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FHA loan calculator

Your full FHA payment with upfront and annual MIP, the date the insurance actually ends, and its true lifetime cost on the declining balance.

Inputs
FHA allows as little as 3.5% down. At 10% or more, the mortgage insurance ends after 11 years instead of running for the life of the loan.
Post March 2023 rates: 0.55% under 5% down, 0.50% at 5% or more, for a standard-balance 30-year loan. High-balance loans run higher.
Finance the upfront MIP into the loanThe 1.75% upfront premium is usually rolled into the balance rather than paid at closing.
More options
Result
Total monthly payment
$3,343
Principal and interest
$2,620
Monthly MIP, year one
$188
Property tax
$385
Home insurance
$150
Mortgage insurance ends
Life of the loan
Upfront MIP (1.75%)
$7,093
Base loan
$405,300
Loan with upfront MIP
$412,393
Loan to value
96.5%
Total MIP over the loan
$51,670
What a flat-rate calc would bill
$68,045
Flat method overstates by
$23,468
Worth knowing
With under 10% down the mortgage insurance runs for the life of the loan and cannot be cancelled by paying the balance down. It comes off only by refinancing out of the FHA loan. The conventional 78% loan-to-value cancellation does not apply to FHA.

Key takeaways

  • On a $420,000 home at 3.5% down, the FHA payment is $3,343 a month, including $188 of monthly MIP and $7,093 of upfront MIP.
  • With under 10% down the annual MIP runs for the life of the loan and cannot be cancelled by paying the balance down, only by refinancing.
  • The 78% loan-to-value auto-cancellation is a conventional-PMI rule and does not apply to FHA, though some calculators wrongly offer it.
  • Annual MIP is charged on the declining average balance, totalling $44,577 here, where a flat-rate calculation overstates it by $23,468.
  • For 2026 the upfront MIP is 1.75% and the standard annual MIP is 0.55% under 5% down or 0.50% at 5% or more, per the March 2023 rates.

What an FHA loan really costs each month

An FHA loan carries two mortgage insurance premiums: an upfront MIP of 1.75% of the loan, usually financed in, and an annual MIP paid monthly for as long as the rules require. They are the price of the low down payment, and they are where every FHA payment estimate lives or dies.

On a $420,000 home at the 3.5% minimum down, the base loan is $405,300. The upfront MIP of $7,093 rolls in to make the loan $412,393, principal and interest come to $2,620, and the first-year annual MIP at 0.55% adds $188 a month. With property tax and insurance, the payment is $3,343.

When the insurance ends, and when it doesn't

FHA mortgage insurance ends after 11 years only if you put down 10% or more; with less than that, it runs for the life of the loan. Per HUD's Mortgagee Letter 2015-01, the split is the loan-to-value at closing: above 90%, meaning under 10% down, the annual MIP has no end date on a 30-year loan.

Life-of-loan MIP cannot be cancelled by paying the balance down. It comes off one way only, by refinancing out of the FHA loan entirely. For a borrower at the 3.5% minimum, that insurance is permanent, and it is the part the calculators handle worst.

calculator.net and usmortgagecalculator.org make you pick the duration from a dropdown, and the options include "78% LTV" and "5 Years". Five others, including Chase, loanDepot and Freedom Mortgage, don't model when MIP ends at all. So a borrower is left to guess, or worse, told a wrong answer.

The 78% rule that isn't an FHA rule

The automatic cancellation of mortgage insurance at 78% of the original value is a conventional-loan rule under the Homeowners Protection Act, and it does not apply to FHA. A conventional borrower's PMI comes off by law. An FHA borrower with under 10% down keeps paying MIP at 78% loan-to-value, at 50%, and at any balance, until they refinance or sell.

Offering a "78% LTV" duration for an FHA loan, as calculator.net does, tells that borrower their insurance ends when it never will. On the default loan, believing MIP stops around 78% would understate the true insurance cost by tens of thousands of dollars.

The annual MIP is smaller than most calculators say

The annual MIP is charged on the average outstanding balance each year, recalculated as the loan pays down, not on the original amount for the whole term. NerdWallet states it plainly: the premium is a percent of the average outstanding loan balance. As the balance falls, so does the dollar MIP.

Many calculators skip that. lower.com publishes its formula as rate times the base loan divided by twelve, flat, forever. The gap is not small:

Annual MIP over the 30-year loan
Charged on the declining balance (correct)$44,577
Charged flat on the original loan$68,045
Overstated by$23,468

Add the $7,093 upfront premium and the true total mortgage insurance on this loan is $51,670. That figure, the one an FHA borrower actually needs, appears on none of the eleven calculators we tore down.

Where the numbers come from

The upfront MIP is 1.75% of the base loan. The annual MIP rate, for a standard-balance loan of $726,200 or less over a term longer than 15 years, is 0.55% with under 5% down and 0.50% at 5% or more, the rates cut by 0.30 points effective 20 March 2023. High-balance loans run 0.70% to 0.75%.

Each year while MIP is charged, the calculator averages the twelve monthly balances, applies the rate to that average, and divides by twelve for the monthly premium. Duration is derived from the down payment: life of loan under 10%, otherwise 11 years. Principal and interest use the standard amortization formula on the financed total.

What this does not decide for you

Whether an FHA loan beats a conventional one is not something a payment estimate can settle. The lower FHA down payment comes with insurance that, for most borrowers, never cancels, while conventional PMI comes off at 78%. Credit, the rate you would qualify for on each, and how long you will keep the loan all matter, and none of them is in this calculator. Compare it against the mortgage calculator and its PMI dates, and talk to a licensed mortgage professional about your own file.

These rates are the published 2026 figures, and FHA revises them, which is why the annual MIP rate is an input you can change.

Frequently asked questions

How much is FHA mortgage insurance? FHA charges two premiums: an upfront MIP of 1.75% of the base loan, usually financed in, and an annual MIP paid monthly. On a $420,000 home at the 3.5% minimum down, the upfront MIP is $7,093 and the annual MIP at 0.55% adds about $188 a month at first, for a total of $51,670 in mortgage insurance over a 30-year loan.

When does FHA MIP go away? It depends entirely on the down payment. With 10% or more down, per Mortgagee Letter 2015-01 the annual MIP ends after 11 years. With less than 10% down on a term over 15 years, it runs for the life of the loan and can be removed only by refinancing out of FHA. Paying the balance down does not cancel it.

Does FHA MIP cancel at 78% loan-to-value like PMI? No, and this is a common and costly confusion. The 78% loan-to-value automatic cancellation is a conventional-loan rule under the Homeowners Protection Act, and it does not apply to FHA. A life-of-loan FHA borrower keeps paying MIP at 78%, at 50%, and at any balance, until they refinance or sell. Some calculators offer a 78% option for FHA, which is simply wrong.

How is the annual MIP calculated? On the average outstanding balance for the year, recalculated as the loan amortises, per the FHA rate applied to the declining principal. This matters because many calculators charge a flat percent of the original loan for the whole term. On the default loan the correct declining method totals $44,577 of annual MIP, where a flat calculation bills $68,045, an overstatement of $23,468.

What is the upfront MIP and can I finance it? The upfront MIP is a one-time premium of 1.75% of the base loan, and yes, it is usually financed into the balance rather than paid at closing. On a $405,300 base loan that is $7,093, which rolls in to make the loan $412,393. Financing it raises the monthly payment slightly and the total interest.

What are the 2026 FHA MIP rates? For a standard-balance loan of $726,200 or less over a term longer than 15 years, the annual MIP is 0.55% with under 5% down and 0.50% at 5% or more, the rates cut by 0.30 points effective 20 March 2023. High-balance loans run 0.70% to 0.75%, and 15-year terms run 0.15% to 0.40%. The upfront MIP is 1.75% across the board.

How does an FHA loan compare to a conventional one? The insurance is the main difference. Conventional PMI cancels automatically at 78% of the original value and comes off on request at 80%, while FHA MIP with under 10% down never cancels. The mortgage calculator prices a conventional loan and its PMI dates, so comparing the two side by side is the honest way to weigh the lower FHA down payment against its lasting insurance.

Sources

Part of Real estate calculators, which compares all 15 and says which answers what.

Built and reviewed by DexTechLabs against the primary sources cited above. Last reviewed 2026-07-22. How we build and verify tools.

Mutual fund returns are market-linked and not guaranteed, so this is an estimate, not investment advice. Consult a SEBI-registered adviser before acting on it.