FHA Loan Calculator
Calculate FHA loan payments including MIP, down payment requirements, and total costs.
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FHA Loan Calculator
This FHA loan calculator estimates the monthly payment on a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration, including both parts of FHA mortgage insurance. Enter the home price, down payment, term, and rate, and it adds the upfront MIP to the loan, applies the annual MIP, and folds in property tax, insurance, and other costs to show the full monthly figure plus a year-by-year schedule.
What an FHA loan is
An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The FHA was created in 1934, after the Great Depression, to help more Americans buy homes, and it remains the largest mortgage insurer in the world. One point trips people up: the FHA does not lend the money. Your loan still comes from a bank or mortgage company; the FHA insures that lender against loss, which is what lets it approve smaller down payments and lower credit scores than a conventional loan would allow.
FHA mortgage insurance (MIP)
In exchange for that backing, every FHA borrower pays mortgage insurance in two parts. The upfront MIP is 1.75% of the base loan amount, the same for everyone, and it is normally added straight onto the loan rather than paid in cash at closing. The annual MIP is charged monthly and depends on the loan term, the loan size, and the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, which is the loan divided by the home value. The calculator fills in the correct annual rate automatically, and you can override it. Current annual rates:
| Loan term | Loan amount | LTV | Annual MIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 15 years | $726,200 or less | 95% or less | 0.50% |
| Over 15 years | $726,200 or less | Over 95% | 0.55% |
| Over 15 years | Over $726,200 | 95% or less | 0.70% |
| Over 15 years | Over $726,200 | Over 95% | 0.75% |
| 15 years or less | $726,200 or less | 90% or less | 0.15% |
| 15 years or less | $726,200 or less | Over 90% | 0.40% |
| 15 years or less | Over $726,200 | 78% or less | 0.15% |
| 15 years or less | Over $726,200 | 78% to 90% | 0.40% |
| 15 years or less | Over $726,200 | Over 90% | 0.65% |
Annual MIP is where FHA financing gets expensive. If your down payment is 10% or more, so the LTV starts at 90% or below, the annual MIP drops off after 11 years. With the usual 3.5% down, it stays for the life of the loan. Unlike private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan, FHA annual MIP does not simply cancel once you reach 20% equity, which is the single biggest reason to compare the two before you commit.
The upside of an FHA loan
FHA loans exist to widen the door to homeownership, and their terms show it:
- Down payments as low as 3.5%, the feature that draws most FHA borrowers.
- Credit scores accepted down to 580, and sometimes lower with a larger down payment.
- No prepayment penalty, so extra payments always reduce the balance.
- Room for a higher debt load; with strong compensating factors, some borrowers are approved with debt payments near 57% of income.
- Backing by the federal government, which reassures lenders and keeps approvals flowing even in tighter markets.
The trade-offs
The same insurance that opens the door adds cost, and there are other catches:
- MIP makes FHA loans more expensive than a comparable conventional loan, and the annual premium usually stays for the life of a low-down-payment loan.
- FHA loan limits are lower, so buyers of pricier homes often need a conventional loan instead.
- Borrowers with strong credit tend to get better rates on conventional loans.
- The property has to meet FHA health and safety standards, which rules out some fixer-uppers.
- In competitive markets, some sellers view FHA offers less favorably than conventional ones.
When the down payment is over 20% or the credit score is excellent, a conventional loan is often cheaper. Eligible veterans should also weigh a VA loan, which carries no monthly mortgage insurance.
FHA affordability and DTI limits
HUD sets the debt-to-income limits that decide how much house an FHA borrower qualifies for. The standard guideline is 31/43: housing costs up to 31% of gross income (the front-end ratio) and total debt up to 43% (the back-end ratio). These are among the stricter mainstream limits, which fits an agency built to manage default risk. Lenders can approve higher ratios when a borrower shows compensating factors, such as a larger down payment, a solid history of similar payments, strong credit, or several months of mortgage payments in savings. To see the price range your income supports, use our House Affordability Calculator, and the Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator shows where you stand today.
Paying an FHA loan off early
FHA loans have no prepayment penalty, so adding to your payment can make sense when the budget allows, and it is one way to blunt the cost of a long-running annual MIP. The More Options section of this calculator takes extra monthly, yearly, or one-time payments and shows how much interest and time they save. The biweekly option models paying half the amount every two weeks, which adds up to one extra monthly payment a year.
FHA 203(k) renovation loans
An FHA 203(k) loan lets a borrower finance both the purchase and the repair of a home, or fund the renovation of a home they already own, rolling the work into a single mortgage. It shares the regular FHA traits: easier qualification, the same mortgage insurance, and a small ongoing fee. Renovations must finish within six months, the funds sit in escrow and pay contractors as work is completed, and the borrowed repair amount starts at $5,000. A lighter Streamlined 203(k) handles smaller projects with far less paperwork. The Mortgage Calculator and Refinance Calculator cover conventional options for comparison.
The credit score tiers, and the lenders above them
FHA sets two thresholds. A score of 580 or higher qualifies for the 3.5% down payment. Scores from 500 to 579 remain eligible with 10% down. Below 500 there is no FHA financing.
Those are the minimums the agency will insure, not the minimums you will find. Lenders add their own overlays, and many will not write an FHA loan below 580 or 620 whatever the handbook allows, because approving loans that later default damages their standing with FHA and with the investors who buy the loans. If one lender declines on score alone, another with different overlays may not.
The 2026 loan limits
FHA lending is capped by county. For 2026 the floor is $541,287 for a one-unit property and the ceiling in high-cost counties is $1,249,125, both applying to case numbers assigned on or after 1 January 2026. The floor is set at 65% of the conforming loan limit and the ceiling at 150% of it, so both move each year with the FHFA figure.
In an expensive market this limit, rather than income, is often what rules an FHA loan out. Check the limit for the specific county before assuming a 3.5% down payment is available for the price you have in mind.
How the insurance actually ends
The annual premium runs for 11 years when the down payment was 10% or more, and for the life of the loan when it was less. There is no equity threshold that cancels it in the second case. Paying the balance down to 78% of value, which would end private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan, changes nothing on an FHA loan written after June 2013.
The exit is a refinance into a conventional loan once the property has enough equity to avoid private mortgage insurance, usually 20%. That trade is worth running as arithmetic rather than instinct: the new rate may be higher, and the saving is the premium you stop paying less the difference in interest. An FHA streamline refinance is simpler and needs no appraisal, and it keeps you inside the FHA insurance system.
What the appraisal is checking
An FHA appraisal does two jobs. It sets the value, and it confirms the property meets minimum property standards covering safety, security and soundness. Peeling paint on a home built before 1978, missing handrails, a roof with little life left, or exposed wiring can all require repair before closing. Sellers of distressed property sometimes decline FHA offers for exactly this reason, so factor it in when the house needs work.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
FHA charges two premiums. The upfront MIP is 1.75% of the base loan amount, usually added to the loan. The annual MIP runs 0.15% to 0.75% of the loan per year depending on term, loan size, and loan-to-value; for a typical 30-year loan with 3.5% down it is 0.55%, charged monthly.
If your down payment is 10% or more (LTV of 90% or less at the start), annual MIP cancels after 11 years. With a down payment below 10%, it stays for the life of the loan. Unlike conventional PMI, FHA annual MIP does not automatically end at 20% equity.
FHA allows scores as low as 580 for the 3.5% down payment, and down to 500 with 10% down, though individual lenders often set higher minimums. Conventional loans usually want higher scores but drop mortgage insurance once you reach 20% equity.
The minimum is 3.5% of the purchase price for borrowers with a credit score of 580 or above. A larger down payment lowers the loan-to-value ratio, which can reduce the annual MIP rate and, at 10% or more down, ends the annual MIP after 11 years.
Not always. FHA loans help borrowers with low down payments or lower credit scores, but the upfront and lifelong annual MIP often make them more expensive over time. With 20% down or strong credit, a conventional loan is usually cheaper because its mortgage insurance can be canceled.
The standard guideline is 31/43: housing costs up to 31% of gross income and total debt up to 43%. Lenders can approve higher ratios, sometimes up to about 57% of income, when a borrower shows compensating factors like extra savings or a larger down payment.
Yes. FHA loans carry no prepayment penalty, so extra payments go straight to principal and shorten the loan. Use the extra-payment fields in More Options to see the interest and time saved, which can help offset a long-running annual MIP.
It is an FHA loan that finances both buying a home and fixing it up, or renovating a home you already own, in one mortgage. Repairs must be completed within six months, the money is paid to contractors from escrow, and a minimum of $5,000 in repairs applies. A Streamlined 203(k) handles smaller jobs.
Only by leaving the loan, if your down payment was under 10%. On FHA loans written after June 2013 the annual premium lasts the full term at that deposit, and paying the balance down does not end it. With 10% or more down it stops after 11 years. The usual exit is refinancing into a conventional loan once you hold about 20% equity.
FHA insures loans from a score of 580 with 3.5% down, and from 500 with 10% down. Individual lenders set higher bars of their own, commonly 580 or 620, so a decline on score from one lender does not mean the loan is unavailable elsewhere.