Mortgage Calculator
Your real monthly housing payment is more than principal and interest. This calculator adds property tax, home insurance, HOA dues and PMI to give the full figure — plus total interest and a full amortization table.
How much is the monthly payment on a $320,000 mortgage?
Mortgage: A mortgage is a loan secured by a home and repaid monthly; the full payment usually bundles principal and interest with property tax and home insurance, plus PMI when the down payment is under 20%. A $320,000 loan at 6.5% APR over 30 years costs $2,022.62 a month in principal and interest. Adding property tax of $366.67 a month and insurance of $180 brings the true monthly payment to $2,569.28, with about $408,142 of interest paid over the full term.
How to calculate a monthly mortgage payment
- Subtract the down payment from the home price to get the loan amount.
- Apply the amortization formula with the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12) and the term in months to get principal and interest.
- Add the monthly share of property tax (annual tax ÷ 12) and of home insurance.
- If the down payment is under 20%, add monthly PMI until the balance reaches 80% of the price.
Source: CFPB — Owning a Home
Amortization by year
PMI is included in the monthly total while the balance is above 80% of the home price; the table shows principal and interest only.
How this mortgage calculator works
Lenders advertise the loan; your budget lives with the payment. The calculator starts with the loan amount (home price minus down payment) and computes principal and interest with the standard amortization formula. It then layers on the costs that ride along with almost every US mortgage: property tax (entered as an annual percentage of the home price and divided by 12), homeowner's insurance, HOA dues if any, and PMI whenever the down payment is under 20% of the price, priced at the PMI rate you enter. The amortization table breaks every year of the loan into payments, principal, interest and remaining balance, so you can see how slowly equity builds in the early years — the fact that surprises nearly every first-time buyer.
Worked example
A $400,000 home with $80,000 down (20%), at 6.5% APR for 30 years: the loan is $320,000 and principal & interest comes to $2,022.62 a month. Add property tax at 1.1% of the price ($366.67 a month) and insurance at $180 a month, and the true monthly payment is $2,569.28 — with no PMI, because the down payment reached 20%. Over the 30 years you would pay about $408,142 of interest, more than the house's original price. Now drop the down payment to 10% in the calculator: PMI adds $165 a month at first, and total interest climbs by tens of thousands because the loan is bigger. That comparison is the most valuable experiment this page offers.
What each slice of the payment does
- Principal. The part that builds your equity. In year one of the example loan, only about $3,577 of your $24,271 in payments is principal — the rest is interest.
- Interest. Front-loaded by design: lenders collect most of their interest while the balance is highest. A 15-year term at a slightly lower rate cuts total interest on this loan by more than half, at the cost of a much higher monthly payment.
- Property tax. Ranges from under 0.4% of value in some states to over 2% in others — on a $400,000 home, that is the difference between $130 and $700 a month for the same house.
- Insurance. Required by the lender, and rising fast in storm- and fire-prone states. Budget for increases, not just today's premium.
- PMI. Applies only below 20% down and falls away at 80% loan-to-value — our dedicated PMI calculator finds the exact month.
Using this to decide how much house to buy
Run the calculator backwards from your budget: pick the total monthly payment you can sustain with room to spare (many advisors suggest keeping housing at or under 28% of gross income), subtract realistic tax and insurance for your state, and the remainder is the principal-and-interest you can carry — which maps to a price range at current rates. Then stress-test it: add 1% to the rate and see whether the payment still works, because the rate you are quoted this week is not guaranteed until you lock. And before falling for the bigger house, compare the same money going into savings instead using the retirement savings calculator — the house-versus-investing trade-off looks different once both sides have real numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the monthly payment on a $400,000 house?
With 20% down at 6.5% APR over 30 years, principal and interest is $2,022.62. Adding typical property tax (1.1%) and insurance brings the real payment to about $2,569 a month. In a high-tax state or with a smaller down payment (which adds PMI), the same house can run $2,900 or more. Enter your own tax rate and down payment above for your number.
How much income do I need for a $400,000 mortgage?
Using the common 28% guideline — housing costs at or under 28% of gross income — a payment of about $2,570 a month implies an income of roughly $110,000 a year. Lenders also check total debts against income (the 36% back-end ratio). These are approval guidelines, not comfort guarantees; many households prefer a lower share.
Is a 15-year or 30-year mortgage better?
On a $320,000 loan, a 15-year term at 5.75% costs about $2,657 a month but only ~$158,000 of total interest, versus $2,023 a month and ~$408,000 of interest over 30 years at 6.5%. The 15-year builds equity dramatically faster; the 30-year preserves monthly flexibility. A middle path many use: take the 30-year and pay it like a 15-year when income allows, since extra principal payments are penalty-free on most loans.
How much do I save by making one extra payment a year?
On the example $320,000 loan at 6.5%, one extra monthly payment a year (or 1/12 extra each month) cuts roughly five to six years off the term and saves around $90,000–$100,000 of interest. The amortization table above lets you see the balance path that produces those savings.
Do property taxes and insurance go up over time?
Almost always, yes. Taxes follow assessed values and local rates; insurance premiums have been climbing with rebuilding costs and weather risk. Your principal and interest stay fixed on a fixed-rate loan, but the escrow portion of the payment should be expected to rise a few percent a year — budget for it.
Sources
- CFPB — Owning a Home — Mortgage shopping, Loan Estimates, closing costs and total interest over the term.