Finance
Enter your current mortgage and a refinance offer to see your new monthly payment, break-even time, and how different terms compare.
Last updated: August 2026
Lenders often quote different rates for different terms — this uses the same new rate above across all three for a like-for-like comparison. Ask your lender for the actual rate at each term if you're deciding between them.
| Term | New monthly payment | Total interest (new loan) | Monthly change vs current |
|---|
| Year | Current loan balance | New loan balance |
|---|
Your current monthly payment is calculated from your remaining balance, current rate, and years left — the same amortization math your servicer uses. Your new payment uses the same formula against the new loan amount (balance, plus any cash-out, plus closing costs if you choose to roll them in), the new rate, and the new term.
Break-even time is closing costs divided by your monthly savings — how many months of lower payments it takes to recoup what refinancing costs upfront. If you roll closing costs into the loan instead of paying them out of pocket, there's no separate amount to break even on, since it's already folded into the new balance and spread across your payments.
The "interest left if unchanged" and "total interest (new loan)" figures cover different time spans whenever your new term is longer or shorter than your remaining term — extending from, say, 27 remaining years back out to a new 30-year term will usually show higher lifetime interest even at a lower rate, simply because you're financing for longer. The monthly payment and break-even numbers are the more directly comparable figures in that situation.
Weighing a shorter vs. longer new term? 15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage: The Real Trade-off covers the flexibility-versus-savings decision in more depth.
Common questions about refinancing, break-even timing, and when it actually makes sense.
The break-even point is the key number: if you plan to stay in the home longer than the break-even period, refinancing typically saves money overall; if you might move or sell before then, the upfront closing costs may not be recouped. A commonly cited rule of thumb is that refinancing makes sense when the new rate is at least 0.5-1 percentage point lower than your current rate, but the real answer depends on your specific break-even timeline and how long you intend to stay.
This usually happens when the new loan term resets the clock — refinancing 27 remaining years into a new 30-year loan means paying interest for 3 additional years, which can outweigh the savings from a lower rate, especially early in a loan when interest makes up most of each payment. A shorter new term (or a term that matches your remaining years) avoids this, though it comes with a higher monthly payment.
Paying upfront means a slightly larger cash outlay now but a smaller loan balance and no interest charged on the closing costs themselves. Rolling them in preserves cash on hand but means you'll pay interest on those costs for the life of the loan, which typically makes it the more expensive option over time if you keep the loan long enough — though it can make sense if you don't have the cash available or plan to sell before that difference adds up.
A cash-out refinance means borrowing more than your current balance and taking the difference as cash — often used for home improvements, debt consolidation, or other large expenses, using the home's equity as the source of funds. It increases your new loan balance (and usually your monthly payment) beyond what a standard rate-and-term refinance would, so it's worth comparing the new payment carefully against what the cash is being used for.
This calculator focuses on principal and interest for both the current and new loan — it doesn't include property tax, homeowner's insurance, PMI, or HOA fees, which may also change slightly with a new loan (for example, PMI can sometimes be removed on refinance if your equity has grown past 20%). It also doesn't account for appraisal requirements, income/credit qualification, or rate locks, all of which affect whether a quoted rate is actually available to you at closing.
