Crunch My Mortgage

PMI removal calculator

Find the month your loan balance reaches 80% and 78% of your home's original value: when you can ask to cancel private mortgage insurance, and when it should end on its own.

Your inputs

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Estimate for education only. Not a loan offer, a rate quote or financial advice; actual terms come from a lender. crunchmymortgage.com

Starting values are placeholders, not market data. Replace them with your own numbers.

Your loan at closing

The lower of the purchase price and the appraised value when you closed.

Optional details

The premium is on your monthly statement. Leave it at 0 to skip the cost figures.

Optional

Turns payment numbers into calendar months.

Results

PMI ends automatically Month 103 (year 9)

Your scheduled balance first reaches $312,000, 78% of the original value, with payment 103 of 360. PMI must end then if you are current on your payments.

You can ask to cancel at 80%
Month 89 (year 8)
Final termination (midpoint)
Month 181 (year 16)
80% balance target
$320,000
78% balance target
$312,000
Starting loan-to-value
90%
Time until it ends automatically
8 years 7 months
PMI paid until it ends automatically
$15,450
PMI paid if cancelled at 80%
$13,350

Your balance and the PMI thresholds

Through the midpoint of the loan term, the latest PMI can last. Hover or tap the chart for any year.

  • Scheduled balance
  • 80% of original value
  • 78% of original value

Dates assume every payment is made on time and as scheduled, on a fixed-rate loan.

What this calculator does

It turns the federal rules for ending private mortgage insurance into dates for your loan: the month you can ask to cancel it, the month it must end automatically, and the latest it can last.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the lender, not you, when a conventional loan starts above 80% of the home's value. You pay for it, usually as a monthly premium added to the mortgage payment. For most borrower-paid PMI on a home you live in, the Homeowners Protection Act sets when it can and must stop. Every one of those points is measured against the original value: the lower of the purchase price and the appraised value when you closed.

Enter the original value, the original loan amount, the rate and the term. Add your premium to see what PMI costs until each date, extra principal to see how much sooner you could ask to cancel, and your first payment month to get calendar dates instead of payment numbers.

How the rules and math work

The Act, which covers loans closed on or after July 29, 1999, gives three ways out:

  • Cancellation on request at 80%. When your balance is first scheduled to reach 80% of the original value, or actually reaches it because you paid extra, you can ask in writing to cancel PMI. You generally need a good payment history (broadly, no payment 30 or more days late in the past year and none 60 or more days late in the year before), to be current, and, if the lender asks, to certify that there is no second loan against the home. The lender may also ask for evidence that the value has not fallen below the original value, which can mean an appraisal.
  • Automatic termination at 78%. PMI must end on the date the balance is first scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, based on the original amortization schedule, if you are current. If you are behind then, it ends once you catch up.
  • Final termination at the midpoint. If PMI is still in place, it must end the month after the midpoint of the loan term (after 15 years on a 30-year loan), if you are current, whatever the balance.

The dates come from the amortization schedule. After k payments, the balance is:

B = P(1 + r)k − M × (1 + r)k − 1r
B
balance after k payments
P
original loan amount
M
monthly principal and interest
r
monthly rate: the annual rate ÷ 12

The calculator finds the first payment where B is at or below 0.80 × the original value, and the first where it is at or below 0.78 ×. With extra principal it runs the schedule a second time, because the 80% request can use your actual balance while the 78% date cannot.

Worked example

You buy a home for $350,000 and it appraises at $355,000. You borrow $315,000 for 30 years at 6.5%, and PMI costs $120 a month.

Worked example

  1. Original value: the lower of $350,000 and $355,000, so $350,000. The loan starts at 90% of it.
  2. Targets: 80% is $280,000; 78% is $273,000.
  3. The payment is $1,991.01. After payment 94 the scheduled balance is $280,218; after payment 95 it is $279,745. So you can ask to cancel at month 95 (year 8).
  4. The balance first drops to $273,000 or less at month 109 (year 10), the automatic termination date. Final termination, at month 181 (year 16), comes later, so it does not apply.
  5. Premiums: 109 × $120 = $13,080 if PMI runs to automatic termination, or $11,400 if it is cancelled at 80%.

PMI ends automatically after 9 years 1 month, and a cancellation request becomes possible after 7 years 11 months.

Now add $150 of extra principal every month. The balance reaches 80% at month 67 (year 6), 2 years 4 months sooner, and cancelling then would hold premiums to $8,040: $5,040 less than letting PMI run to the automatic date. The automatic date itself stays at month 109 (year 10), because it follows the original schedule.

Common mistakes

  1. Measuring against today's value. The 80% and 78% points use the original value. A higher market value does not move them, though some lenders have separate policies for removal based on a new appraisal.
  2. Waiting for 80% to happen on its own. Cancellation at 80% is not automatic. Nothing changes until you send a written request, which is why the dates are worth knowing in advance.
  3. Expecting extra payments to move the automatic date. Extra principal brings the request date forward. The automatic date stays on the original schedule.
  4. Overlooking the conditions. A recent late payment, or a home equity loan or line of credit against the home, can hold up a cancellation request.
  5. Applying these rules to other insurance. FHA mortgage insurance and lender-paid PMI follow different rules. Check which kind your loan has before you count on these dates.

Limits of this estimate

  • It assumes a fixed-rate loan with every payment made on time and as scheduled. On an adjustable-rate loan, the dates follow the amortization schedule in effect after each adjustment.
  • Loans the lender classified as high risk at closing, loans closed before July 29, 1999, and loans on second homes or rental properties can follow different rules or the lender's own policy.
  • The premium is treated as the same every month. Some PMI premiums change over time; your statement shows the current amount.
  • Removal based on a new appraisal or on improvements depends on lender and investor policy and is not modeled.
  • Your servicer's annual PMI notice and closing disclosures are the authority on your own dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cancelling PMI and automatic termination?

Cancellation is something you ask for. Once your balance reaches 80% of the original value, either on the original schedule or through extra payments, you can request in writing that PMI be cancelled, subject to the conditions your servicer applies. Automatic termination needs no request: when the balance is first scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, PMI must end as long as you are current on your payments.

Can I remove PMI because my home is worth more now?

The federal 80% and 78% rules are measured against the original value, so a rise in your home's value does not change those dates. Some lenders and investors will consider removing PMI based on a new appraisal or on improvements you have made, under their own policies. The requirements vary, so ask your servicer what applies to your loan.

Do extra payments make PMI end sooner?

They bring forward the date you can ask for cancellation, because that request can be based on your actual balance. They do not move the automatic termination date, which follows the original amortization schedule. Enter an amount under “Extra principal” to see the difference.

Do these rules apply to FHA loans?

No. FHA loans carry a government mortgage insurance premium (MIP) with its own rules on how long it lasts, set by the program rather than by the Homeowners Protection Act. The FHA MIP calculator covers those.

What is lender-paid mortgage insurance?

With lender-paid mortgage insurance, the lender pays the premium and charges you a higher interest rate instead. There is no separate premium to cancel, so the cancellation and termination rights described here do not apply. The higher rate lasts for the life of the loan unless you refinance or pay it off.

Do I get money back when PMI ends?

If any premium was paid in advance for coverage after PMI ends, the Act requires the servicer to return the unearned part, generally within 45 days. With monthly premiums there may be little or nothing to return. Either way, your payment drops by the premium from then on.

Next steps: the extra payment calculator shows what the same extra principal does to your payoff date and total interest. The mortgage payment calculator shows your full monthly payment with and without PMI.