How to Get Rid of PMI: Ways to Stop Paying Mortgage Insurance
If you have a conventional loan on your primary home, you can ask to cancel private mortgage insurance (PMI) once your balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and it must end on its own at 78%. Extra payments, a new appraisal or a refinance can get you there sooner.
Key takeaways
- You can ask to cancel PMI at 80% of the home's original value if you're current and have a good payment history.
- PMI must end automatically at 78% on the original schedule, or halfway through the loan if that comes first, as long as you're current.
- Extra principal lets you ask sooner: in our example, $200 a month saves $4,650 of PMI.
- On Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, a higher appraisal can end PMI early once the loan is two years old.
- FHA and lender-paid mortgage insurance follow different rules, and refinancing is often the only way out.
Estimate when your PMI can end
Enter the numbers from your loan papers to see when you can ask to cancel PMI, when it ends on its own, and what you'd pay until then.
The estimate assumes a fixed-rate loan paid on time and a PMI amount that doesn't change, with any extra principal starting with your next payment. It counts PMI on every payment up to the one that reaches each limit. Your servicer's records decide the real dates. See our terms of use.
If you've paid extra in the past, your balance is lower than the schedule, so compare your latest statement with the 80% balance shown above.
What PMI is and what it costs
PMI protects your lender, not you, if you stop paying. Lenders usually require it on a conventional loan when you put down less than 20%, or refinance with less than 20% equity, and most PMI is paid monthly with your mortgage.
The cost depends mainly on your down payment and credit score. Freddie Mac estimates roughly $30 to $70 a month per $100,000 borrowed, or about $108 to $252 a month on a $360,000 loan. Our example's $150 a month equals 0.50% of the loan per year.
Your rights under federal law
The Homeowners Protection Act (HPA) gives you three rights. They cover borrower-paid PMI on a single-family primary residence, on loans closed on or after July 29, 1999, but not FHA, VA or USDA loans. If your loan was classified as high-risk when it closed, the first two rights don't apply, but PMI must still end by the halfway point, and sometimes sooner.
1. Ask to cancel at 80%
You can ask your servicer to cancel PMI when your balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the original value, or sooner with extra payments. The original value is the lower of the price and the appraised value when you bought (for a refinance, the appraisal at that time). You must:
- ask in writing;
- have a good payment history: nothing 30 or more days late in the last 12 months, and nothing 60 or more days late in the 12 months before that;
- be current on your payments;
- show, if your servicer asks, that the home's value hasn't fallen below the original value, for example with an appraisal; and
- certify, if asked, that there's no second mortgage or other junior lien.
2. Automatic cancellation at 78%
Your servicer must end PMI when your balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value on the original schedule, if you're current. You don't have to ask, and the law doesn't make it depend on your home's current value. Extra payments don't move this date. If you're behind, PMI ends once you catch up.
3. Final cancellation at the halfway point
If PMI is still in place at the midpoint of the term, such as 15 years into a 30-year loan, it must end the next month if you're current. That mainly matters with interest-only periods, balloon payments or high rates: with 3% down at 10%, the halfway point comes 7 months before the 78% date.
Once PMI ends, unearned premiums must be refunded within 45 days. Your servicer must also send a yearly statement of your rights, with a phone number to call.
4 ways to get rid of PMI
1. Pay your balance down to 80%
The 80% request can use your actual balance, so extra principal, monthly or as a lump sum, moves the date up. Ask your servicer to apply it to principal. Our mortgage payoff calculator shows how much sooner you'd get there.
2. Wait for automatic cancellation at 78%
Doing nothing is the easiest route but costs more: in our example, waiting means 14 more PMI payments, or $2,100.
3. Get a new appraisal if your home is worth more
If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns your loan, you can also ask to drop PMI based on the home's current value. For a single-family primary residence:
| Loan age | Balance limit (share of current value) |
|---|---|
| Under 2 years | 80%, only after substantial improvements |
| 2 to 5 years | 75% |
| Over 5 years | 80% |
Substantial improvements means renovations such as a new kitchen or bathroom or added square footage, not routine repairs. The same payment-history rules apply, and you pay for the valuation: Fannie Mae's servicing guide sets $190 for a broker price opinion, or $450 when an appraisal is required. In our example, the balance after 3 years is $347,102, so the home would need to appraise for at least $462,803. Other investors set their own rules.
4. Refinance
A new conventional loan for 80% or less of your home's current value usually doesn't need PMI, but refinancing has closing costs. If a refinance costs $5,000 and its only saving is the $150 a month of PMI, it takes 34 months to break even. Try our refinance calculator.
Example: a $400,000 home with 10% down
You buy a $400,000 home with 10% down, borrowing $360,000 at 6.5% for 30 years with $150 a month of PMI. Here's what $200 a month of extra principal changes:
| No extra payments | $200 extra a month | |
|---|---|---|
| Principal and interest | $2,275.44 | $2,475.44 |
| Balance needed to ask (80%) | $320,000 | $320,000 |
| You can ask to cancel after | 7 years 11 months | 5 years 4 months |
| PMI paid until then | $14,250 | $9,600 |
| PMI ends automatically after | 9 years 1 month | 9 years 1 month |
| PMI paid if you wait | $16,350 | $16,350 |
Asking at 80% instead of waiting saves $2,100. The extra $200 lets you ask 2 years 7 months sooner and pay $4,650 less PMI, though the automatic date doesn't move. Keep paying it after PMI ends and the loan is paid off 6 years 1 month early, saving about $108,917 in interest.
Your down payment matters most. On the same home at 6.5%:
| Down payment | Loan amount | Can ask after | Ends on its own after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $388,000 | 11 years 1 month | 12 years |
| 5% | $380,000 | 10 years 4 months | 11 years 3 months |
| 10% | $360,000 | 7 years 11 months | 9 years 1 month |
| 15% | $340,000 | 4 years 8 months | 6 years 3 months |
| 10%, 15-year loan | $360,000 | 2 years 8 months | 3 years 1 month |
The balance falls slowly at first because early payments are mostly interest (see how amortization works), and a 15-year loan pays it down much faster.
How to ask your servicer
- Find your dates. Your closing papers list when you can ask and when PMI ends automatically.
- Check your balance. Divide your latest statement balance by the original value.
- Find out who owns your loan. Ask your servicer or use the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan lookup tools.
- Ask what's required. Call the number on your yearly PMI notice and ask what proof of value is needed.
- Send a written request and keep a copy.
- Check your statements. PMI should disappear, and unearned premiums should be refunded within 45 days.
FHA loans work differently
FHA loans have a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) set by HUD instead of PMI, and the HPA doesn't apply. You pay an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan, at closing or added to the loan, plus an annual premium paid monthly. On a 30-year FHA loan endorsed since March 20, 2023, the annual premium is 0.50% of the balance with at least 5% down, or 0.55% with less (very large loans pay more). For case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013, how long you pay it depends on your down payment:
| FHA down payment | How long you pay annual MIP |
|---|---|
| 10% or more | 11 years |
| Less than 10% | The life of the loan |
With 3.5% down on a $400,000 home, the base loan is $386,000, the upfront premium is $6,755, and the annual premium lasts for the life of the loan. Paying down the balance won't cancel it, so the way out is to refinance into a conventional loan or sell. With 20% equity, the new loan usually needs no PMI. Loans with case numbers assigned before June 3, 2013 follow older rules: HUD generally cancels MIP at 78% of the original value, after at least five years on loans longer than 15 years.
Lender-paid mortgage insurance
With lender-paid mortgage insurance (LPMI), the lender pays the premium and usually charges a higher interest rate. Your lender must tell you in writing before closing that LPMI can't be canceled and ends only when you refinance or pay off the loan. Within 30 days after the date borrower-paid PMI would have ended, your servicer must also send a notice suggesting you review financing options that could remove it. You pay that higher rate for as long as you keep the loan.
Frequently asked questions
Do extra payments make PMI end automatically sooner?
No. Automatic cancellation follows the original schedule. Extra payments let you ask sooner, because the 80% request can use your actual balance.
How soon after buying can I get rid of PMI?
The HPA sets no minimum wait, so a large lump-sum payment can get you to 80% quickly. Requests based on a new appraisal usually need a loan at least two years old, unless improvements raised the value.
Is PMI tax-deductible?
Starting with tax year 2026, qualified mortgage insurance premiums are deductible again as mortgage interest if you itemize, with a phase-out at higher incomes. See IRS Publication 936 or ask a tax professional.
Do VA and USDA loans have PMI?
No. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance, though many borrowers pay a one-time funding fee. USDA loans charge an upfront fee and an annual fee in the monthly payment. The 80% and 78% rules don't apply to either.
What if my servicer won't cancel my PMI?
Ask for the reason in writing. If you think the servicer isn't following the law, you can submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
This guide is general education, not financial advice. See our terms of use.
Last reviewed: October 2026