PITI Mortgage Calculator

Your monthly mortgage payment usually encompasses at least four different costs: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — otherwise known as PITI. Use Credible’s PITI mortgage calculator below to gauge your projected costs.

PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — the four key portions of a monthly mortgage payment. To ensure you can comfortably afford a home, you’ll need to know the projected PITI expenses. Understanding your PITI is critical before buying a home, as it helps you grasp the full extent of your financial obligation and allows you to more accurately set your budget. 
 

Principal

Principal payments go directly toward your mortgage loan balance. Each principal payment reduces the amount you owe to your mortgage lender.
 

Interest

This is the cost of borrowing the loan. It goes to your lender and not toward reducing your loan balance. Typically, you’ll pay more in monthly interest at the beginning of the loan term and less at the end. You can use an amortization schedule to understand the full interest costs of a mortgage.
 

Taxes

The amount you pay in property taxes will depend on the assessed value of your home and your local property tax rate, but you can expect to pay at least a couple thousand dollars. Your loan servicer will usually spread the costs out over 12 months. You’ll then pay those costs into an escrow account, which the servicer will use to pay your tax bills when they come due.
 

Insurance

Your monthly payment may include costs for two types of insurance: homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance. Here’s a quick breakdown of the two:

• Homeowners insurance: Protects your property in case of damage, theft, or some other kind of incident. 
• Mortgage insurance: Protects your lender in the event you default on your loan. You’ll typically have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) if your down payment is less than 20%. 
   

Our PITI calculator can help you better understand the costs of a home you’re considering. To use the calculator, you will need the following information:
 

• Home price: This is how much you’re planning on offering for the home.
• Down payment: You’ll enter how much you plan to put down here. A down payment of 20% or more can help you avoid PMI.
• Length of the loan: This reflects how long you have to pay off the loan. Most buyers use a 15-year or 30-year term.
• Rate: Here you’ll put your expected interest rate. Credible can help you find personalized, prequalified mortgage rates.
• Credit score: Choose your credit score range from the drop-down menu. If you’re not sure of your score, check with your bank or credit card issuer. Most offer free credit monitoring.
• ZIP code: Enter the ZIP code of the home you’re purchasing. This will be used to estimate your annual property taxes.
• Property taxes: If you have a rough estimate of the home’s property taxes, enter them here. If not, the calculator will use the ZIP code entered above.
• Homeowners insurance: You’ll enter your annual homeowner's insurance premium here. You can usually get quotes for free from any major insurance company.
• HOA fees: If your home is located in an HOA-controlled area, you’ll enter the fees here. You can usually find them on the property listing.
• PMI costs: If you’re making a down payment under 20%, then you’ll likely need private mortgage insurance. The calculator will base these on the home price and down payment entered above.
   

Most mortgage calculators will tell you your principal and interest payments each month, but those are only a portion of the costs of homeownership. Understanding your PITI can give you a better idea of what you’ll owe month-over-month.

Mortgage lenders will also use PITI when evaluating your mortgage loan application — specifically when looking at your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). They’ll want to see that your projected PITI payments — plus your existing loans and debts — don’t take up too much of your monthly income.

PITI offers a good look at the monthly mortgage-related costs of owning a home, but it doesn’t include all of your expenses. You’ll also have to account for:

• Utilities (such as water, electricity, gas, sewage, and trash)
• Maintenance, repairs, and general upkeep
• Lawn care 
• Pest prevention
• Cleaning
   

There are also closing costs, your down payment, and the costs of moving to cover upfront.
 

Once you have an estimate of your monthly PITI payments, you’re ready to start shopping around for a mortgage loan. Make sure you consider several lenders as rates and terms can vary widely from one company to the next.