See how extra monthly or one-time payments change your payoff time and interest.
Regular payment: $1,688.02; with extra: $1,888.02 per month.
A standard mortgage runs for 15 to 30 years, but you are not locked into the full term. This mortgage payoff calculator shows how paying extra toward principal could change your payoff time and the interest you pay. It works as a mortgage early payoff calculator, an extra mortgage payment calculator and a mortgage interest savings calculator: enter your balance, rate and remaining years, then add a monthly extra payment, a one-time payment, or both.
The mortgage payoff time calculator recalculates your loan month by month, so you can compare scenarios such as "what if I paid an extra $200 a month?" or "what if I put a $10,000 bonus toward the loan in month 13?". It is free and works on any device.
Interest Savings = Total Interest (Original) − Total Interest (With Extra Payments)
The calculator first works out your regular monthly payment from your balance, rate and remaining term. It then simulates every month: interest is charged on the current balance, your regular payment plus any extra goes to interest first and principal second, and the balance falls until it reaches zero.
Adding a fixed amount to each payment reduces the principal balance straight away. Because interest is charged on the remaining balance, future interest charges fall.
A bonus, tax refund or inheritance applied to principal can shorten the loan in one step. The earlier it is paid, the more interest it saves.
Paying half of the monthly payment every two weeks makes 26 half-payments, equal to 13 full payments a year instead of 12, as long as your lender applies them promptly to principal. For a $300,000, 30-year loan at 6% this works out to about 5.4 years sooner. The effect is about 4 years at a 4% rate and about 7 years at 8%.
The regular payment on this loan is $1,798.65. The table shows the result of adding a fixed extra amount every month.
| Scenario | Time to Pay Off | Total Interest Paid | Interest Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular payment only | 30 yr | $347,515 | $0 |
| Extra $100 / month | 26 yr 1 mo | $294,168 | $53,346 |
| Extra $200 / month | 23 yr 3 mo | $256,341 | $91,173 |
| Extra $500 / month | 17 yr 8 mo | $187,220 | $160,295 |
| Extra $1,000 / month | 12 yr 10 mo | $130,841 | $216,673 |
The regular payment is $1,688.02 and the interest over the remaining 25 years would be $256,405. These examples use this calculator's method.
| Scenario | New Payoff Time | Time Saved | Interest Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra $50 / month | 23 yr 4 mo | 1 yr 8 mo | $20,508 |
| Extra $100 / month | 21 yr 11 mo | 3 yr 1 mo | $37,671 |
| Extra $200 / month | 19 yr 6 mo | 5 yr 6 mo | $64,928 |
| Extra $500 / month | 14 yr 11 mo | 10 yr 1 mo | $115,668 |
| One-time $10,000 in month 1 | 22 yr 9 mo | 2 yr 3 mo | $36,747 |
| One-time $10,000 in month 61 (year 6) | 23 yr 4 mo | 1 yr 8 mo | $24,489 |
| One-time $10,000 in month 121 (year 11) | 23 yr 10 mo | 1 yr 2 mo | $15,317 |
| Extra $200 / month plus $10,000 in month 13 | 18 yr 2 mo | 6 yr 10 mo | $86,514 |
The same $10,000 saves less the later it is paid, because it spends less time reducing interest-bearing balance.
If you do not specify this, a lender may treat an extra payment as an early payment of your next installment instead of reducing the balance, which weakens the effect.
Putting every spare dollar into the mortgage can leave you without savings. Many planners suggest keeping several months of expenses in an emergency fund before prepaying aggressively.
Prepaying a 6% mortgage while carrying debt at a much higher rate is usually less efficient than paying the higher-rate debt first.
There is no single right answer. Paying extra on your mortgage gives a return equal to your mortgage interest rate, before tax effects, and it is certain. Investing may earn more or less than that, and returns are not guaranteed. The right choice depends on your mortgage rate, your tolerance for risk, your other debts and how you value being debt-free.
Paying extra can shorten a mortgage and reduce interest, and the size of the effect depends on your rate, your balance and how early the extra money goes in. Use the calculator above to compare monthly and one-time payments, then check with your lender how extra payments are applied.