Mortgage Payment Calculator with Taxes, HOA & PMI

Reviewed by Financial Editor • Last updated: July 2026

Understanding Your Full Monthly Payment (PITI)

Most calculators only show you Principal and Interest — but your real monthly bill almost always includes four parts, known as PITI:

Principal — the portion of your payment that reduces your loan balance
Interest — what you're paying the lender to borrow the money
Taxes — property taxes, usually collected monthly by your lender and held in escrow
Insurance — homeowners insurance, and if your down payment is under 20%, PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) as well

Example: on a $400,000 home with a $360,000 loan (10% down) at 6.5% over 30 years, your Principal & Interest alone is about $2,275/month — but once you add ~$400/month in property taxes, $150/month in insurance, and $150/month in PMI (since the down payment is under 20%), your real monthly payment is closer to $2,975. That's the number that actually matters for budgeting.

Find Out How Much House You Can Afford

Before you start touring houses or applying for FHA or conventional loans, you need to know what your monthly payment will look like. Enter the home price, your expected interest rate, and the loan term (usually 15 or 30 years) to instantly estimate your monthly payment.

A Worked Example

Let's look at a concrete example using a $350,000 home with 20% down ($70,000), giving you a $280,000 loan amount.

At a 6.5% rate over a 30-Year Term:
Monthly Principal & Interest: $1,769.79
Total interest paid over 30 years: $357,125
Total paid over life of loan: $637,125

15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage

A 30-year mortgage gives you the lowest possible monthly payment, making it easier to qualify for a larger home. However, a 15-year mortgage will save you tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan. Compare the 30-year example above to the same loan on a 15-year term:

	30-Year @ 6.5%	15-Year @ 5.9%
Loan amount	$280,000	$280,000
Monthly P&I	$1,769.79	$2,347.70
Total interest paid	$357,125	$142,586
Total paid	$637,125	$422,586

With the 15-year term, you save $214,539 in interest — but your monthly payment is about $578 higher.

How Extra Payments Change Your Payoff Timeline

On that same $280,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years, adding just $200/month extra toward principal would:

Pay off the loan in about 22 years and 9 months instead of 30
Save you roughly $101,283 in total interest

How Much House Can I Afford? (The 28/36 Rule)

Lenders commonly use the 28/36 rule to gauge affordability:

No more than 28% of your gross monthly income should go toward your total housing payment (PITI)
No more than 36% of your gross monthly income should go toward all debt payments combined (housing + car loans + credit cards + student loans, etc.)

Example: if you earn $90,000/year ($7,500/month), the 28% rule suggests keeping your total mortgage payment under $2,100/month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Principal & Interest payment is calculated using the loan amount, interest rate, and loan term through a standard amortization formula. If you include taxes, insurance, HOA fees, and PMI, those are added on top to give your full monthly payment.

PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four components that typically make up a full monthly mortgage payment. Lenders use your PITI total, not just principal and interest, to determine what you can afford.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is typically required when your down payment is less than 20% of the home's price. It protects the lender, not you, in case you default. PMI is usually removed automatically once you reach 20-22% equity in the home.

Your interest rate determines your monthly Principal & Interest payment. APR (Annual Percentage Rate) includes the interest rate plus most lender fees and closing costs, expressed as a yearly rate — it's meant to give you a more complete way to compare loan offers.

Mortgages are amortized, meaning your payment amount stays the same each month, but the portion going to interest vs. principal shifts over time. Early in the loan, your balance is highest, so more of each payment goes to interest. As the balance shrinks, more goes to principal.

On a $300,000, 30-year loan, a 0.5% rate increase (say, from 6.5% to 7%) raises your monthly Principal & Interest payment by roughly $100, and adds tens of thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan. Small rate differences compound significantly over 30 years.

A 30-year mortgage has a lower monthly payment, which helps with affordability and cash flow. A 15-year mortgage has a higher monthly payment but a much lower interest rate and dramatically less total interest paid. The right choice depends on your monthly budget versus your priority on long-term savings.

No — closing costs (typically 2-5% of the loan amount, covering things like origination fees, appraisal, and title insurance) are a separate, mostly upfront expense not reflected in your monthly payment estimate here.

This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only and is not a loan offer or guarantee of financing.
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