PMI Calculator
LoanCalculate your monthly and annual Private Mortgage Insurance cost, plus the total PMI you'll pay until your LTV reaches 78% and PMI is removed, free.
Monthly PMI Cost
$0
PMI Removal Timeline
0 mo
~Jul 2026 · once LTV reaches 78%
Annual PMI Cost
$0
Loan Amount
$0
Total PMI Paid Until Removal
$0
What is a PMI?
A PMI Calculator estimates the cost of Private Mortgage Insurance — the insurance that conventional mortgage lenders in the US require when your down payment is below 20% of the home price. PMI protects the lender, not the borrower, against the added risk of a smaller down payment, and it's added as a recurring cost on top of your regular principal and interest payment until your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio improves enough for the lender to remove it.
Unlike a general Mortgage Calculator, which bundles PMI into one combined monthly payment figure, this calculator isolates the PMI line item specifically — showing exactly how much you're paying for it each month and year, and projecting when it will be automatically removed under US federal law. By law, lenders must cancel PMI once your loan balance reaches 78% of the home's original value, based on the original amortization schedule, and this calculator estimates that removal point by combining your loan's amortization with your expected home appreciation rate.
How to use this PMI calculator
- Enter your Home Price — the purchase price of the property.
- Set your Down Payment percentage using the slider; PMI only applies when this is below 20%.
- Enter the PMI Rate (Annual) quoted by your lender, or leave it at the 0.75% default for a reasonable estimate.
- Set your Loan Term in years to match your mortgage.
- Adjust the Expected Annual Home Appreciation to model how rising home values affect your PMI removal timeline.
- Review the Monthly PMI Cost in the result card — this is the recurring extra charge on your mortgage payment.
- Check Months Until PMI Removal and Estimated Total PMI Paid Until Removal to understand the full cost and timeline before PMI automatically drops off.
Formula & Methodology
PMI cost is calculated directly from the loan amount and PMI rate: Loan Amount = Home Price − (Home Price × Down Payment%) Annual PMI = Loan Amount × PMI Rate% Monthly PMI = Annual PMI ÷ 12 To estimate the removal timeline, the calculator runs a month-by-month amortization of the loan (using a standard reducing-balance schedule) combined with the compounded effect of your expected annual home appreciation, tracking the ratio of remaining loan balance to projected home value each month until that ratio reaches 78%. Worked example: On a $350,000 home with a 10% down payment ($35,000), the loan amount is $315,000. At a 0.75% PMI rate, annual PMI is $2,362.50, or about $197 per month. With a 30-year loan term and 3% expected annual appreciation, the LTV crosses 78% in roughly 65 months — meaning you'd pay an estimated total of around $12,800 in PMI before it's automatically removed. Compare this against a Down Payment Calculator scenario with a 20% down payment to see whether saving longer upfront would have been cheaper than paying PMI for over five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is an insurance policy that protects the lender — not you — if you default on a conventional mortgage with a down payment below 20%. Lenders require it because a smaller down payment means more risk that the home's sale price won't cover the outstanding loan balance if you stop paying. PMI is added to your monthly mortgage cost until your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio drops enough for the lender to remove it.
PMI rates typically range from about 0.3% to 1.5% of the loan amount annually, depending on your credit score, your down payment size, and the loan term. Borrowers with higher credit scores and larger down payments (closer to 20%) generally qualify for lower PMI rates, while lower scores and smaller down payments push the rate higher. This calculator defaults to 0.75% as a reasonable mid-range estimate, but you should use the actual rate quoted by your lender for an accurate figure.
Under the US Homeowners Protection Act, lenders are required to automatically cancel PMI once your loan balance reaches 78% of the home's original value, based on the original amortization schedule, as long as you're current on payments. You can also request earlier removal once your LTV reaches 80% by requesting a new appraisal, though approval at that earlier point is not automatic. This calculator estimates the 78% automatic-removal point by combining your loan's amortization schedule with your expected home appreciation rate.
Enter your home price, your down payment as a percentage, the PMI rate quoted by your lender (or use the 0.75% default), your loan term, and your expected annual home appreciation rate. The calculator immediately shows your monthly and annual PMI cost, your loan amount, and — most importantly — an estimate of how many months until PMI is automatically removed and the total PMI you'll pay until that point. Adjust the appreciation assumption to see how a faster-appreciating market could shorten your PMI period.
A standard [Mortgage Calculator](/mortgage-calculator/) bundles principal, interest, taxes, and insurance into one combined monthly figure, which makes it hard to see exactly how much PMI is costing you on its own. This calculator isolates PMI specifically, showing its standalone monthly and annual cost as well as the total amount you'll pay before it's removed — a figure most general mortgage tools don't surface. Use both calculators together: the mortgage calculator for your overall payment, and this one to understand the PMI line item in detail.
Yes — the most direct way is to put down at least 20% of the home price, which keeps your initial LTV at or below 80% and avoids PMI from the start. Some lenders also offer piggyback loans (a second mortgage to cover part of the down payment) or lender-paid PMI structures that fold the cost into a slightly higher interest rate instead of a separate monthly charge. A [Down Payment Calculator](/down-payment-calculator/) can help you figure out how much you'd need to save to clear the 20% threshold.
Yes — any extra principal payments reduce your loan balance faster than the standard amortization schedule, which means your LTV crosses the 78% threshold sooner and PMI gets removed earlier than this calculator's baseline estimate. This calculator models the standard amortization schedule plus home appreciation, so if you plan to make extra payments, the actual removal date will likely come sooner than shown. Request a new valuation from your lender once you believe you've crossed 80% LTV to potentially remove PMI even earlier than the automatic 78% trigger.
Because LTV is based on the ratio of your loan balance to your home's value, a rising home value lowers your LTV even without any extra principal payments — which can help you cross the 78%/80% thresholds faster. This calculator lets you set an expected annual appreciation rate to model this effect; a higher appreciation assumption will generally shorten the estimated PMI period and reduce total PMI paid. Keep in mind that appreciation projections are estimates, not guarantees, so actual results will vary with local market conditions.
No — PMI protects the lender against default risk on a conventional loan with a low down payment, while mortgage life insurance is a separate, optional policy that pays off your remaining mortgage balance if you die. They serve entirely different purposes and are priced independently; PMI is generally required by the lender, while mortgage life insurance is optional and purchased separately if you choose it.
PMI applies specifically to conventional loans and is automatically removable once LTV reaches 78%, as modeled by this calculator. FHA loans instead carry mortgage insurance premiums (MIP), which — depending on the loan's origination date and down payment — may not be removable for the life of the loan unless you refinance into a conventional mortgage. If you have an FHA loan, this calculator's 78%-removal logic does not apply to your MIP; check your loan's specific FHA insurance terms instead.
Yes — PMI adds a real, recurring cost on top of principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, and lenders typically factor it into your debt-to-income ratio when determining how much you can borrow. Use this calculator's monthly PMI estimate alongside a [Home Affordability Calculator](/home-affordability-calculator/) to get a complete picture of what you can comfortably afford with a sub-20% down payment, rather than underestimating your true monthly housing cost.
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