Ever wonder where your mortgage payment actually goes each month?
Early on, most of it goes toward interest because the outstanding balance is large. Not much actually goes toward paying down your loan balance.
But over time as your balance falls, more and more of each payment goes toward the principal. But that can take a while, longer than you might think.
Use my amortization schedule calculator below to see each payment broken down by principal and interest, with real dates and key milestones.
You can also enter in extra payments to see what it could save you if you choose to pay more.
Amortization Schedule Calculator
See exactly how each mortgage payment is split between principal and interest, month by month and year by year, with payment dates, a balance chart, key milestones, and the option to see what extra payments could save you.
Loan Details
Extra Payments (optional)
Loan Balance Over Time
Payment Schedule
Principal includes any extra payments you entered. The highlighted row is your current month or year, based on today’s date.
How to Use the Amortization Schedule Calculator
Start by entering your loan amount, interest rate, and loan term.
If you’re buying a home, enter the purchase price minus your down payment. For example, a $500,000 home with 20% down would be $400,000.
If you already have a mortgage, use your original loan amount, along with the date your first mortgage payment was due.
That’s typically the first of the month following the first complete month since loan closing (e.g. March 1st for a January closing).
The calculator will show your monthly principal and interest payment, the total interest you’ll pay over the full term, and the date the loan will be paid off.
It also shows you a few key milestones, like when more of each payment starts going toward principal than interest. The higher your mortgage rate, the further out this gets.
If you’ve already been making payments, it estimates where your balance stands today, and highlights the current month in the schedule.
You can switch between an annual and monthly view, and download the whole thing as a spreadsheet if you want to dig in further.
Want to see what happens if you pay a little extra?
Add an extra monthly amount, or a one-time lump sum, and the calculator will show you how much interest you’d save and how much sooner you’d be free and clear.
For the record, if you just want a quick payment estimate, try my basic mortgage payment calculator instead.
Mortgage Amortization Questions
What Is a Mortgage Amortization Schedule?
It’s a table that shows every payment on your mortgage (360 of them for a standard 30-year fixed) and how each one is split between principal and interest.
It also shows your remaining loan balance after each payment, all the way down to a zero balance at the end of the term.
While your monthly payment stays the same on a fixed-rate loan, the composition of your payment changes over time.
The smaller your outstanding balance, the less interest you pay. And vice versa.
Here’s more on how mortgage amortization works.
Why Is Most of My Mortgage Payment Interest in the Early Years?
Early in your mortgage term, most of each payment goes to interest, with very little going toward principal.
The reason why is actually simple. Because interest is calculated on your remaining balance, and in the beginning your balance is at its highest, the most interest accrues.
On a $400,000 loan set at 6.5%, about 85% of your payments in year one go toward interest. The remaining ~15% goes toward paying off your balance (principal).
Each subsequent payment chips away at the balance, which means a little less interest the next month, and a little more principal.
The tipping point is when more of each payment goes to principal than interest. On that same loan, it doesn’t happen until nearly 20 years in!
In fact, you’d pay more in total interest than you originally borrowed. Sadly, that’s how a 30-year loan works at current mortgage rates.
Not true for those with those 2-5% mortgage rates. They pay less interest than principal.
How Do Extra Payments Change My Amortization Schedule?
Extra mortgage payments go straight toward principal, which lowers your outstanding balance faster.
And a lower balance means less interest accrues each month, which means even more of your next regular payment goes to principal. It kind of snowballs.
For example, an extra $200 a month on that same $400,000 loan would save roughly $112,000 in interest, and knock about five and a half years off the loan.
Just make sure your lender applies the extra amount to principal. Some servicers need you to specify that (or ask if it should be applied to your principal or your escrow account).
See how much you could save with my early mortgage payoff calculator, or by making biweekly payments.
How Can I Find My Current Mortgage Balance?
The easiest way is to check your latest mortgage statement, or log into your loan servicer’s website.
Each month they send a statement or at least email you letting you know your latest statement is ready.
It should detail your outstanding loan balance, payment history, and perhaps even show an amortization schedule with payment composition.
If you don’t have it handy, you can estimate it here. Enter your original loan amount, interest rate, loan term, and the date of your first payment.
The calculator will estimate your balance today based on today’s date.
Keep in mind it assumes you made every payment on time and didn’t pay extra.
Does a Mortgage Amortization Schedule Include Taxes and Insurance?
No, it only covers principal and interest. The P&I part of PITI, which is your entire housing payment including taxes and insurance.
Your actual monthly housing payment will likely be a lot higher if you also pay property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, or mortgage insurance.
Those costs can change over time, and often do annually, but the principal and interest portion on a fixed-rate mortgage won’t.
So including them wouldn’t be practical, nor are those others costs part of the actual home loan.
How Is a 15-Year Mortgage Amortized Differently Than a 30-Year?
For starters, the payment is a lot higher, but a much bigger chunk of each payment goes toward principal each month.
That means you pay a lot more of the loan balance down right from the start.
And because the balance falls faster, you pay far less interest in total.
Adding to that is mortgage rates are also typically lower on 15-year loans as well, so you save in multiple ways.
The tradeoff is a more expensive monthly payment, which not everyone can qualify for and/or afford.
Compare the two loan types with my 15 vs. 30-year mortgage calculator.
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