PMI calculator: when does your PMI go away?
See your monthly PMI, the month you can ask to cancel it (80%), the month it must end automatically (78%), what it costs in total, and how extra payments pull the date forward.
Your monthly PMI
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On top of –. Starting : –.
Asking at 80% instead of waiting saves about –. If you never ask, your first payment without PMI is –.
Original schedule With extra payments Loan balance as a % of the original value
Estimates only. Not financial advice. Terms
Sterling says: Tallying it all up…
The three PMI dates, in plain English
The federal sets the rules for borrower-paid PMI on most conventional loans for a primary home closed on or after July 29, 1999 (CFPB; 12 U.S.C. 4902):
- 80%: you can ask. Once your balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the , or actually reaches it sooner because you paid extra, you can request cancellation in writing. You need a good payment history, to be current, and no junior liens, and the servicer can require proof the value hasn’t fallen.
- 78%: it ends automatically. On the date the original amortization schedule reaches 78%, PMI must end if you’re current, with no request needed. Extra payments don’t move this date: it’s set by the original schedule.
- Midpoint: the backstop. If you’re current, PMI must end by the month after the loan’s midpoint (year 15 of a 30-year loan), even if you haven’t hit 78%.
Example: the U.S. median home ($360,600, Census ACS 2024) with 10% down at 7.32% for 30 years and PMI at 0.6% costs about $162/mo in PMI. On the original schedule the loan reaches 80% of the price at payment 104 and PMI must end automatically at payment 119 (78%): about $19,310 of PMI if you wait, or $16,876 if you ask at 80%. An extra $200/mo of principal reaches 80% at payment 66, 38 months sooner, saving about $6,166 more, but only if you ask.
How to ask for removal
- Find your 80% date above, or on the PMI disclosure your lender gives you at closing.
- Send a written cancellation request to your servicer.
- Be current, with no 30-day late payments in the past year and no 60-day lates in two years (the CFPB’s and Fannie Mae’s standard for a “good payment history”).
- Expect a possible appraisal or valuation, usually at your cost.
- Gone up in value? Ask your servicer about removal on current value (often 75% LTV after 2 years, 80% after 5 years, for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans).
Lender-paid PMI (built into a higher rate) can’t be cancelled this way. Sources: CFPB, 12 U.S.C. 4901, Fannie Mae Servicing Guide B-8.1-04.
What PMI rate should I enter?
Use the rate on your Loan Estimate if you have one. Without a quote, Freddie Mac’s rule of thumb is about $30 to $70 a month per $100,000 borrowed, roughly 0.36% to 0.84% of the loan a year (Freddie Mac). Our default, 0.6%, sits in the middle. Credit score and down payment move it the most, as this older rate card shows:
| Loan-to-value | Coverage | 760+ score | 700–719 | 620–639 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95.01–97% | 35% | 0.58% | 0.99% | 1.86% |
| 90.01–95% | 30% | 0.38% | 0.78% | 1.42% |
| 85.01–90% | 25% | 0.28% | 0.55% | 0.94% |
| 80.01–85% | 12% | 0.19% | 0.25% | 0.44% |
Source: MGIC rate card, July 2018 (archived PDF). Rates since then have generally changed, and other insurers price differently.
FHA loan? MIP works differently
FHA loans don’t carry PMI. They charge a : an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan (usually rolled into the loan) plus an annual premium, paid monthly. For most 30-year FHA loans endorsed on or after March 20, 2023, the annual rate is 0.55% with less than 5% down and 0.50% with 5% or more (higher for very large loans). With less than 10% down it lasts the life of the loan; with 10% or more down, 11 years. The 78% and 80% rules above don’t apply, which is why many FHA borrowers refinance into a conventional loan to drop it (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05).
This calculator models conventional PMI only. VA loans have a funding fee but no monthly mortgage insurance; USDA loans charge an annual fee.
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Questions people ask
When can I ask to remove PMI?
Under the Homeowners Protection Act, you can ask your servicer in writing to cancel PMI once your loan balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the home’s original value, or earlier if extra payments get you there sooner. You generally need a good payment history, to be current on the loan, and no second mortgage or other lien on the home, and the servicer may ask for proof (such as an appraisal) that the value hasn’t dropped.
When does PMI end automatically?
The servicer must end PMI automatically on the date your balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, as long as you’re current on payments. If you aren’t current then, it ends once you catch up. Either way it must end the month after the midpoint of the loan term (year 15 of a 30-year loan) if you’re current.
Do extra payments make PMI go away sooner?
They can, but you have to ask. Extra principal moves the date your balance actually reaches 80%, which is when you can request cancellation. The automatic 78% date is based on the original amortization schedule, so extra payments don’t move it.
Can a higher home value get PMI removed?
Sometimes, through your lender’s or investor’s rules rather than the federal law. For example, Fannie Mae’s servicing guide lets a borrower ask for removal based on a new valuation once the loan is at least 2 years old and the balance is 75% or less of the current value (80% after 5 years), with a clean recent payment history. You typically pay for the appraisal, and approval isn’t guaranteed.
How much does PMI cost?
Freddie Mac’s rule of thumb is about $30 to $70 a month for every $100,000 borrowed (roughly 0.36% to 0.84% a year). Your rate depends mostly on your credit score and down payment. Our default is 0.6% of the loan a year; get a real quote and enter it.
Does this apply to FHA loans?
No. FHA loans charge a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) instead of PMI, with an upfront premium plus an annual premium, and the 78%/80% rules don’t apply. With less than 10% down, the annual MIP generally lasts for the life of the loan; with 10% or more, 11 years. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance.
What is the “original value” of my home?
For the Homeowners Protection Act it’s the lower of the sales price and the appraised value when you got the loan (for a refinance, the appraised value at the refinance). The 80% and 78% thresholds are measured against that number, not today’s value.
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