FHA Loan Calculator – Payment with UFMIP and Annual MIP Included
An FHA payment is never just principal and interest. This calculator builds the real number the way a lender does: 3.5% down, the 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium rolled into the loan, the correct annual MIP rate for your term and loan-to-value, and tax and insurance escrows on top — plus what the insurance costs you over the whole loan.
The home and the loan
Advanced options — property tax, insurance and HOA dues
The advanced options are already included in the result with their default values — open Advanced options to change them.
🔒 Everything is calculated in your browser — your numbers never leave your device.
Your true monthly payment
| Monthly breakdown | Amount |
|---|---|
| Principal & interest | $2,482.48 |
| FHA annual MIP (month 1) | $176.92 |
| Property tax escrow | $366.67 |
| Homeowners insurance escrow | $150.00 |
| HOA dues | $0.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $3,176.06 |
How the loan is built
| Loan figures | Amount |
|---|---|
| Home price | $400,000 |
| Down payment | $14,000 (3.5%) |
| Base loan amount | $386,000 |
| Upfront MIP (1.75%), rolled in | $6,755 |
| Total loan amount | $392,755 |
| Loan-to-value (LTV) | 96.5% |
Over the life of the loan
| Lifetime figures | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total interest (30 years) | $500,937.36 |
| Total annual MIP (life of the loan) | $41,657.99 |
| Cash needed at closing (down payment) | $14,000 |
🏠 MIP is charged on the base-loan balance (the part before the upfront premium is rolled in) and recalculated as that balance falls — HUD collects it monthly at one-twelfth of the annual rate. Whether it ever stops depends on the loan-to-value you start with, explained in the schedule below.
- The headline payment is four bills added together — principal and interest, mortgage insurance, tax and insurance — and each behaves differently over the loan.
- At 3.5% down the loan-to-value is 96.5%, and that number drives everything: the 1.75% upfront premium is usually rolled into the loan, and insurance starts at 176.92 a month on the default.
- The monthly premium is a percentage of the balance, so it shrinks year by year as the balance falls.
- Where each monthly dollar goes
- Run the same home the other ways
- From house price to true payment
- The math behind the default example
- Two things worth knowing about FHA insurance
- The down payment ladder: 3.5% versus 12% on the same house
- The upfront premium: financed or paid in cash
- How the monthly premium shrinks, year by year
- The total payment, piece by piece
Where each monthly dollar goes
The same payment, split open. Mortgage insurance is the slice first-time buyers forget — on the default example it is $176.92 of every payment to start with, and more than $41,000 across the loan if it runs its full term.
The FHA annual MIP schedule — your row is highlighted
HUD sets the annual premium from three things: your term, your base loan amount, and your starting loan-to-value. The schedule below is the current one (in force since March 2023).
| Term | Base loan | Starting LTV | Annual MIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 years | $726,200 or less | 95% or less | 0.50% |
| 30 years | $726,200 or less | Over 95% | 0.55% |
| 30 years | Over $726,200 | 95% or less | 0.70% |
| 30 years | Over $726,200 | Over 95% | 0.75% |
| 15 years | $726,200 or less | 90% or less | 0.40% |
| 15 years | $726,200 or less | Over 90% | 0.65% |
| 15 years | Over $726,200 | 90% or less | 0.65% |
| 15 years | Over $726,200 | Over 90% | 0.85% |
Mortgage insurance, year by year
Each year the annual rate is applied to that year’s falling base-loan balance, so the premium melts slowly even though the rate never changes.
| Year | Loan balance at year end | MIP paid that year |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $388,365.08 | $2,112.25 |
| Year 2 | $383,681.15 | $2,087.80 |
| Year 3 | $378,683.54 | $2,061.72 |
| Year 4 | $373,351.22 | $2,033.88 |
| Year 5 | $367,661.79 | $2,004.18 |
On the default example there is no drop-off year: the starting LTV is 96.5%, above 90%, so MIP runs for the life of the loan. Put 10% or more down and the schedule changes — MIP then stops after year 11.
Upfront MIP — the 1.75% you borrow
Every FHA loan pays an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount at closing. Nearly everyone rolls it into the loan, which is why your loan is bigger than the amount you actually borrowed against the house — and why you pay interest on it for decades.
UFMIP = base loan × 1.75% → added to the loan, or paid in cash
It is charged once, whichever way you pay it. Refinancing into a new FHA loan within three years can earn part of it back (see the FAQs).
Annual MIP — the monthly slice
The second premium is quoted as a yearly percentage but collected monthly, at one-twelfth of the rate times the current base-loan balance. It is the number this calculator picks for you from the HUD schedule — get the term, amount or LTV band wrong and the whole estimate drifts.
Monthly MIP = base-loan balance × annual rate ÷ 12
Unlike private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan, FHA’s annual premium usually cannot be cancelled — the duration rules below decide when it ends.
Run the same home the other ways
FHA is one route to the same front door — price it against the standard maths before you commit.
From house price to true payment
Three steps between the listing price and the number that actually leaves your account each month.
Price minus down payment
Start with the home price and take off your down payment — as little as 3.5% on FHA. What remains is the base loan amount, and the loan-to-value ratio it implies quietly decides your insurance rate and how long you pay it.
UFMIP in, MIP rate picked
The 1.75% upfront premium is added to the loan (or paid in cash), and the calculator reads the HUD schedule for your exact combination of term, loan size and LTV to set the annual MIP rate — no guessing, no flat defaults.
The true monthly and lifetime cost
Principal and interest on the full loan, the first month’s MIP, and your tax and insurance escrows add up to the real payment. The totals underneath show what interest and insurance cost across the whole loan — the part most calculators hide.
The math behind the default example
Step 1 — the base loan. $400,000 price with 3.5% down: $400,000 − $14,000 = $386,000. Loan-to-value is $386,000 ÷ $400,000 = 96.5% — keep that number in mind, it drives everything below.
Step 2 — the upfront premium. $386,000 × 1.75% = $6,755. Rolled into the loan, the amount you actually owe becomes $386,000 + $6,755 = $392,755.
Step 3 — principal and interest. $392,755 at 6.5% over 360 monthly payments: the standard amortisation formula gives $2,482.48 a month, and $500,937.36 of interest if the loan runs full term.
Step 4 — the annual MIP. A 30-year term, a base loan under $726,200 and an LTV over 95% land on the 0.55% row of the HUD schedule. Month one: $386,000 × 0.55% ÷ 12 = $176.92. Because the starting LTV is over 90%, this premium runs for the life of the loan — about $41,657.99 in total, shrinking each year as the balance falls.
Step 5 — escrows and the total. Property tax at 1.1% is $366.67 a month and insurance at $1,800 a year is $150.00. Add the pieces: $2,482.48 + $176.92 + $366.67 + $150.00 = $3,176.06 a month.
Two things worth knowing about FHA insurance
Why there are two premiums at all — and the rule that decides whether the monthly one ever stops.
FHA does not lend you money — it insures your lender against the loss if you default. That insurance is what lets a lender approve 3.5% down and flexible credit in the first place, and both premiums are the price of it. The upfront premium (1.75%) seeds the FHA insurance fund at closing; the annual premium keeps feeding it for as long as your loan is insured.
Two consequences surprise people. First, the insurance protects the lender, not you — it does not pay your mortgage if you lose your job. Second, because the upfront premium is normally financed, you pay interest on it for the life of the loan: on the default example the $6,755 premium adds roughly $12,000 of payments over 30 years. Paying it in cash at closing is unglamorous but genuinely cheaper if you have the funds.
For FHA loans endorsed since June 2013, how long the annual premium lasts depends entirely on the loan-to-value you started with. Start above 90% LTV — which includes every 3.5%-down purchase — and the premium runs for the life of the loan. Start at 90% or below (roughly 10% down or more) and it stops after 11 years of payments.
The difference is real money. The default example on this page pays about $41,658 of MIP over 30 years. A buyer of the same house with 12% down pays a lower 0.50% rate that stops after year 11 — about $17,890 in total. If you start above 90%, the only exits are paying the loan off or refinancing into a conventional loan once you hold about 20% equity, at which point conventional rules — including cancellable PMI — take over. There is no form to file and no anniversary on which FHA simply lets go.
The down payment ladder: 3.5% versus 12% on the same house
The same $400,000 house, the same 6.5% rate, the same tax and insurance, but two very different loans. The table below uses this calculator’s own outputs for both down payments.
With 3.5% down, the down payment is $14,000, the base loan is $386,000, and the loan-to-value is 96.5%. The upfront premium of 1.75% adds $6,755, making a total loan of $392,755. The annual premium rate is 0.55%, because the starting loan-to-value is over 95%, and because it started over 90%, the premium runs for the life of the loan, about $41,657.99 in total. The monthly payment is $3,176.06, made of $2,482.48 of principal and interest, $176.92 of monthly MIP in month one, $366.67 of property tax escrow, and $150.00 of insurance escrow.
With 12% down, the down payment is $48,000, the base loan is $352,000, and the loan-to-value is 88.0%. The upfront premium is still 1.75%, which adds $6,160, making a total loan of $358,160. But the annual premium rate falls to 0.50%, and because the starting loan-to-value is 90% or less, it stops after 11 years, at about $17,890 in total on this page’s figures. The monthly payment is $2,927.15, with principal and interest of $2,263.81 and month-one MIP of $146.67. The monthly saving against the 3.5% case is $248.91, and the lifetime MIP saving is about $23,768, before counting the smaller loan itself.
| Figure | 3.5% down | 12% down |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | $14,000 | $48,000 |
| Base loan | $386,000 | $352,000 |
| Loan-to-value | 96.5% | 88.0% |
| Upfront MIP (1.75%) | $6,755 | $6,160 |
| Total loan | $392,755 | $358,160 |
| Annual MIP rate | 0.55%, life of loan | 0.50%, stops after 11 years |
| Total annual MIP | About $41,657.99 | About $17,890 |
| Monthly payment | $3,176.06 | $2,927.15 |
The lesson is that the down payment helps three times, not once. It shrinks the base loan, it can lower the annual premium rate, and, at the 90% loan-to-value boundary, it can switch the premium from life-of-loan to 11 years. A buyer who can stretch from 9% down to 10% down crosses that boundary, and the premium saving alone is worth more than the extra down payment over the life of the loan. A buyer who cannot reach the boundary still benefits from the smaller loan, but should not expect the premium to stop early, because the 11-year rule tests the starting loan-to-value, not the current one.
The upfront premium: financed or paid in cash
The 1.75% upfront premium is charged once at closing, and the usual choice is to roll it into the loan. That choice has a price, and this page states it plainly.
On the default loan, the upfront premium is $6,755, rolled into the loan to make $392,755 from a $386,000 base. Because it is borrowed money, it draws interest for 30 years at 6.5%, and this page estimates that it adds roughly $12,000 of payments over the full term. Paying it in cash at closing is unglamorous but genuinely cheaper if the funds are available, because the $6,755 paid once replaces about $12,000 paid over thirty years. The trade-off is liquidity: cash used for the premium is cash not available for moving, furnishing, or the emergency fund that a new homeowner needs most in the first year.
The comparison to make is not premium versus no premium, because every FHA loan pays both premiums while it stays an FHA loan. It is financed premium versus cash premium, and the right answer depends on the price of the cash. A buyer with ample reserves after closing should pay cash and save the interest. A buyer whose reserves would fall to near zero by paying cash should finance it and keep the buffer, because the cost of an emergency without reserves exceeds the interest saved. The calculator shows the financed case, because that is the usual case, but the cash case is the same loan with $6,755 less principal, and the payment difference can be read directly by reducing the price or increasing the down payment by that amount in the calculator’s inputs.
How the monthly premium shrinks, year by year
The annual premium is a percentage of the balance, so it falls as the balance falls. The table below is this page’s own year-by-year schedule for the default loan.
In year one, the balance ends at $388,365.08 and the MIP paid that year is $2,112.25. In year two, the balance ends at $383,681.15 and the MIP is $2,087.80. In year three, $378,683.54 and $2,061.72. In year four, $373,351.22 and $2,033.88. In year five, $367,661.79 and $2,004.18. The decline is slow, about $25 to $28 less each year in these early years, because the balance itself falls slowly while the loan is young and the payments are mostly interest. Over the full 30 years the annual premium totals about $41,657.99, and the slow early decline is why the total is so large: the premium stays near $2,000 a year for a long time before the balance has fallen enough to pull it down materially.
That slow decline is also why refinancing out of FHA matters so much for borrowers who started above 90% loan-to-value. The premium does not stop on its own, it does not step down at an anniversary, and it does not fall away when the loan-to-value later drops below 90%, because the duration rule tests the starting loan-to-value. The only exits are paying the loan off or refinancing into a conventional loan once about 20% equity is held, at which point conventional rules, including cancellable PMI, take over. A borrower who reaches 20% equity and stays in FHA is paying a premium they no longer need to pay, and the year-by-year schedule on this page shows exactly how much that delay costs: roughly $2,000 a year, declining slowly, for every year spent waiting.
The total payment, piece by piece
The headline $3,176.06 is four different bills added together, and each one behaves differently over the life of the loan.
Principal and interest, $2,482.48, is fixed for the life of a fixed-rate loan, and it is the only piece that amortizes the loan itself. Over 30 years it totals $500,937.36 of interest on top of the $392,755 borrowed. The monthly MIP, $176.92 in month one, shrinks as the balance falls, and totals about $41,657.99 over the life of the loan in the default case. Property tax escrow, $366.67 a month at a 1.1% rate, is $4,400 a year, and it is not fixed: it moves with the assessed value and the local rate, and a reassessment after purchase can move it materially. Homeowners insurance escrow, $150.00 a month, is $1,800 a year, and it too moves with the market, the property, and the coverage chosen. HOA dues, $0.00 on the default, are a fifth piece where they apply, and they are the piece most often forgotten in a first budget, because they are not part of the loan at all.
Reading the payment this way prevents the commonest budgeting error, which is treating the whole $3,176.06 as fixed. Only the principal and interest piece is fixed. The MIP piece falls slowly. The tax and insurance pieces can rise, and they rise without any change in the loan. A buyer whose tax escrow rises by $100 a month after a reassessment has not been overcharged by the lender. The lender is collecting what the tax bill requires, and the payment has risen because the tax bill rose. Budget for the fixed piece with certainty, and budget for the escrow pieces with a margin, because they are the pieces that move.
The eligibility checklist, in HUD Handbook 4000.1 terms
FHA eligibility is a checklist, not a single score. Credit decides the down payment tier, and the rest of the list decides whether the loan can be insured at all.
Credit score decides the minimum down payment through two tiers in the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1: a score of 580 or higher qualifies for maximum financing with 3.5% down, and a score from 500 to 579 still qualifies but needs 10% down, while below 500 FHA insurance is not available. The down payment is calculated on the adjusted value, the lower of the purchase price and the appraised value, so an appraisal below the price raises the cash needed, and the score is not the whole credit story: lenders also review payment history and overall credit use, and most lenders set their own minimums above the handbook floors, so meeting the FHA tier does not guarantee any particular lender will approve the loan. Income and employment must be stable and likely to continue, with a two-year history the standard expectation, though not necessarily with the same employer, and the debt-to-income ratio is assessed against benchmarks of around 31% for housing expense and 43% for total debts, which are not absolute maximums: higher ratios can be approved where compensating factors, such as substantial cash reserves, support them.
The property side of the checklist is just as firm. The home must be the borrower principal residence, with at least one borrower moving in within 60 days of closing and intending to live there for at least a year, and FHA does not insure loans for investment properties or vacation homes. The property may have one to four units, with the borrower living in one of them, and it must pass an FHA appraisal confirming it meets HUD minimum property standards for health, safety, and soundness, which is a condition of the insurance, not a formality. Mortgage insurance applies to every FHA loan, with the 1.75% upfront premium and the annual premium this page already models, and the loan amount must sit within the FHA limit for the county, which is the subject of the next section. A borrower who clears every item on this list still needs a lender to underwrite the file, and a borrower who fails one item needs that item fixed, not a different calculator.
Loan limits are county by county: why no single number is printed here
The FHA limit for a county is a legal ceiling, set annually. A single national number would be wrong for most counties, so this page does not print one.
FHA loan limits are set by county and reset each year, with a floor for most counties and higher ceilings for high-cost areas, and the limit that applies to a purchase is the limit for the county where the property sits, for the year of the loan, for the number of units. That is why a limit quoted for one county, or for last year, cannot be carried across to another purchase, and why this page models the payment for the price entered without checking the price against a limit: the calculator does not know the county, and guessing a limit would silently approve prices that the program would not insure. Before relying on any price, confirm the current limit for the property county with the lender, who applies the limit in force at the time of the loan, and treat any limit found online without a county and a year attached as unusable, because those two details are what make it a limit at all.
The limit interacts with the appraisal in the same way the down payment does. Where the appraised value comes in below the purchase price, the adjusted value falls to the appraisal, the minimum down payment is calculated on the lower figure, and the borrower must cover the gap between the loan and the price in cash or renegotiate, as the FAQ on this page already explains for appraisals generally. Where the price exceeds the county limit, the excess cannot be financed as part of the FHA loan, whatever the down payment, and the choice is a lower price, more cash, or a different loan type. Confirm the limit, the appraisal, and the down payment together, in that order, before treating any monthly figure on this page as the figure that will actually close.
FHA loan questions, answered
The insurance, the down payment, the limits and the refinance routes — in plain terms.
What is MIP on an FHA loan?
MIP is FHA’s mortgage insurance premium — the cost of the insurance that protects your lender if you default, and the reason FHA can approve low down payments. It comes in two parts. The upfront premium is 1.75% of the base loan amount, charged once at closing and usually rolled into the loan. The annual premium is a percentage of your balance — 0.40% to 0.85% depending on your term, loan size and loan-to-value — collected monthly at one-twelfth of the yearly amount. Every FHA loan pays both; there is no way to waive them while the loan stays an FHA loan.
When does FHA mortgage insurance go away?
It depends on the loan-to-value you started with. If your original LTV was over 90% — true for every 3.5%-down purchase — the annual premium runs for the life of the loan and never drops off on its own. If your LTV was 90% or less, the premium stops automatically after 11 years of payments. These rules cover loans endorsed since June 2013. Unlike conventional PMI, you cannot request cancellation at 20% equity; the practical exits are paying the loan off or refinancing into a conventional loan once your equity and credit allow it.
How much do I need for an FHA down payment?
The famous 3.5% minimum is available with a credit score of 580 or higher. With a score between 500 and 579, FHA requires 10% down instead. Below 500, FHA itself will not insure the loan, though individual lenders set their own — often higher — minimums on top of FHA’s. The down payment does not have to be entirely your own savings: FHA allows gift funds from family and certain assistance programs, which is one reason the program is popular with first-time buyers. This calculator accepts any down payment so you can compare, and flags anything under the 3.5% floor.
Can I get a refund of the upfront MIP?
Sometimes, part of it. If you refinance into a new FHA loan within three years of your original closing, FHA applies a partial refund of the original upfront premium toward the new loan’s premium — the refund starts at a meaningful share in the first year and shrinks month by month until it reaches zero at three years. Refinancing into a conventional loan earns no refund at all: the premium stays with FHA. The refund is a credit inside the new loan rather than cash back, and your lender calculates the exact figure at refinance time.
How much can I borrow with an FHA loan?
FHA sets a maximum insurable loan amount for every county, and it changes from place to place and year to year. High-cost counties allow considerably more than the standard limit, while most of the country sits at the baseline figure — so there is no single national number worth memorising. What this calculator uses is the $726,200 boundary inside the MIP schedule itself: base loans above it pay the higher annual premium rates. For the exact limit where you are buying, check the current figure for that county with your lender before you shop.
What is an FHA streamline refinance?
It is FHA’s simplified refinance for people who already have an FHA loan: reduced paperwork, usually no new appraisal and no income re-verification, as long as the refinance lowers your payment or moves you from an adjustable to a fixed rate. You pay a new upfront premium on the new loan — partly offset by the partial refund of the old one if you are inside three years — and the annual premium starts again at current rates and duration rules. It does not remove mortgage insurance; for that, the route is a conventional refinance once you have the equity and credit for one.
Does a bigger down payment always lower the monthly payment?
Yes, but not by the same amount at every step, because the down payment helps three times: it shrinks the base loan, it can lower the annual premium rate, and at the 90% loan-to-value boundary it can switch the premium from life-of-loan to 11 years. On a $400,000 house at 6.5%, moving from 3.5% down to 12% down cuts the monthly payment from $3,176.06 to $2,927.15, a saving of $248.91 a month, and cuts lifetime MIP from about $41,657.99 to about $17,890. A smaller step that does not cross the 90% boundary still saves money through the smaller loan, but it does not unlock the 11-year stop. Check where the step lands before assuming the saving is proportional to the extra down payment.
Can I pay the upfront premium in cash instead of financing it?
Yes. The upfront premium is 1.75% of the base loan, charged once at closing, and it is normally rolled into the loan, which is why the default loan is $392,755 rather than $386,000. Paying it in cash at closing removes $6,755 of principal, and this page estimates that financing it adds roughly $12,000 of payments over 30 years at 6.5%. The trade-off is liquidity: cash used for the premium is cash not available for moving, furnishing, or the emergency fund a new homeowner needs most in the first year. A buyer with ample reserves after closing should pay cash and save the interest; a buyer whose reserves would fall to near zero should finance it and keep the buffer.
Why does my lender’s payment include tax and insurance?
Because the headline payment on this page is the true monthly payment: principal and interest, plus the monthly MIP, plus property tax escrow and homeowners insurance escrow. On the default loan that is $2,482.48 plus $176.92 plus $366.67 plus $150.00, totalling $3,176.06. A lender collects the tax and insurance pieces monthly so the annual bills can be paid from the escrow account when they fall due, rather than arriving as lump sums. Only the principal and interest piece is fixed; the MIP piece shrinks as the balance falls, and the tax and insurance pieces move with assessments, rates and coverage. A payment that rises after a reassessment has usually risen because the tax bill rose, not because the loan changed.
What happens to MIP if I refinance into a conventional loan?
It ends, because MIP is an FHA charge and a conventional loan does not carry it. For FHA loans endorsed since June 2013, starting above 90% loan-to-value means the annual premium runs for the life of the loan, with no form to file and no anniversary on which FHA simply lets go. The only exits while the loan stays FHA are paying it off or refinancing. Once about 20% equity is held, refinancing into a conventional loan replaces FHA insurance with conventional rules, including cancellable PMI, which can later be removed as equity grows. The year-by-year schedule on this page shows the cost of waiting: roughly $2,000 a year of MIP, declining slowly, for every year spent in FHA after 20% equity is reached.
Do I qualify for an FHA loan?
You qualify if you clear the whole checklist: a credit score of at least 500, with 580 or higher for the 3.5% down payment tier, stable income the lender can verify, a debt-to-income ratio the lender accepts, and a one-to-four-unit property that will be your principal residence and meets HUD property standards. Meeting the FHA tiers does not guarantee approval, because lenders may set stricter requirements, and the lender underwrites the final decision.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
580 or higher for maximum financing with 3.5% down, and 500 to 579 with 10% down, under HUD Handbook 4000.1. Below 500, FHA insurance is not available. Lenders often require higher scores than the handbook floors, so ask the lender for its minimum before assuming the tier applies.
Are FHA loans only for first-time buyers?
No. FHA loans are open to repeat buyers as well as first-time buyers, and eligibility does not depend on whether you have owned a home before. The restriction is on use, not on history: the property must be your principal residence, and FHA does not insure loans for investment properties or vacation homes.
More home-loan tools
Rates, payoffs and the refinance maths for when the FHA years are behind you.