Calculators
Mortgage Payoff Calculator
Use your own statement to see how much sooner extra payments, biweekly payments or a lump sum pay off your mortgage, or what a recast would do to your payment.
- From your own statement
- Nothing you enter is sent anywhere
Pay it off sooner: what an extra payment actually changes
Use the figures on your own mortgage statement. Try a little extra each month, half your payment every two weeks, or a one-time lump sum, and see how much sooner the loan is paid off. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Your loan today
What you want to try
Enter your balance, rate and monthly principal and interest, then something to try.
| As it is | With your change |
|---|
Arithmetic on the figures you entered, assuming every payment is made on time and every extra amount goes to principal. Not a quote, an offer or advice. Before paying ahead, check your note for a prepayment penalty and ask your servicer how it applies extra payments. Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Three ways to pay ahead
What each option does to your loan
Extra each month
Any amount marked for principal lowers the balance that next month's interest is figured on, so the loan ends sooner. The payment itself stays the same.
Half every two weeks
Twenty-six half payments a year add up to one extra monthly payment. It works only if your servicer applies each half as it arrives.
A lump sum
Keep the same payment and the loan ends sooner, or ask for a recast and keep the end date with a lower payment.
The terms
Amortization, recasting and prepayment
Amortization
Amortization is how a fixed payment pays off a loan over its term. Each payment covers that month's interest first and puts the rest toward the balance. Early on, most of the payment is interest; in the final years, most of it is principal. The payment stays the same while the split between the two shifts every month.
Recast
A recast lowers your monthly payment by applying a lump sum to the principal and recalculating the payment over the remaining term, keeping the same rate. Not every loan allows it, government loans generally do not, and servicers usually charge a small fee. It is an alternative to refinancing when you have cash and like your rate.
Prepayment penalty
A prepayment penalty is a fee for paying off a loan early, through a sale, a refinance or large extra payments. Federal rules prohibit them on many home loans and cap them on the rest, and FHA, VA and USDA loans do not allow them. Your Loan Estimate says plainly whether a loan has one, so check that line before you sign.
Questions about paying off a mortgage early
If yours is not here, send Samantha your numbers from the calculator.
Does paying extra lower my monthly payment?
Not on its own. Extra principal shortens the loan while the payment stays the same. A recast is what lowers the payment: it applies a lump sum to the principal and recalculates the payment over the remaining term, keeping the same rate.
How do I make sure extra money goes to principal?
Most statements and payment portals let you mark an extra amount as principal. Check your next statement to confirm it was applied that way, and ask your servicer if it was not.
Is a recast the same as a refinance?
No. A recast keeps your loan and your rate and lowers the payment after a lump sum. Not every loan allows it, government loans generally do not, and servicers usually charge a small fee. A refinance replaces the loan with a new one.
Can I pay off my mortgage early without a penalty?
Check first. Federal rules prohibit prepayment penalties on many home loans and cap them on the rest, and FHA, VA and USDA loans do not allow them. Your note and your Loan Estimate say plainly whether your loan has one.
Should I pay ahead or keep the cash?
The calculator shows what paying ahead does to your loan. Whether it is the best use of that money depends on what else it needs to do, and Samantha can talk that through with you.
Keep going
Other ways to look at your mortgage
Refinance break-even
Months until a refinance pays for itself, against how long you keep the loan.
Refinance break-evenPoints vs. lender credit
How many months a lower payment takes to earn back points.
Points vs. lender creditHome equity strategy
What your equity is, what you owe, and what the money would be for.
Home equity strategyAll calculators
Every Align tool in one place, grouped by the question it answers.
All calculatorsAlign Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154, is a mortgage broker. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The calculator shows arithmetic on the figures you enter. It is not a quote, an offer of credit or advice.
