Mortgage Calculator
Estimate your monthly mortgage payment including principal, interest, property tax, and homeowners insurance (PITI). Enter your home price, down payment, loan term, and interest rate.
How to use the mortgage calculator
Enter the home price, your down payment amount, loan term, and interest rate. The calculator adds estimated property tax and homeowners insurance to give you a full monthly payment estimate (often called PITI: Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance) — a more realistic picture than principal and interest alone.
What affects your monthly mortgage payment?
Four main factors determine your payment: the loan amount (home price minus down payment), the interest rate, the loan term, and ongoing costs like property tax and insurance. A larger down payment reduces your loan amount and can also help you avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI) if it reaches 20% of the home price. A longer loan term lowers your monthly payment but increases total interest paid over the life of the loan.
Frequently asked questions
What is PITI?
PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four components that typically make up a monthly mortgage payment. This calculator estimates all four so you get a realistic total, not just the loan payment.
Does this include PMI (private mortgage insurance)?
No. PMI usually applies when your down payment is less than 20% of the home price and varies by lender, so it isn't included here. If your down payment is under 20%, expect an additional 0.5%–1.5% of the loan amount per year.
Are property tax rates the same everywhere?
No, property tax rates vary significantly by state and county — from under 0.5% to over 2% of home value annually. The default of 1.1% is a rough US average; check your local county assessor's site for an accurate rate.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. This tool is part of the Toolyard collection of free, browser-based utilities. All calculations run locally in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded to a server or stored anywhere.
What goes into a mortgage payment beyond principal and interest
The number most mortgage calculators show upfront — principal and interest — is only part of a typical monthly housing payment. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and, if your down payment is under 20%, private mortgage insurance (PMI) are usually bundled into an escrow payment alongside your loan payment. This combined figure, sometimes abbreviated PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance), is a much more realistic picture of what you'll actually owe each month than the loan payment alone.
Why your down payment size matters so much
A larger down payment reduces both your loan amount and, often, your interest rate, since lenders view borrowers with more equity as lower risk. Putting down at least 20% also typically avoids PMI, which can add a meaningful amount to a monthly payment until enough equity is built up to have it removed. On a 30-year loan, even a modest reduction in the loan amount compounds into significant interest savings over the full term.
15-year versus 30-year: the real trade-off
A 15-year mortgage carries a higher monthly payment but a substantially lower total interest cost and a lower interest rate, since lenders take on less risk over a shorter term. A 30-year mortgage spreads payments out for more monthly affordability but costs considerably more in total interest by the time it's paid off. Running both scenarios side by side is the clearest way to see which trade-off actually fits your budget and long-term plans.