Mortgage Amortization Calculator

The Mortgage Amortization Calculator provides an annual or monthly amortization schedule of a mortgage loan. It also calculates the monthly payment amount and determines the portion of one's payment going to interest. Having such knowledge gives the borrower a better idea of how each payment affects a loan. It also shows how fast the overall debt falls at a given time.

Amortization schedule

What Is Amortization?

In the context of a loan, amortization is a way of spreading the loan into a series of payments over a period of time. Using this technique, the loan balance will fall with each payment, and the borrower will pay off the balance after completing the series of scheduled payments.

Banks amortize many consumer-facing loans such as home mortgage loans, auto loans, and personal loans. Nonetheless, our mortgage amortization calculator is specially designed for home mortgage loans.

In most cases, the amortized payments are fixed monthly payments spread evenly throughout the loan term. Each payment is composed of two parts, interest and principal. Interest is the fee for borrowing the money, usually a percentage of the outstanding loan balance. The principal is the portion of the payment devoted to paying down the loan balance.

Over time, the balance of the loan falls as the principal repayment gradually increases. In other words, the interest portion of each payment will decrease as the loan's remaining principal balance falls. As the borrower approaches the end of the loan term, the bank will apply nearly all of the payment to reducing principal.

The amortization table below illustrates this process, calculating the fixed monthly payback amount and providing an annual or monthly amortization schedule of the loan. For example, a bank would amortize a five-year, $20,000 loan at a 5% interest rate into payments of $377.42 per month for five years.

The calculator can also estimate other costs associated with homeownership, giving the borrower a more accurate financial picture of the costs associated with owning a home.

Amortizing a Mortgage Faster and Saving Money

In many situations, a borrower may want to pay off a mortgage earlier to save on interest, gain freedom from debt, or other reasons.

However, lengthier loans help to boost the profit of the lending banks. The amortization table shows how a loan can concentrate the larger interest payments towards the beginning of the loan, increasing a bank's revenue. Moreover, some loan contracts may not explicitly permit some loan reduction techniques. Thus, a borrower may first need to check with the lending bank to see if utilizing such strategies is allowed.

Nonetheless, assuming a mortgage agreement allows for faster repayment, a borrower can employ the following techniques to reduce mortgage balances more quickly and save money:

Increasing Regular Payments

One way to pay off a mortgage faster is to make small additional payments each month. This technique can save borrowers a considerable amount of money.

For example, a borrower who has a $150,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years at an interest rate of 5.45% can pay it off 2.5 years sooner by paying an extra $50 a month over the life of the mortgage. This would result in a savings of over $14,000.

Accelerating Payments

Most financial institutions offer several payment frequency options besides making one payment per month. Switching to a more frequent mode of payment, such as biweekly payments, has the effect of a borrower making an extra annual payment. This will result in significant savings on a mortgage.

For example, suppose a borrower has a $150,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years with an interest rate of 6.45% repaid in biweekly rather than monthly installments. By paying half of the monthly amount every two weeks, that person can save nearly $30,000 over the life of the loan.

Making Lump Sum Payments or Prepayments

A prepayment is a lump sum payment made in addition to regular mortgage installments. These additional payments reduce the outstanding balance of a mortgage, resulting in a shorter mortgage term. The earlier a borrower makes prepayments, the more it reduces the overall interest paid, typically leading to quicker mortgage repayment.

Nonetheless, borrowers should keep in mind that banks may impose stipulations governing prepayments since they reduce a bank's earnings on a given mortgage. These conditions may consist of a penalty for prepayments, a cap on how much borrowers can pay in a lump sum form, or a minimum amount specified for prepayments. If such conditions exist, a bank will usually spell them out in the mortgage agreement.

Refinancing a Mortgage

Refinancing involves replacing an existing mortgage with a new mortgage loan contract. While this usually means a different interest rate and new loan conditions, it also involves a new application, an underwriting process, and a closing, amounting to significant fees and other costs.

Despite these challenges, refinancing can benefit borrowers, but they should weigh the comparison carefully and read any new agreement thoroughly.

Drawbacks of Amortizing a Mortgage Faster

Before paying back a mortgage early, borrowers should also understand the disadvantages of paying ahead on a mortgage. Overall, mortgage rates are relatively low compared to the interest rates on other loan types such as personal loans or credit cards. Hence, paying ahead on a mortgage means the borrower cannot use the money to invest and make higher returns elsewhere. In other words, a borrower can incur a significant opportunity cost by paying off a mortgage with a 4% interest rate when they could earn a 10% return by investing that money.

Prepayment penalties or lost mortgage interest deductions on tax returns are other examples of opportunity costs. Borrowers should consider such factors before making additional payments.