Try different values to see how they change your monthly costs. The calculator gives you an estimate, but a mortgage expert can walk you through your specific numbers.
Mortgage Calculators With PMI and Taxes: Estimate How Much House You Can Afford
Updated: October 1, 2026
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Updated: Oct 1, 2026
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How to Use MoneyGeek’s Mortgage Calculator
Use our mortgage calculator to see what your monthly payment could look like before you start house hunting.
- 1Enter the home's price
Enter the full purchase price to calculate your loan amount.
- 2Add the down payment
Add your upfront payment in dollars or as a percentage to calculate your mortgage balance and determine whether you'll need PMI.
- 3Select the loan's term
Choose a 10, 15, 20 or 30-year mortgage. Shorter terms mean higher monthly payments and less interest paid overall.
- 4Provide the interest rate
Provide your lender's annual rate to see how interest affects your monthly payments and total loan cost.
- 5Include taxes, insurance and fees
Include monthly or yearly amounts for property tax, homeowners insurance, private mortgage insurance (PMI) and HOA fees, if applicable. Property tax is a percentage of the home's value. PMI applies to down payments under 20%. HOA fees apply if the property is in a homeowners association.
- 6Review the results
The calculator breaks down your monthly payment by principal, interest, taxes, insurance and fees, and generates an amortization schedule.
THE 28/36 RULE
The 28/36 rule is a simple starting point: keep housing costs at or below 28% of your gross monthly income, and keep total debt payments at or below 36%. Staying within these limits leaves more room in your budget for saving.
If you don't qualify for a conventional mortgage, you may qualify for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan. An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the federal government and available to people with low credit scores and limited down payments. Use MoneyGeek's FHA loan calculator below to see if an FHA loan can help you buy a home.
How to Calculate Your Mortgage Payments by Hand
A mortgage calculator handles the math, but knowing how to do it yourself helps you understand what drives your monthly payment.
To calculate your mortgage payments, have the following information ready:
P = Principal loan amount (the amount borrowed)
i = Monthly interest rate (your annual interest rate divided by 12)
n = Number of months to repay the loan (loan term in years multiplied by 12)
Apply these values to the formula M = P [ i(1 + i)^n ] / [ (1 + i)^n – 1], where M is your monthly mortgage payment.
You can also use the PMT formula in Excel or Google Sheets to calculate your P&I payment:
=PMT(i, n, P)
Where:
i = Monthly interest rate (your annual interest rate divided by 12)
n = Number of months to repay the loan (loan term in years multiplied by 12)
P = Principal loan amount (with a negative number representing the amount borrowed)
Sample Scenario
You want to borrow $200,000 at an annual interest rate of 6% for 30 years.
First, convert the interest rate to a monthly rate. The 6% annual becomes 0.5% monthly (0.005 as a decimal).
Next, convert the loan term into months. Thirty years becomes 360 months (30 years x 12 months/year).
Plug these values into the formula:
M = $200,000 × [0.005(1 + 0.005)^360] / [(1 + 0.005)^360 - 1] = $200,000 × (0.0301 / 5.023)
That works out to $1,199.10 per month, before any other fees.
MONEYGEEK EXPERT TIP
A mortgage calculator is a great way to dream up your ideal monthly payment. Start by entering prices from homes you've seen online, then play with down payment amounts to find your sweet spot. Enter an interest rate a little higher than current rates to build in a buffer. When you talk to a lender, you'll already know what you can afford and can compare it to what they're offering.
— Timothy Manni, Mortgage and Real Estate Consultant
How a Mortgage Calculator Helps
Here's how using a mortgage calculator plays out for four real homebuyers.
Choosing the Right Mortgage Term for Your Budget
Julia is a teacher from Nashville buying her first home on a tight budget.
HOW THE CALCULATOR HELPED
Julia used the calculator to compare loan terms. A 30-year mortgage costs more in total interest over time. For Julia's budget, the lower monthly payment was worth that trade-off.
Paying Up to Pay Less
Alex is an engineer in San Diego who has saved $50,000 toward his first home. He wants to keep enough in reserve for other investments and emergencies, so he's weighing how much of it to put down.
HOW THE CALCULATOR HELPED
Alex compared two down payment scenarios for a $400,000 home: $30,000 and $40,000. He went with $40,000.
A Photographer’s Path to Financial Independence
Angel is a freelance photographer from Portland who recently inherited money. She's weighing whether to put some toward extra payments on her $300,000 mortgage or keep the funds available for other needs.
HOW THE CALCULATOR HELPED
Angel ran the numbers on making extra monthly payments. Adding $200 a month, she found she could shorten her loan term by several years and pay less in interest overall.
Cutting Costs With Calculations
Marcus is an IT consultant in Austin who bought his home two years ago with a smaller down payment. As a result, he's been paying private mortgage insurance (PMI) along with his regular mortgage payments.
HOW THE CALCULATOR HELPED
Marcus reviewed his amortization schedule and pinpointed when he would reach 20% equity, the threshold for requesting PMI removal on a conventional loan.
He found that a few extra payments toward the principal could get him there faster. He increased his monthly payments slightly, which helped him build equity faster and drop PMI sooner. That lowered his overall monthly costs.
How to Lower Your Monthly Mortgage Payments
Beyond using the calculator, here are a few ways to lower your monthly mortgage payment:
Buy a less expensive homeA lower purchase price reduces the principal on your mortgage, which directly lowers your monthly payment.
Seek a lower interest rateA lower rate reduces what you pay in interest each month. Improving your credit score before applying is one of the most reliable ways to get one.
Compare different mortgage typesMortgage products vary in rates and terms. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), for example, often start with lower rates than fixed-rate mortgages, which means lower initial monthly payments.
Mortgage Calculator FAQ
Monthly mortgage payments include principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance and possibly private mortgage insurance (PMI) if your down payment is less than 20%.
Higher interest rates increase monthly payments and the total cost of the loan. Lower rates reduce both.
A larger down payment means a smaller loan, so your monthly payment is lower. If it gets you to 20% down, you also avoid PMI, which lowers your payment even more.
A 15-year term means higher monthly payments than a 30-year term, but you'll pay much less interest and build equity faster. If lower monthly payments matter more than paying off the loan quickly, a 30-year term keeps more cash available each month.
Your actual payment can differ based on local property taxes, insurance rates, interest rate changes and lender fees not included in the estimate.
Sort of. When using a mortgage calculator for an ARM, you can see what your monthly payment and amortization schedule look like for the initial fixed-rate period. After the rate adjusts, both will change. You can enter different interest rates to see how your payment would change later on.
About Zachary Romeo, CBCA
Zachary Romeo is a certified Commercial Banking and Credit Analyst (CBCA) and the former Head of Loans and Banking at MoneyGeek. Previously, he led production teams for some of the largest online informational resources in higher education, with over 13 years of experience in editorial production.
Zachary has a bachelor's degree in biological engineering from Cornell University. He geeks out on minimizing personal debt and helping others do the same through people-first content.