Audited 25 May 2026·Last updated 28 Oct 2026·6 citations·Tier 1·0 uses

FHA Loan Calculator

Estimate an FHA mortgage payment from price, down payment, term and rate, with the 1.75% upfront premium financed and the annual MIP billed monthly.

FHA Loan Calculator

Purchase price or appraised value, whichever is lower
$
FHA minimum is 3.5% for credit scores ≥580
%
Loan Term
Annual note rate on the FHA-insured mortgage
%
Standard FHA upfront MIP is 1.75% of base loan
%
HUD ML 2023-05 (base loan up to 726,200): 30-year 0.50%, or 0.55% when LTV is above 95% (down payment under 5%); 15-year 0.15% at LTV 90% or below, 0.40% above
%
Total Monthly Payment
$2,326.97
Principal and interest plus the monthly FHA premium, in dollars; property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA dues are extra.
Base Loan Amount
$337,750.00
Upfront MIP
$5,910.63
Total Loan Amount
$343,660.63
Monthly P&I
$2,172.17
Monthly MIP
$154.80
Total Interest
$438,320.19

Background.

An FHA loan lets you buy a home with as little as 3.5% down, and the price of that flexibility is mortgage insurance charged twice: once at the start, usually added to the loan, and again every month for years afterwards. The Federal Housing Administration, an agency of HUD, does not lend the money. It insures the lender against default, and the premiums borrowers pay fund that guarantee through the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.

Those two premiums are why an ordinary mortgage calculator gives the wrong answer for an FHA loan. The upfront premium, 1.75% of the base loan on most purchases, is normally financed, so the balance you repay is larger than the price minus your down payment, and you pay interest on the premium itself for as long as you keep the loan. The annual premium is quoted as a yearly percentage of the loan and billed in twelve monthly slices on top of principal and interest.

Enter the home price, down payment, term, interest rate and the two premium rates, and you get the base loan, the financed premium, the total loan, the principal-and-interest payment, the monthly premium, their sum, and the interest you would pay if you kept the loan for its full term.

Know what the total leaves out. Property tax, homeowners insurance and any HOA dues come on top, and lenders judge affordability on the full amount. The monthly premium is a first-year figure held flat, although in practice it shrinks a little each year along with the balance. Nothing here tests your county's FHA loan limit, your credit score or your debt-to-income ratio: those decide eligibility under HUD Handbook 4000.1, and only a lender's Loan Estimate is an offer.

What is fha loan calculator?

An FHA loan is a mortgage made by a private, FHA-approved lender and insured by the Federal Housing Administration. It can finance a home of one to four units, but only one the borrower will live in as a primary residence; investment properties and second homes are not eligible, and the borrower is expected to move in within 60 days of closing and live there for at least a year. The minimum down payment is 3.5% for borrowers with credit scores of 580 or higher and 10% for scores from 500 to 579, figured on the purchase price or the appraised value, whichever is lower. The down payment may come from a gift, such as money from a relative, provided it is documented.

How to use this calculator.

  1. Enter the home price, using the appraised value instead if it comes in below the contract price, since FHA bases the required down payment on the lower of the two. If a $320,000 contract appraises at $310,000, the largest base loan is $310,000 × 0.965 = $299,150, so you would need $20,850 in cash rather than $11,200 unless the price is renegotiated.
  2. Enter the down payment as a percentage. Anything under 3.5% is refused, because that is FHA's floor; enter 10% if your credit score is between 500 and 579, which is the minimum at that level.
  3. Choose the term, 30 or 15 years; the calculator offers only those two.
  4. Enter the note rate from your Loan Estimate, not the APR: the APR already folds in mortgage insurance and fees, so using it here would count the premiums twice.
  5. Leave the upfront MIP at 1.75% if you will finance it, or set it to 0 to see the payment if you pay the premium in cash at closing instead.
  6. Enter the annual MIP rate shown on your Loan Estimate. The preset 0.55% is HUD's rate for a 30-year loan with a base loan up to 726,200 dollars and a loan-to-value ratio above 95%, which is what the minimum down payment gives; with 5% or more down the 30-year rate falls to 0.50%, and 15-year terms carry lower rates still (0.15% at 90% loan-to-value or less, 0.40% above).

The formula.

Pmt = T×[r(1+r)ⁿ]⁄[(1+r)ⁿ−1] + B×m⁄12
Pmt · total monthly payment before tax and insuranceT · total loan: base loan plus the financed upfront premiumr · monthly interest rate, the annual note rate ÷ 12n · number of monthly payments, 180 or 360B · base loan: price minus down paymentm · annual MIP rate

The base loan is B = P × (1 − d), the price P less the down payment fraction d. The upfront premium is U = B × u, where u is the upfront MIP rate, and because it is financed the amount that actually amortizes is T = B + U.

The principal-and-interest payment is the standard level-payment formula applied to T: M = T × r(1 + r)ⁿ ÷ [(1 + r)ⁿ − 1], where r is the annual note rate divided by 12 and n is the number of monthly payments, 360 for 30 years or 180 for 15. The factor (1 + r)ⁿ is what a dollar grows to over the term at the loan's rate; dividing by (1 + r)ⁿ − 1 sets the payment so the balance reaches exactly zero with the last installment. If you enter a 0% rate, the payment is simply T ÷ n.

The monthly premium is B × m ÷ 12, where m is the annual MIP rate. It is worked out on the base loan, not on the total that includes the financed premium, and it is not part of the balance being paid down. The total monthly payment is M plus that premium.

Financing the upfront premium has a second cost besides the interest. If you sell, or refinance into a conventional loan, none of it comes back; only a refinance into another FHA loan within three years earns a partial credit toward the new premium, and that credit shrinks month by month.

Total interest is M × n − T: everything paid as principal and interest over the full term, minus what was borrowed. It includes the interest charged on the financed upfront premium but excludes the annual premiums, which are insurance, not interest. Two simplifications follow from the formula. The premium is held flat, whereas FHA's annual premium is recalculated each year as the scheduled balance falls. And the interest total assumes you never prepay, sell or refinance, which few borrowers keep up for 30 years.

A worked example.

Example

A buyer agrees to pay $320,000 and puts down the minimum 3.5%, which is $11,200 in cash. The base loan is $320,000 × 0.965 = $308,800. The upfront premium is $308,800 × 0.0175 = $5,404, and financing it makes the total loan $314,204. At a 6.875% note rate the monthly rate is 0.06875 ÷ 12 = 0.0057292, and over 360 payments (1 + r)³⁶⁰ = 7.8195. The principal-and-interest payment is $314,204 × 0.0057292 × 7.8195 ÷ 6.8195 = $2,064.10. The monthly premium is $308,800 × 0.0055 ÷ 12 = $141.53, so the total monthly payment is $2,064.10 + $141.53 = $2,205.63, before property tax and homeowners insurance. Kept for the full term, the 360 payments of principal and interest come to $743,074.78; take away the $314,204 borrowed and the interest is $428,870.78, about 1.36 times the loan. Early on, almost all of each payment is interest: the first one puts $1,800.13 toward interest and only $263.97 toward the balance. Of the $2,064.10, about $35.50 a month is the cost of carrying the financed $5,404 premium, roughly $12,780 over 30 years. Putting 10% down instead would cut the base loan to $288,000, the financed premium to $5,040 and principal and interest to $1,925.06, and the annual premium would end after 11 years rather than running for the whole term.

annual M I P Percent0.55
loan Term Years30
home Price320,000
base Interest Rate6.875
upfront M I P Percent1.75
down Payment Percent3.5

Frequently asked questions.

Why is my FHA loan bigger than the price minus my down payment?
Because the 1.75% upfront premium is added to it. On a $308,800 base loan that is $5,404, making the loan $314,204. Financing it costs about $35.50 a month at 6.875% over 30 years. Set the upfront MIP to 0 to see the payment if you pay the premium in cash: principal and interest fall to $2,028.60, but you need the $5,404 at closing.
How long will I pay the annual MIP?
Under the rules HUD set in Mortgagee Letter 2013-04, it depends on your starting loan-to-value. Put down at least 10%, so the loan is 90% or less of the home's value, and the annual premium stops after 11 years. Put down less and it stays for the life of the loan. The usual way out is refinancing into a conventional loan once you have enough equity.
Which annual MIP rate should I enter?
The rate on your Loan Estimate, since HUD's premium table depends on the term, the loan-to-value ratio and the loan size. The preset 0.55% applies to the common case of a 30-year loan with the minimum down payment: under HUD's Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 it is the rate for a base loan up to 726,200 dollars when the loan-to-value ratio is above 95%, and the rate is 0.50% at 95% or below. Each 0.05 percentage point on a $308,800 base loan changes the monthly premium by about $12.87.
Can I put down less than 3.5%?
Not on an FHA loan, and the calculator refuses anything lower. With a credit score of 500 to 579 the minimum rises to 10%, and below 500 FHA financing is not available. The 3.5% can come from savings, a documented gift or an approved down payment assistance program, and FHA separately allows the seller and other interested parties to contribute up to 6% of the price toward closing costs.
Does the total monthly payment include property tax and insurance?
No. It is principal, interest and the FHA annual premium only. Your lender will collect property tax and homeowners insurance into escrow each month, and HOA dues may apply as well. Those can add several hundred dollars, and lenders use the complete payment when they weigh it against your income.
How does a 15-year FHA loan compare?
With the same $314,204 balance and 6.875% rate, a 15-year term raises principal and interest to $2,802.24 a month, $738.14 more, but cuts total interest from $428,870.78 to $190,199.56. In practice 15-year loans usually carry a lower note rate and a lower annual premium than 30-year ones, so enter your own quotes for both before comparing.
How much does a one-point change in the rate matter?
On the $320,000 example, dropping from 6.875% to 5.875% lowers the total monthly payment from $2,205.63 to $2,000.17, about $205 less. Rising to 7.875% takes it to $2,419.73, about $214 more. The premium does not move with the rate, so the whole change comes from principal and interest.
Why is the total interest larger than the loan itself?
Because the balance shrinks slowly at first. At 6.875%, the first month's interest is $1,800.13, so only $263.97 of the payment reduces what you owe. After five years about $18,838 of the $314,204 has been repaid. Interest keeps accruing on the large remaining balance, which is how 30 years of payments add up to $428,870.78 of interest.
Is there a limit on how much I can borrow with an FHA loan?
Yes. HUD publishes a maximum FHA loan amount for every county each year, higher in expensive housing markets and for two- to four-unit properties. The calculator accepts prices up to $2,000,000 without checking that limit, so look up your county's figure on HUD's website before relying on a result for a high-priced home. If the base loan would exceed it, you need a larger down payment to bring it under the limit, or a different type of loan.
Is an FHA loan cheaper than a conventional loan with private mortgage insurance?
It depends mostly on your credit and how long you keep the loan. FHA's insurance premiums are the same whatever your credit score, which favours borrowers with weaker credit. Conventional private mortgage insurance has no upfront premium in most cases and, under the Homeowners Protection Act, can be cancelled at your request once the balance reaches 80% of the original value and ends automatically at 78%. Borrowers with strong credit often find conventional financing cheaper overall, so price both before choosing.

References& sources.

  1. [1]HUD (2024). "SF Handbook 4000.1: FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook."
  2. [2]HUD (2023). Mortgagee Letter 2023-05: Reduction of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) Rates. Effective for case numbers endorsed on or after March 20, 2023.
  3. [3]HUD (2013). "Mortgagee Letter 2013-04: Revised Mortgage Insurance Premiums."
  4. [4]CFPB (2024). "What is an FHA loan?"
  5. [5]IRS (2024). "Publication 936: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction."
  6. [6]Federal Housing Administration (2024). "Annual Management Report: Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund."

How this page was produced

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Quanta Calculator
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Daniel, Quanta Calculator Researcher
Primary sources
6 cited below
Method
Pmt = T×[r(1+r)ⁿ]⁄[(1+r)ⁿ−1] + B×m⁄12
Published
Last verified

Built with AI assistance and verified by automated tests against the cited sources — every worked example on this page is computed by the same code that runs the calculator. How we build and check calculators.

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