Down Payment Calculator

Every dollar you put down is a dollar you do not borrow. That single fact is why the field above moves four numbers at the same time: the cash you must produce at closing, the size of the loan, the monthly payment, and the total interest paid across the whole term. The relationship is linear on the loan side and roughly linear on the payment side, but the interest effect is larger than people expect, because interest is charged on the balance for as long as the balance exists. On a 30-year term, a slightly smaller principal keeps compounding into savings month after month for three decades. What the down payment does not do is change the price of the house or the rate you are offered — at least not directly. Lenders do price risk, and a larger down payment can improve the rate you qualify for, but that is a lender decision, not arithmetic. The calculator holds the rate you type fixed across every scenario in the table so you can see the pure effect of the down payment itself.

20% is the number everyone repeats, and it is a real threshold — but it is a threshold for mortgage insurance, not a legal minimum to buy a home. Conventional programs are commonly available with far less down. FHA-insured loans have a low minimum for qualifying borrowers, and VA and USDA programs can require nothing down at all for those who are eligible. Each of those routes trades the cash requirement for something else: an insurance premium, an upfront funding fee, property-location or service-eligibility rules, or tighter limits on the loan amount. The specific minimums, fees and loan limits are set by the agencies and revised periodically, which is exactly why this page does not print them — check the program pages directly. Many state and local down payment assistance programs also exist, often aimed at first-time buyers, and lenders will usually tell you which ones they work with. Whether a gift from family can be used, and what documentation the lender needs for it, is a lender-by-lender question.

Private mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, on a conventional loan where the balance exceeds 80% of the home's value. It is added to the monthly payment, and the premium is set by the insurer based on your loan-to-value ratio, credit profile and loan type — so it varies enough that quoting a single figure would be misleading. The important part is that PMI on a conventional loan is temporary by design. Federal rules give borrowers the right to request cancellation once the loan balance reaches a set share of the original value, and require the servicer to terminate it automatically at a lower threshold, provided payments are current. Some borrowers reach that point faster than the amortization schedule predicts, because home values rose or because they paid extra principal. FHA mortgage insurance follows different rules entirely, and depending on when the loan was made and how much was put down, it can last for the life of the loan unless the borrower refinances into a conventional mortgage. That difference is often worth more than the headline rate gap between the two programs.

The down payment is the biggest line at closing but rarely the only one. Closing costs — origination, appraisal, title work, recording fees, prepaid taxes and insurance, escrow funding — are charged on top, and they are quoted to you in the Loan Estimate the lender must provide after you apply. Comparing Loan Estimates side by side is the only reliable way to see what a given lender actually charges. Then come the costs nobody itemises: moving, immediate repairs, appliances, and the first surprise the inspection did not catch. Buyers who empty every account to hit a round percentage frequently end up putting the shortfall on a credit card at a far higher rate than the mortgage they were optimising. This is why the honest comparison is not "20% versus 10%" but "20% and no cash reserve versus 10% and six months of expenses in the bank". Run both through the table and decide with the whole picture in view.

The payment shown is principal and interest only. A real mortgage payment usually also carries property taxes, homeowners insurance, any mortgage insurance, and — where applicable — HOA or condo dues. Together those can add a substantial amount to the monthly figure, and they vary enormously by state, county and building. Property taxes in particular are not a fixed cost: they are reassessed, and the escrow portion of your payment changes with them. Insurance premiums move too. A payment that fits comfortably at purchase can drift upward without the loan itself changing at all. Use this page to compare down payment scenarios against each other, which is what it is good at. Use the lender's Loan Estimate for the actual number you will pay, and treat anything here as educational rather than as mortgage, tax or legal advice.