; a blank field is not treated as zero.
- Select Calculate. Compare the monthly subtotal with the Projected Payments section of the lender’s Loan Estimate, then add omitted mortgage insurance, HOA dues and other costs separately.
- Change one input at a time to compare scenarios. A shorter term increases the payment and reduces total interest when principal and a positive rate are held constant.
Understand the Cost Boundaries
Monthly P&I is the amortizing loan payment. Tax and home insurance are annual inputs divided by 12; actual escrow requirements can differ. Down Payment + Scheduled P&I combines the down payment with all scheduled loan payments, excluding the tax and insurance inputs. Total Interest excludes fees and assumes the loan runs to its scheduled end without extra payments.
Hypothetical check: a $120,000 home with 20% down has a $96,000 loan. At 0% interest over 20 years, P&I is $400 per month. With $2,400 yearly tax and $1,200 yearly insurance, the displayed monthly subtotal is $700. These are illustrative inputs, not a current rate offer.
Costs to Verify Separately
PMI, government-program mortgage insurance, closing charges, HOA dues, maintenance and utilities are excluded. Taxes and insurance can change. Compare lender Loan Estimates with the same loan amount, term and rate-lock assumptions rather than assuming a lower payment means a cheaper loan.
Sources: CFPB Loan Estimate explainer and CFPB on conventional PMI. These explain the loan documents and insurance distinction; the entered rates and costs remain your assumptions.