Mortgage Calculator

Introduction

This Mortgage Calculator estimates your full monthly housing payment by combining principal and interest with property taxes and homeowners insurance. Enter the purchase price, down payment, interest rate, and loan term to see PITI in one number. Use it to sanity-check listing prices against your budget before you request a Loan Estimate.

Who this calculator is for

Home buyers comparing listings in different neighborhoods often need a quick PITI figure before they tour a property. This page is built for that first-pass math: you know the asking price, you have a down payment range in mind, and you want to see whether the monthly check fits next to rent or other fixed costs. It also helps owners who are refinancing and want to re-benchmark taxes and insurance against a new loan amount.

Loan officers and real estate agents sometimes use the same inputs in conversation; running them here keeps your numbers private until you are ready to talk. If you still need a maximum purchase price from income and debts, start with the House Affordability Calculator and return here with a target price.

What it estimates

The tool calculates monthly principal and interest from the loan amount (price minus down payment), the note rate, and the amortization term. It adds annual property tax and annual insurance divided by twelve to produce PITI. Optional fields may include HOA dues or mortgage insurance when your down payment is below twenty percent; those layers sit on top of the base payment.

What you get is a steady-state monthly estimate, not a closing disclosure. Escrow cushions, interim interest at closing, and lender-specific rounding are not modeled. Private mortgage insurance on conventional loans may follow cancellation rules at seventy-eight percent loan-to-value that this page does not simulate month by month.

Inputs explained

Match the fields to what you expect on a pre-approval worksheet or a seller disclosure packet.

• Purchase price: Contract price or your offer amount, not an appraised value you have not seen yet.
• Down payment: Cash toward the sale, as dollars or a percent of price. Gift funds and seller credits are not broken out here.
• Interest rate: The note rate on a fixed-rate loan. For adjustable products, use the start rate only as a placeholder.
• Loan term: Usually thirty or fifteen years. Shorter terms raise the payment but cut total interest.
• Property tax (annual): County or city bill, often one to two percent of value depending on locale. Use the figure from the listing or tax records.
• Homeowners insurance (annual): Hazard premium for the dwelling. Flood or earthquake policies are separate unless you add them manually.
• HOA / PMI (optional): Monthly association fee or mortgage insurance when applicable.

How to read the results

The headline number is total PITI: what you would write each month if taxes and insurance are escrowed. A breakdown shows how much goes to principal and interest versus tax and insurance. Over time, the PI portion grows toward principal as the amortization schedule runs; this calculator shows the first payment split, not every month unless you open the Amortization Calculator.

Compare PITI to your take-home pay, not gross income. Lenders use front-end and back-end ratios; this page does not apply debt-to-income limits. If PITI alone looks fine but you carry car loans and student debt, run the Debt Ratio Calculator before you increase your offer.

Worked example

Purchase price $425,000 with ten percent down leaves a $382,500 loan. At 6.25% on a thirty-year fixed note, principal and interest land near $2,354 per month. Annual property tax of $4,800 adds $400 per month; insurance at $1,400 per year adds about $117. Total PITI is roughly $2,871 before HOA or PMI.

If the seller disclosure shows tax $200 higher than you guessed, add about $17 to the monthly line. A half-point rate move on the same loan changes PI by roughly $140. Use those sensitivities when you negotiate price versus rate buydown with your lender.

Practical use cases

Filter listing alerts: set a max PITI and back into the highest price at your down payment and rate assumptions. Compare a five percent down scenario with PMI against twenty percent down using the Down Payment Calculator for cash needed at closing. Model a property with high taxes but a lower price tag against a low-tax suburb with a higher sticker.

Existing owners can re-run the tool after a tax reassessment or insurance renewal to see whether escrow will adjust. Investors sometimes strip out tax and insurance to compare PI alone against rent; for cap rate and vacancy work, use the Rental Property Calculator instead.

Limitations and related tools

Adjustable-rate mortgages, interest-only periods, balloon payments, and buydown funds are not modeled. FHA upfront and annual MIP, VA funding fees, and USDA guarantee fees belong in the FHA Loan Calculator and VA Mortgage Calculator when those programs apply. Lender overlays, subordinate financing, and temporary rate locks are outside scope.

Closing costs, prepaid interest, and escrows at settlement are not part of PITI. For the true cost of borrowing including points and fees, see the APR Calculator. First-time buyers should read mortgage basics for first-time buyers alongside these numbers.

How It Works

1. Enter price and down payment. Type the purchase price and your down payment in dollars or percent so the loan amount is correct.
2. Set rate and term. Enter the fixed note rate and loan term in years. Use a quote from a lender or a conservative placeholder.
3. Add tax and insurance. Fill annual property tax and homeowners insurance from the listing or tax records. Include HOA or PMI if they apply.
4. Review PITI and stress-test. Calculate and read the monthly total. Nudge tax, insurance, or rate up one notch to see how much cushion you need.

Formula and methodology

The Mortgage Calculator uses this identity for the scenario you enter. A bank, payroll system, or tax program may round on a 360-day year or average daily balance, so a statement can differ by a small amount.