Mortgage Amortization Calculator
Generate your full mortgage payment schedule showing principal paid, interest paid, and balance remaining at every step from month one through final payoff.
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Enter your values above to see the results.
Tips & Notes
- ✓Download your full amortization schedule and mark the date your balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price — that is when you can request PMI removal.
- ✓The first year of a 30-year mortgage at 6.75% sends only about 13% of each payment to principal — knowing this sets realistic equity-building expectations.
- ✓Year 22 is the crossover point on a typical 30-year 6.75% mortgage — before that, most of each payment is interest; after, most reduces principal.
- ✓Keep your amortization schedule when refinancing — compare remaining interest on both loans over your actual expected hold period, not just the new term.
- ✓The schedule shows your balance on any given date — useful for calculating equity, PMI removal timing, and comparing against home value for refinancing decisions.
- ✓Request a payoff statement from your lender before any large extra payment — interest accrues daily and the exact payoff amount changes constantly.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Assuming your mortgage balance is roughly proportional to time remaining — at year 15 of a 30-year loan, you still owe about 82% of the original balance.
- ✗Comparing cumulative payments to the original loan to gauge progress — cumulative payments include interest and grow far faster than the balance falls.
- ✗Refinancing repeatedly into new 30-year terms without comparing the new full amortization schedule — each restart extends the heavy-interest front period.
- ✗Making extra payments without understanding where in the schedule you are — a $5,000 payment in year 1 saves far more interest than in year 25.
- ✗Not requesting a payoff quote before large extra payments — the payoff amount changes daily due to interest accrual and is always slightly different from the schedule.
- ✗Assuming the midpoint in time (payment 180 of 360) is when the balance reaches 50% — the balance actually reaches 50% around payment 252, at roughly year 21.
Mortgage Amortization Calculator Overview
A mortgage amortization schedule is the complete timeline of your loan — every payment, the exact split between principal and interest, and your remaining balance after each one. Most borrowers never look at it, and most would be shocked if they did.
This calculator generates your full schedule and makes the numbers impossible to ignore.
What each field means:
- Loan Amount — the original or current principal balance of the mortgage
- Interest Rate — your annual mortgage rate; determines how much of each payment goes to interest
- Loan Term — total repayment period in years; determines the number of payments
- Down Payment — affects the starting loan amount; enter 0 if showing current balance
What your results mean:
- Monthly Payment — your fixed payment amount for the entire term
- Total Interest Paid — all interest over the full term; frequently exceeds the original loan
- Payoff Time — when you make the final payment and own the property outright
- Running balance — in the full schedule: exactly what you owe after each payment
Example — $300,000 mortgage at 6.75% / 30 years:
Monthly payment: $1,946 Month 1: $1,688 interest (87%) + $258 principal (13%) — balance: $299,742 Month 60 (year 5): $1,601 interest + $345 principal — balance: $282,547 Month 180 (year 15): $1,413 interest + $533 principal — balance: $247,562 Month 264 (year 22): interest finally drops below 50% of payment Month 360: final payment — total interest paid: $400,560 You pay $700,560 total for a $300,000 loan.
EX: When does the $300,000 balance reach key milestones? $270,000 (10% paid off): Month 43 — year 3.5 $240,000 (20% paid off): Month 96 — year 8 $210,000 (30% paid off): Month 162 — year 13.5 $150,000 (50% paid off): Month 252 — year 21 The halfway point on your balance takes 70% of the loan term to arrive.
Principal vs interest by year — $300,000 at 6.75%:
| Year | Interest Paid | Principal Paid | Balance Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $19,877 | $3,475 | $296,525 |
| Year 5 | $19,175 | $4,177 | $282,547 |
| Year 10 | $18,012 | $5,340 | $262,018 |
| Year 20 | $14,444 | $8,908 | $207,508 |
| Year 30 | $1,104 | — | $0 |
Cumulative interest paid over time — $300,000 at 6.75%:
| After Year | Total Paid | Interest Paid | Balance Still Owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 5 | $116,760 | $96,143 | $282,547 |
| Year 10 | $233,520 | $185,773 | $262,018 |
| Year 20 | $467,040 | $341,069 | $207,508 |
| Year 30 | $700,560 | $400,560 | $0 |
After 15 years of faithful monthly payments on a 30-year mortgage, you still owe roughly 82% of the original loan. The schedule front-loads interest by design — not as a bank trick, but as the mathematical consequence of calculating interest on a large outstanding balance. This is why the last 5 years of a mortgage feel easy and the first 15 years feel like running in place, and why every dollar of extra principal paid early eliminates far more future interest than the same dollar paid later.
Frequently Asked Questions
A complete table of every loan payment from first to last, showing for each: total payment amount, the interest portion, the principal reduction, and the remaining balance. This makes visible the gradual shift from mostly-interest to mostly-principal that defines every fixed-rate loan. The schedule is the only way to see exactly when PMI can be removed, how much equity you have at any point, and precisely what any extra payment achieves on your specific loan.
Because interest is calculated on the remaining balance each month, and early in the loan that balance is still large. On a $300,000 mortgage at 6.75%, the first payment of $1,946 covers $1,688 in interest on the $300,000 balance, leaving only $258 to reduce the principal. After 10 years of $1,946 monthly payments totaling $233,520, the balance has fallen from $300,000 to only $262,018. This is the unavoidable mathematics of compounding interest on a large outstanding balance.
Interest for each payment equals the remaining balance multiplied by the monthly rate (annual rate divided by 12). The principal portion is whatever remains after subtracting interest from the fixed monthly payment. Because the interest portion decreases slightly each month as the balance falls, the principal portion increases by the same amount — keeping the total payment fixed. This self-reinforcing shift is why the final years of a mortgage are almost entirely principal with very little interest.
Refinancing into a 15-year term saves substantially on total interest but increases the monthly payment. On a $280,000 remaining balance at 7%, a 15-year refinance at 6.5% means roughly $2,440/month versus $1,863 on a new 30-year — but total interest drops dramatically. However, if refinancing resets the clock on a loan 10 years into its term, you may pay more total interest even at a lower rate because you extend the total repayment period. Always compare complete amortization schedules, not just monthly payments.
On a $300,000 mortgage at 6.75% over 30 years, the balance reaches $240,000 (80% of original) around month 103 — roughly 8.5 years. At that point you can request PMI removal if you had under 20% down. At 78% of the original value around month 118, the lender must cancel PMI automatically under the Homeowners Protection Act. Market appreciation can help you reach these thresholds sooner — some lenders accept a new appraisal showing current value rather than waiting for scheduled payments.
Negative amortization occurs when monthly payments are insufficient to cover the interest accruing on the balance — the unpaid interest is added to principal, causing the balance to grow rather than shrink. It was common in some adjustable-rate mortgage products before the 2008 crisis, particularly payment-option ARMs. Standard fixed-rate mortgages cannot negatively amortize — the payment is calculated to ensure the balance reaches zero at the end of the term. Today these products are heavily restricted by federal mortgage regulations.