PMI Calculator: Monthly Cost, Drop Date & Total 2026

How your PMI is worked out

On the defaults — a $400,000.00 home, 10% down, a 6.5% APR, a 30-year term and a 0.85% PMI rate — the down payment is $40,000.00, the loan is $360,000.00, the monthly PMI is $255.00, the monthly P&I is $2,275.44, the total monthly payment is $2,530.44, the PMI lasts 95 months, the total PMI is $24,225.00 and it drops in September 2034. The whole calculation is five moves: work out the down payment and the loan, work out the monthly PMI, work out the monthly P&I, find when the balance hits 80% of the home’s value, and multiply the monthly PMI by the months.

Seven things about the model are worth stating plainly. First, PMI usually costs 0.3%–1.5% of the loan per year. Second, it protects the lender, not you — if you stop paying, the insurer pays the lender, not you. Third, you can ASK the lender to drop it once the balance hits 80% of the home’s ORIGINAL value, and it drops AUTOMATICALLY at 78% under the Homeowners Protection Act. Fourth, a new appraisal after the home appreciates can end it sooner, because the lender may use the new value instead of the original price. Fifth, FHA loans use MIP, not PMI, and MIP follows different rules — it does not drop the same way. Sixth, the monthly PMI is charged on the original loan amount, so it stays flat even as the balance falls. And seventh, taxes and homeowners insurance escrow are NOT part of this calculation — the total monthly figure here is P&I plus PMI only.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: home price $400,000.00, down payment 10%, mortgage APR 6.5%, term 30 years, PMI rate 0.85%.

Line 1 — the down payment and the loan. The down payment is 10% × $400,000.00 = $40,000.00. The loan is $400,000.00 − $40,000.00 = $360,000.00.

Line 2 — the monthly PMI. The monthly PMI is the loan times the annual PMI rate, divided by 12: $360,000.00 × 0.85% ÷ 12 = $255.00. It is charged on the original $360,000.00 loan, so it stays $255.00 every month until it drops.

Line 3 — the monthly P&I. The monthly rate is 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.5417%, and there are 360 payments: $360,000.00 × 0.0054167 ÷ (1 − (1.0054167)⁻³⁶⁰) = $2,275.44. The total monthly payment is $2,275.44 + $255.00 = $2,530.44.

Line 4 — when the balance hits 80%. The target is 80% of the home’s original value: 80% × $400,000.00 = $320,000.00. After 94 payments the balance is $320,248.50, still above the target; after 95 payments it is $319,707.73, below it. So the PMI lasts 95 months.

Line 5 — the total PMI and the drop date. The total PMI is $255.00 × 95 = $24,225.00. The mortgage starts in October 2026, and 95 months later is September 2034. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

Every branch, checked

Down 5%: Home $400,000.00, down 5.00%, down payment $20,000.00, loan $380,000.00, monthly PMI $269.17, P&I $2,401.86, total monthly $2,671.03, months 124, total PMI $33,376.67, drop February 2037 — halving the down payment adds 29 months and $9,151.67 of total PMI.

Down 15%: Home $400,000.00, down 15.00%, down payment $60,000.00, loan $340,000.00, monthly PMI $240.83, P&I $2,149.03, total monthly $2,389.86, months 56, total PMI $13,486.67, drop June 2031 — five points more down cuts the PMI from 95 months to 56 and nearly halves the total.

Down 20%: Home $400,000.00, down 20.00%, down payment $80,000.00, loan $320,000.00, monthly PMI $0.00, P&I $2,022.62, total monthly $2,022.62, months 0, total PMI $0.00, drop no PMI — verdict: no PMI. At 20% down the loan starts exactly at the 80% line, so there is nothing to insure.

PMI rate 0.5%: Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $150.00, P&I $2,275.44, total monthly $2,425.44, months 95, total PMI $14,250.00, drop September 2034 — the rate changes only the monthly and total PMI, never the months or the drop date.

PMI rate 1.5%: Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $450.00, P&I $2,275.44, total monthly $2,725.44, months 95, total PMI $42,750.00, drop September 2034 — at the top of the usual 0.3%–1.5% range the total PMI is $42,750.00, almost three times the 0.5% case.

Home $500,000: Home $500,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $50,000.00, loan $450,000.00, monthly PMI $318.75, P&I $2,844.31, total monthly $3,163.06, months 95, total PMI $30,281.25, drop September 2034 — the same down percentage and the same rate give the same 95 months; only the dollars scale up.

APR 7.5%: Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $255.00, P&I $2,517.17, total monthly $2,772.17, months 107, total PMI $27,285.00, drop September 2035 — a higher rate means more of each payment goes to interest, so the balance falls slower and the PMI lasts 12 months longer.

Term 15 years: Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $255.00, P&I $3,135.99, total monthly $3,390.99, months 32, total PMI $8,160.00, drop June 2029 — halving the term cuts the PMI from 95 months to 32 and the total from $24,225.00 to $8,160.00, though the monthly P&I is $860.55 higher.

The reverses, worked backwards

Down payment for a monthly PMI of exactly $250.00: $47,058.82 — the exact down payment is $47058.8235 (11.7647% of the price). By the formula, ($400,000.00 − $47,058.82) × 0.85% ÷ 12 = $250.00, and $1 less down, $47,057.82, also gives $250.00 when rounded — this reverse is exact, not a step. On a $400,000.00 home at 0.85%, the monthly PMI runs from $283.33 with 0% down to $226.67 just under 20% down, then $0.00 at 20% down and more. The star is DOLLARS.

PMI rate for a monthly PMI of exactly $300.00: 1.00% — the exact rate is 1.0000%. At 1.00% the monthly PMI is $300.00; 0.99% gives $297.00; 1.01% gives $303.00. The displayed rate is a 2dp percent. The star is a PERCENT.

Smallest whole-% down for PMI to drop within 60 months: 15% — the smallest whole percent that gets there. At 15% the PMI lasts 56 months; 14% gives 65 months; 16% gives 47 months. This is a step reverse: down payments come in whole percents here, so there is no exact 14-point-something. The star is a PERCENT.

Home price for a monthly PMI of exactly $300.00: $470,588.24 — the exact price is $470588.2353. At $470,588.24 the monthly PMI is $300.00 and the total PMI is $28,500.00; $1 less, $470,587.24, it is still $300.00 when rounded — this reverse is exact, not a step. The star is DOLLARS.

PMI rate for a total PMI of exactly $25,000.00: 0.88% — the exact rate is 0.8772%. At 0.88% the total PMI is $25,080.00; 0.87% gives $24,795.00. The displayed rate rounds up, so it lands $80.00 over $25,000.00. The star is a PERCENT.

Smallest whole-% down for total PMI of at most $10,000.00: 17% — the smallest whole percent that gets there. At 17% the total PMI is $8,701.17 over 37 months; 16% gives $11,186.00 over 47 months; 18% gives $6,040.67 over 26 months. This is a step reverse. The star is a PERCENT.

What the defaults assume

The down payment is the home price times the down percentage; the loan is the home price minus the down payment; the monthly PMI is the loan times the PMI rate, divided by 12, charged on the original loan amount; the monthly P&I is L × r ÷ (1 − (1+r)⁻ⁿ), r = APR ÷ 12, n = term × 12; the months of PMI are the smallest whole number of months for which the balance is at or below 80% of the home’s original value; the total PMI is the monthly PMI times the months; and the drop date is October 2026 plus the months. At the edges the model stays honest: with 0% down, Home $400,000.00, down 0.00%, down payment $0.00, loan $400,000.00, monthly PMI $283.33, P&I $2,528.27, total monthly $2,811.61, months 146, total PMI $41,366.67, drop December 2038 — no down payment means the biggest loan and the longest PMI. With 100% down, Home $400,000.00, down 100.00%, down payment $400,000.00, loan $0.00, monthly PMI $0.00, P&I $0.00, total monthly $0.00, months 0, total PMI $0.00, drop no PMI — no loan, no PMI; that is the model at its boundary, not an error. With a 0% APR, Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $255.00, P&I $1,000.00, total monthly $1,255.00, months 40, total PMI $10,200.00, drop February 2030 — with no interest the balance falls by exactly $1,000.00 a month, so it takes 40 months to pay off the $40,000.00 above the 80% line. With a 10-year term, Home $400,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $40,000.00, loan $360,000.00, monthly PMI $255.00, P&I $4,087.73, total monthly $4,342.73, months 18, total PMI $4,590.00, drop April 2028. With a $1,000,000.00 home, Home $1,000,000.00, down 10.00%, down payment $100,000.00, loan $900,000.00, monthly PMI $637.50, P&I $5,688.61, total monthly $6,326.11, months 95, total PMI $60,562.50, drop September 2034 — the same 95 months as the default, because the percentages are the same. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The first-time buyer putting 10% down: they learn that a $400,000.00 home means a $255.00 monthly PMI for 95 months, costing $24,225.00 in total before it drops in September 2034 — and they check the 15% branch to see what five more points of down payment saves.
• The buyer deciding between 15% and 20% down: they learn that 15% down costs $13,486.67 of PMI over 56 months, while 20% down costs $0.00 — no PMI at all — and they check the 17% reverse to see the smallest down payment that keeps total PMI under $10,000.00.
• The homeowner wondering when PMI ends: they learn that the balance has to reach 80% of the home’s original value — $320,000.00 on a $400,000.00 home — and they check the appraisal note to see whether a higher home value could end it sooner.
• The buyer comparing loan terms: they learn that a 15-year term cuts the PMI from 95 months to 32 months and the total from $24,225.00 to $8,160.00, while a 7.5% APR stretches it to 107 months and $27,285.00 — and they check the 0% APR edge to see the balance fall in a straight line.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles: the down payment is the home price times the down percentage; the loan is the home price minus the down payment; the monthly PMI is the loan times the PMI rate, divided by 12, charged on the original loan amount; the monthly P&I is L × r ÷ (1 − (1+r)⁻ⁿ); the months of PMI are the smallest whole number of months for which the balance is at or below 80% of the home’s original value; the total PMI is the monthly PMI times the months; and the drop date is October 2026 plus the months. Every figure is rounded to cents half-up, and the totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum. What the model cannot do is tell you what YOUR lender will do: it assumes the home’s value stays at the original price — appreciation plus a new appraisal can end PMI sooner, and the model does not estimate that; it gives the 80% ask date, while the automatic 78% drop under the Homeowners Protection Act comes later if you do not ask; it does NOT model lender-paid PMI (a higher rate instead of a monthly premium), FHA MIP (different rules, it does not drop the same way), or VA and USDA loans (no PMI); it assumes a constant APR and the same payment every month, and real payments change with rate adjustments and extra payments; and it does NOT include property taxes or homeowners insurance escrow, which your lender collects on top of P&I and PMI. Use it to judge what PMI will cost you, then check the exact terms with your lender before you close.

Frequently asked questions