Mortgage Payoff Calculator
See how much sooner you could pay off your mortgage, and how much interest you'd save, by paying extra each month, making a lump-sum payment or switching to biweekly payments. Or pick a target date and find the extra payment that gets you there.
Results are estimates for a fixed-rate loan and cover principal and interest only, not taxes, insurance or PMI. Interest is charged monthly at 1/12 of your annual rate, and every extra dollar goes to principal. Biweekly payments are modeled as 1/12 of your payment added each month (13 payments a year), and a lump sum is applied together with that month's payment. See our terms of use.
How to use this calculator
Enter your current loan balance (the principal you still owe) and interest rate from your latest mortgage statement, then the years left on your loan. A 30-year loan you took out five years ago has about 25 years left. For 22 years and 6 months, enter 22.5. Under that box, the calculator shows your required principal-and-interest payment so you can check it against your statement.
Then choose your plan:
- Pay extra each month: enter the extra amount to see your new payoff date, the time you'd save and the interest you'd save.
- Be mortgage-free by a target date: enter how many years from now you want the loan gone. The calculator works out the extra monthly payment you'd need.
Open More options to add a one-time lump sum or switch to biweekly payments. Below the results, compare your current schedule with your plan, or open the yearly table to see both balances.
How the calculator works
First it finds your required monthly payment with the standard amortization formula:
M = P × r(1 + r)n ÷ [(1 + r)n − 1]
Here M is the payment, P is your balance, r is the monthly rate (the annual rate ÷ 12) and n is the number of monthly payments left. Then it works through the loan month by month: it charges interest on the remaining balance, subtracts your payment plus any extra, and repeats until the balance reaches zero. It runs once without your extra payments and once with them.
Example: with a $250,000 balance at 6.5% and 25 years left, r = 0.065 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.005417 and n = 300, so the required payment is $1,688.02. In the first month, $1,354.17 of it is interest and only $333.85 reduces your balance. Add $200 a month and that first month's principal jumps to $533.85. Each extra dollar shrinks the balance that all future interest is charged on, so the effect builds over time. The loan is paid off in 19 years 6 months, which is 5 years 6 months sooner. Total interest falls from $256,405 to $191,477, a saving of $64,928.
Working backward, to be mortgage-free in 15 years you'd need to pay $489.76 extra each month, for a total of $2,177.78 a month. That would save $114,408 in interest.
Ways to pay off your mortgage early
Here's how different strategies compare on the same $250,000 loan at 6.5% with 25 years left:
| Strategy | Payoff time | Time saved | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 extra a month | 21 years 11 months | 3 years 1 month | $37,671 |
| $200 extra a month | 19 years 6 months | 5 years 6 months | $64,928 |
| $500 extra a month | 14 years 11 months | 10 years 1 month | $115,668 |
| Biweekly payments | 20 years 10 months | 4 years 2 months | $49,728 |
| $10,000 lump sum with your next payment | 22 years 9 months | 2 years 3 months | $36,747 |
| $10,000 lump sum in 5 years (month 60) | 23 years 4 months | 1 year 8 months | $24,666 |
- Extra every month. The simplest and most flexible method. Even $50 or $100 helps, and you can change or stop it at any time.
- Lump sums. A bonus, tax refund or inheritance can take years off at once. Timing matters: the same $10,000 saves $36,747 if you pay it with your next payment but $24,666 if you wait five years, because it has less time to cut interest.
- Biweekly payments. Paying half your payment every two weeks adds up to 26 half-payments, or 13 full payments, a year instead of 12. On the example loan, that's the same as adding $140.67 to each monthly payment.
- Recasting. After a large lump-sum payment, some lenders will recast (re-amortize) your loan: they recalculate the payment on the lower balance over the time you have left. Your payment drops, but your payoff date doesn't change. For example, pay $10,000 with your next payment and recast, and your payment falls from $1,688.02 to $1,620.41, or $67.61 less a month, saving $10,216 in interest. Keep paying $1,688.02 instead and the same $10,000 saves $36,747. Recasting is up to your lender, and some charge a fee.
- Refinancing to a shorter term. Shorter loans often come with lower rates, but the higher payment is required every month, and refinancing has closing costs. Compare the numbers with our refinance calculator and our guide to the 15-year vs. 30-year mortgage.
Should you pay off your mortgage early or invest?
Every extra dollar you put toward a 6.5% mortgage earns, in effect, a guaranteed 6.5% return, because it avoids interest at that rate. Before you prepay, it usually makes sense to cover these first:
- An emergency fund. Money you put into your home is hard to get back quickly. You'd have to sell, refinance or borrow against it.
- Your full employer match. If your employer matches your retirement plan contributions, contributing enough to get the whole match is hard to beat.
- High-interest debt. Credit cards usually charge far higher rates than a mortgage, so paying them off first saves more. Our debt payoff calculator can help you plan.
After that, compare your mortgage rate with what you could earn elsewhere. If safe savings pay less than your mortgage rate, prepaying is the better deal. Stocks have historically earned more over long periods, but their returns aren't guaranteed, and in some years they lose money. Mortgage interest is deductible only if you itemize, so if you take the standard deduction, you pay the full rate. Many people also value being mortgage-free before retirement, and you can split extra money between both goals. Our compound interest calculator shows what the invested part could grow to. For a big decision, a qualified financial professional can help you weigh the trade-offs.
Check for a prepayment penalty
A prepayment penalty is a fee some lenders charge if you pay off all or part of your loan early. For most home loans applied for on or after January 10, 2014, federal rules allow one only on a qualified mortgage whose rate can't go up and that isn't a higher-priced loan. Even then, it can apply only during the first three years, and it's capped at 2% of the amount you prepay in the first two years and 1% in the third. A lender that offers you a loan with a penalty must also offer you one without. FHA loans closed on or after January 21, 2015, and VA loans can be prepaid at any time without a penalty.
Where penalties do exist, they usually apply when you pay off the whole loan, for example by selling or refinancing, not to small extra payments. To be sure, check your monthly statement, which generally must say whether a prepayment penalty may be charged, or page 1 of your Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure. You can also ask your servicer.
Make sure your extra payment goes to principal
Your servicer must credit a full regular payment on the day it arrives, but you should tell it how to apply anything extra. Use the additional-principal box on your servicer's payment page if it has one, or follow its instructions for principal-only payments. Then check your next statement, which generally must show how your payment was split between principal, interest and escrow. If an extra payment wasn't applied correctly, send your servicer a written notice of error. It generally must acknowledge it within five business days and respond within 30 business days.
Biweekly payment programs: watch the fees
Some servicers and outside companies sell biweekly payment programs, and some charge for them. In 2015, the CFPB took action against a company whose biweekly program typically charged a $295 enrollment fee plus $2.50 per withdrawal. It withdrew money from customers' bank accounts more often but still paid their mortgages on the original monthly schedule, and the savings it advertised came from paying more each year, not from paying more often. The company had to refund $33.4 million in fees.
You can get nearly the same result for free: divide your monthly payment by 12 and add that amount to every payment, which is exactly how this calculator models biweekly payments. Or ask your servicer whether it offers biweekly payments at no cost.
Frequently asked questions
Does paying extra lower my monthly payment?
No. On a fixed-rate loan, extra payments shorten the loan, but your required payment stays the same until the loan is paid off. To lower the payment itself, you'd need to recast or refinance.
Why doesn't the required payment match my statement?
Your statement's total usually includes escrow for property taxes and insurance. Compare only the principal-and-interest part. If that still differs a little, your time left probably isn't a whole number of years. Try adjusting it, for example 23.5 instead of 24.
Can I stop making extra payments later?
Yes. Extra payments are voluntary, so you can pause or stop them at any time. You keep the progress you've made, so the loan still ends sooner than it would have. A shorter-term refinance doesn't give you that flexibility.
Can extra payments help me get rid of PMI?
Yes. On most conventional loans, you can ask your servicer in writing to cancel PMI once your balance falls to 80% of your home's original value, as long as you meet the other requirements, such as a good payment history. Extra payments get you there sooner. Our guide on how to get rid of PMI explains the steps.
Does this calculator work for an adjustable-rate mortgage?
Only as a rough guide. It assumes your rate never changes, but an ARM's rate and payment can change after the initial fixed period. Try the calculator at a higher rate to see a range of outcomes.
Last reviewed: October 2026