Mortgage Calculator with PMI, Taxes & Insurance

How to use this mortgage calculator

Enter four numbers to get an accurate monthly estimate: home price, down payment, interest rate, and loan term. The calculator immediately shows your principal-and-interest payment, then updates as you type. Toggle the down payment between dollars and percent to see how a larger deposit changes both your monthly payment and your PMI requirement.

Click Show taxes, insurance, HOA & PMI to unlock the full PITI view. Enter your annual property-tax bill, annual homeowners-insurance premium, monthly HOA dues, and — if your down payment is under 20% — a monthly PMI estimate. The donut chart on the right splits your payment into color-coded slices so you can see exactly where every dollar goes. Scroll down for a complete amortization schedule and a balance-over-time chart that show each year’s principal, interest, and remaining balance.

What is PITI in a mortgage?

PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four components lenders add together to calculate your true monthly housing cost. Every fixed-rate mortgage payment includes all four when property taxes and insurance are escrowed, which is standard on nearly every U.S. home loan.

• Principal: The portion of each payment that reduces the loan balance. In the first year of a 30-year mortgage, principal is usually the smallest slice of your payment.
• Interest: The cost of borrowing, calculated on the outstanding loan balance. Interest is front-loaded, so you pay more of it early in the loan.
• Taxes: One-twelfth of your annual property-tax bill, collected by your servicer and held in an escrow account until due.
• Insurance: One-twelfth of your annual homeowners-insurance premium, plus PMI if your down payment is below 20%.

The mortgage payment formula, explained

Every fixed-rate mortgage payment is calculated with a standard amortization formula. The math looks intimidating, but it’s really just compound interest run in reverse.

Where M is your monthly principal-and-interest payment, P is the loan amount (home price minus down payment), r is the monthly interest rate (annual APR ÷ 12), and n is the total number of monthly payments (loan term in years × 12). For example, a $320,000 loan at 6.66% APR over 30 years works out to $2,057 per month before taxes and insurance (Freddie Mac 30-year average, Aug 2026). Add roughly $300 for property tax, $200 for insurance, and — if you’re under 20% down — another $130 to $250 for PMI, and your real monthly cost climbs closer to $2,700.

How much house can I afford? The 28/36 rule

The most widely used mortgage-affordability guideline is the 28/36 rule: your monthly PITI should stay below 28% of gross monthly income, and your total monthly debt payments (PITI plus car loans, student loans, credit-card minimums) should stay below 36% (Bankrate, Investopedia).

Conservative buyers often push the housing ratio down to 25% to keep breathing room for emergencies, retirement savings, and lifestyle spending. Aggressive buyers in high-cost cities sometimes stretch to 33% or more, but that leaves almost no cushion if rates rise on a refinance or property taxes jump. Use the calculator above to work backward: enter the payment you can comfortably afford and adjust price until the number matches.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI): rules and costs

PMI is required on conventional loans when the down payment is less than 20%. It protects the lender — not you — if you default. PMI typically costs between 0.46% and 1.50% of the loan balance per year, billed monthly, with the exact rate driven by your credit score, loan-to-value ratio, and loan type (Bankrate).

Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, you have two paths to remove PMI on a conventional loan (CFPB, FDIC):

1. Request cancellation at 80% LTV. Once your principal balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the original home value, you can submit a written request to your servicer.
2. Automatic termination at 78% LTV. The servicer must automatically drop PMI once the scheduled balance hits 78% of original value, assuming you’re current on payments.

15-year vs. 30-year mortgage: which is better?

The most important lever in your mortgage — after price — is the loan term. A shorter term slashes total interest but raises the monthly payment. Here’s a side-by-side on a $320,000 loan at typical 2026 rates:

*Rates based on Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey averages, week of Aug 27, 2026 (Freddie Mac).

The 15-year plan costs $640 more each month, but saves roughly $255,000 in interest over the life of the loan. Choose the shorter term if your income is stable, you already have a full emergency fund, and you’re contributing enough to retirement accounts. Choose the 30-year — and prepay when you can — if you want maximum monthly flexibility, are still building an emergency fund, or expect large upcoming expenses like childcare or education.

Property taxes and homeowners insurance

Property taxes and insurance are the two most-underestimated line items on a mortgage. The U.S. average effective property-tax rate is roughly 0.9% of home value per year, but the range is enormous — from about 0.3% in Hawaii to 1.88% in New Jersey (Tax Foundation, Rocket Mortgage). On a $400,000 home in New Jersey, that’s $7,500 a year, or $625 a month, added directly to your PITI.

Homeowners insurance now averages about $2,400 a year nationwide for $400,000 of dwelling coverage (NerdWallet), and premiums have climbed sharply in coastal and wildfire-exposed regions. Both items are almost always paid through an escrow account: your lender collects one-twelfth of each annual bill with every payment and pays the tax authority and insurer directly when the bills come due. Always confirm the tax figure from a recent county assessor record — Zillow and Redfin estimates are frequently outdated by 12–24 months.

7 ways to lower your monthly mortgage payment

1. Increase your down payment. Every extra $10,000 down cuts roughly $64 off your monthly payment at a 6.66% rate.
2. Improve your credit score. Moving from a 680 to a 760 FICO can cut your rate by 0.25 to 0.50 percentage points.
3. Shop at least three lenders. The CFPB estimates borrowers who compare rates save about $600 per year on average.
4. Choose a longer term. Switching from a 15 to a 30-year drops the monthly payment by 25–35% (at the cost of far higher lifetime interest).
5. Buy discount points. Each point costs 1% of the loan and typically lowers the rate by 0.25 percentage points — worthwhile if you’ll keep the loan more than 5–7 years.
6. Appeal your property-tax assessment. Roughly 30–60% of appeals succeed and can trim hundreds off your escrow.
7. Re-shop homeowners insurance annually. Bundling with auto and raising the deductible often cuts 10–20% off the premium.

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