Calculate monthly mortgage payments with amortization schedule, taxes, insurance, and HOA. Visual payment breakdown included.
This mortgage calculator estimates the full monthly cost of owning a home, not just the loan repayment. Enter the purchase price and down payment percentage, then the interest rate and term, and optionally property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and HOA dues. The result shows your total monthly housing payment broken down by principal, interest, tax, insurance, and HOA (PITI+H), along with a 30-year amortisation schedule and a chart of how your equity grows over time. Use it to sanity-check a pre-approval letter, compare 15-year vs. 30-year loans, or see how a rate quote changes the affordability picture.
A common rule of thumb is the 28/36 rule: spend no more than 28 % of gross monthly income on housing (PITI), and no more than 36 % on total debt (housing + car + student loans + credit cards). Mortgage underwriters use a stricter version called the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, and most conventional loans cap DTI at 43 %–45 %.
Worked example: a household earning $120,000/year gross has $10,000/month pre-tax. The 28 % housing cap suggests a maximum PITI of $2,800/month. At 7 % / 30 years with $400/month set aside for taxes and insurance, that supports a principal-and-interest payment of about $2,400, which is roughly a $360,000 loan. With 10 % down, that's a home price around $400,000. Increase the rate to 8 % and the same affordability only supports ~$327,000 in principal — a reminder of how much rate swings move the ceiling.
The 30-year mortgage is the default in the US because the lower monthly payment is more affordable. But it costs dramatically more in total interest. On a $400,000 loan at 7 %:
| Term | Monthly P&I | Total interest | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 years | $2,661 | $558,030 | $958,030 |
| 15 years | $3,595 | $247,155 | $647,155 |
The 15-year costs $934/month more but saves $310,875 in interest — and builds equity roughly 3× faster. The middle ground some borrowers use: take the 30-year for payment flexibility, but make extra principal payments each month as if it were a 15-year. That caps downside during a bad year while still accelerating payoff.
If your down payment is under 20 % on a conventional loan, lenders require Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) — a monthly premium that protects the lender (not you) if you default. PMI typically costs 0.3 %–1.5 % of the loan amount per year, so on a $400,000 loan that's roughly $100–$500/month of pure extra cost with no equity benefit. PMI falls off automatically once you reach 22 % equity, or you can request removal at 20 %.
FHA loans use a different structure called MIP (Mortgage Insurance Premium), which in most cases stays for the life of the loan — a key reason many borrowers refinance out of FHA into conventional once they have 20 % equity. Neither PMI nor MIP is included in this calculator's default view; add them manually in the insurance field if you want the true monthly cost.
PMI is not included. It typically applies when down payment is below 20%.
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