Finance
See your monthly payment, total interest, and a year-by-year payoff schedule for a fixed-rate mortgage.
Last updated: August 2026
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Remaining balance |
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Principal & interest use the standard fixed-rate amortization formula, splitting each monthly payment between interest (based on the remaining balance) and principal, so more of your payment goes to principal over time. Property tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA are added on top as typical monthly costs, but they don't reduce your loan balance.
PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) usually applies only when your down payment is under 20% of the home price, and is typically removed once you've built up 20% equity — this calculator applies it as a flat estimate for the life of the loan for simplicity.
Deciding between loan terms? See 15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage: The Real Trade-off for the reasoning behind the interest-savings number this calculator shows you.
Common questions about mortgage payments, PMI, and reading an amortization schedule.
With a standard amortization schedule, interest is calculated each month on your remaining balance — which is largest at the very start of the loan — so a bigger share of each early payment covers interest rather than principal. As the balance shrinks over the years, the interest portion shrinks with it and more of each payment goes toward principal, which is why the split reverses by the later years of the loan.
Private Mortgage Insurance is typically required whenever your down payment is under 20% of the home's value, since it protects the lender if you default early in the loan. Once your loan balance drops to 80% of the home's original (or sometimes current) value — either through payments or appreciation — you can usually request PMI removal, and lenders are required to automatically cancel it at 78% loan-to-value under U.S. federal law for most conventional loans.
A 15-year term carries a higher monthly payment but a meaningfully lower interest rate and dramatically less total interest paid over the life of the loan, since you're paying it off in half the time. A 30-year term keeps monthly payments lower and more manageable, which can matter for cash flow or qualifying for a larger loan, at the cost of paying more in total interest. The right choice depends on your monthly budget and priorities, not just the total-interest number.
This calculator covers principal, interest, estimated property tax, homeowner's insurance, PMI, and HOA fees — the core components lenders bundle into a typical monthly mortgage payment. It doesn't include closing costs, maintenance and repairs, utilities, or rate changes if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage rather than the fixed rate assumed here.
More than most people expect, especially on a 30-year loan. Even a 0.5% difference in interest rate can shift total interest paid by tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a typical loan, since that difference compounds against a large balance for many years. It's worth shopping multiple lenders and comparing the exact rate offered, not just the advertised range.
