Buying a Home

Extra Payment Calculator

Enter your mortgage balance and a fixed extra amount you'd pay each month to see how much sooner you'd be done, and how much interest you'd save.

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How this calculator works

Every dollar paid above your required payment goes straight toward principal — and because interest is calculated on your remaining balance, a smaller balance means less interest every month after that, compounding the benefit over the life of the loan. This calculator simulates your loan month by month with your extra payment added, and compares the result to your original schedule.

Why extra payments save more than they seem to

Early in a mortgage, most of your payment goes to interest, not principal. An extra payment made now skips ahead — it reduces the balance that interest would otherwise be charged on for every remaining month of the loan. That's why a relatively modest monthly addition can save tens of thousands in interest and cut years off a 30-year term.

A word on where else that money could go

An extra mortgage payment is a guaranteed return equal to your interest rate. If you have higher-interest debt elsewhere — a credit card, say — paying that down first with the Credit Card Payoff Calculator is almost always the better move, since its rate is likely well above your mortgage's.