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Your monthly mortgage payment breaks down into four parts, often called PITI:

• Principal– The portion that reduces your loan balance. Early in your loan, this is small. By year 20 of a 30-year mortgage, most of your payment goes here.
• Interest– What the lender charges for lending you money. On a $400,000 loan at 6.5%, you pay $2,167 in interest the first month alone.
• Taxes– Property taxes collected monthly and held in an escrow account. Your lender pays the county on your behalf.
• Insurance– Homeowner's insurance protects against damage and liability. Flood or earthquake coverage costs extra in high-risk areas.

On a $400,000 loan at 6.5% interest, the principal and interest payment is $2,528 per month. Add $350 for property taxes and $125 for insurance, and your total payment reaches $3,003. That's the number that matters for your budget.

Most buyers focus on the home price, but monthly payment determines what you can actually afford. A $450,000 home at 5.5% costs less per month than a $400,000 home at 7.0%. The calculator above shows you exactly how these numbers interact.

Enter your loan details to see your monthly payment instantly. Here's what each field means:

• Loan Amount– The amount you're borrowing, not the home price. If you're buying a $500,000 home with 20% down ($100,000), your loan amount is $400,000.
• Interest Rate– The annual rate from your lender. We pre-fill the current national average, but your actual rate depends on your credit score, down payment, and loan type.
• Term– How long you have to repay. 30 years is standard. 15-year loans have higher monthly payments but save tens of thousands in interest.
• Property Taxes – Varies wildly by location. Texas averages 1.8% of home value annually. Hawaii averages 0.29%. Look up your county's rate or check recent listings in your target area.
• PMI– Private mortgage insurance is required when your down payment is less than 20%. It typically costs 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount per year.

Click “Calculate” to see your payment breakdown. The amortization schedule shows exactly how much goes to principal versus interest each month over the life of your loan.

The calculator shows more than just your monthly payment. Here's how to interpret each number:

Total Interest Paid tells you the true cost of borrowing. A $400,000 loan at 6.5% for 30 years costs $510,177 in interest—more than the original loan amount. At 5.5%, that drops to $417,715. A 1% rate difference saves you $92,462 over the life of the loan.

The 28/36 Rule helps you gauge affordability. Lenders prefer your housing payment (including taxes and insurance) to stay below 28% of gross monthly income. Total debt payments should stay below 36%. If you earn $8,000/month gross, aim for a housing payment under $2,240.

Extra Paymentshave an outsized impact early in your loan. Adding $200/month to a $400,000 loan at 6.5% cuts 5 years off your mortgage and saves $98,000 in interest. The amortization schedule shows exactly when you'd be debt-free.

Watch for Red Flags.If your calculated payment exceeds 30% of your take-home pay, you'll feel stretched. Leave room for maintenance (budget 1% of home value annually), utilities, and unexpected repairs.

Once you have a target payment in mind, take these steps:

Get pre-approved, not just pre-qualified. Pre-qualification is a rough estimate based on what you tell the lender. Pre-approval involves a credit check and income verification. Sellers take pre-approved buyers seriously because the financing is more certain.

Shop at least three lenders. Rates vary by 0.5% or more between lenders on the same day for the same borrower. On a $400,000 loan, that's $120/month. Get quotes from a big bank, a credit union, and an online lender. Compare the APR, which includes fees, not just the interest rate.

Lock your rate at the right time. Mortgage rates change daily. Once you're under contract on a home, lock your rate to protect against increases. Most locks last 30-60 days. If rates drop significantly before closing, ask about a float-down option.

Check our state mortgage guides for local programs. Many states offer down payment assistance, tax credits, or below-market rates for first-time buyers, teachers, veterans, and other groups. Our complete mortgage guide walks through every step of the process.

Every fixed-rate mortgage payment is determined by a single formula that balances principal repayment and interest charges over the life of the loan. The formula takes three inputs: the loan amount (principal), the annual interest rate divided by 12 for a monthly rate, and the total number of monthly payments. For a $350,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years, the monthly principal and interest payment works out to $2,212.

What surprises most borrowers is how the split between principal and interest shifts over time. In the first month of that $350,000 loan, $1,896 goes to interest and only $316 reduces your balance. By month 180 (halfway through), the split is roughly even. In the final years, nearly the entire payment goes toward principal. This front-loading of interest is why the early years of a mortgage feel slow—your balance barely moves even though you're making full payments. Understanding this pattern is the key to strategies like extra payments and refinancing.

Your mortgage payment has two layers. The first is principal and interest (P&I), which is the amount your lender requires to pay off the loan on schedule. The second layer adds property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and private mortgage insurance if your down payment was less than 20%. Together, these are called PITI—and PITI is what actually leaves your bank account each month.

On a $350,000 loan, your P&I might be $2,212 per month. But add property taxes ($290/month in an average county), homeowner's insurance ($150/month), and PMI ($146/month if you put 10% down), and your real payment is $2,798. That $586 gap between P&I and PITI catches many first-time buyers off guard. Our calculator includes all four components so you see the true monthly cost from the start. Beyond PITI, budget roughly 1% of your home's value each year for maintenance and repairs—that's another $292/month on a $350,000 home that won't show up in any calculator.

A fixed-rate mortgage locks your interest rate for the entire loan term. Your payment never changes, making it easy to budget. A 30-year fixed at 6.5% stays at 6.5% whether rates rise to 8% or fall to 4%. Most American homeowners choose fixed-rate loans because the certainty is worth the slightly higher starting rate.

An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) starts with a lower rate for a set period—typically 5 or 7 years—then adjusts annually based on a market index. A 5/1 ARM might start at 5.75% compared to 6.5% for a 30-year fixed, saving you $155/month initially on a $350,000 loan. The risk is that after the fixed period ends, your rate can increase by up to 2% per year, potentially reaching a cap of 11.75%.

ARMs make sense if you plan to sell or refinance within the initial fixed period. They also work for borrowers who expect income growth that will absorb potential payment increases. If you plan to stay in the home long-term and want predictable payments, a fixed-rate mortgage is the safer choice.

An amortization calculator does more than show your monthly payment. It generates a complete schedule—a month-by-month table of every payment over the life of your loan, showing exactly how much goes to interest and how much reduces your balance. This schedule is your most powerful tool for making smart mortgage decisions.

Start by entering your loan amount, rate, and term to see your baseline payment. Then experiment. Try a 15-year term instead of 30 years—the payment is higher, but the total interest drops dramatically. Adjust the rate by 0.25% in either direction to see how rate shopping could save you. Add extra monthly payments to see how they accelerate payoff. Each scenario takes seconds to calculate but represents thousands of dollars in real savings. The amortization schedule also reveals milestones—when you'll owe less than you paid, when you'll cross the 80% loan-to-value threshold to drop PMI, and when the loan will be fully paid.

Extra payments are the most accessible way to save on your mortgage because every additional dollar goes directly to principal, reducing the balance that accrues interest. The earlier you make extra payments, the more powerful the effect because of how amortization front-loads interest.

Consider a concrete example: on a $350,000 loan at 6.5% for 30 years, your standard monthly payment is $2,212 and total interest over the life of the loan is $446,247. If you add just $200 per month in extra principal payments starting from month one, you pay off the loan in about 24 years and 7 months instead of 30 years—saving you roughly $104,000 in interest and eliminating 65 monthly payments. That $200/month investment returns more than 5-to-1 in interest savings.

Even occasional lump-sum payments help. Applying a $5,000 tax refund to your mortgage in year two saves over $15,000 in interest over the remaining term. Use the extra payments feature in our calculator to model your specific situation and find the payoff strategy that fits your budget.

Refinancing replaces your current mortgage with a new one, ideally at a lower rate or better terms. The classic rule of thumb is to refinance when you can lower your rate by at least 0.75% to 1%, but the real test is the break-even calculation: divide your closing costs by your monthly savings to find how many months it takes to recoup the expense.

For example, if refinancing from 7.0% to 6.0% on a $350,000 balance saves you $238/month and closing costs are $6,500, your break-even point is 27 months. If you plan to stay in the home longer than that, the refinance pays for itself. Beyond rate reduction, refinancing can also make sense to switch from an ARM to a fixed-rate loan before the adjustable period begins, to shorten your term from 30 years to 15 years for faster equity building, or to eliminate PMI once your home has appreciated enough to give you 20% equity. Run both scenarios through the calculator to compare total interest paid over the remaining life of each option.