PMI Removal Calculator
Find the month private mortgage insurance can be cancelled at 80 percent loan to value, when it terminates automatically at 78 percent, and what an extra payment or a rising home value does to that date.
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An insurance premium that protects the lender
Private mortgage insurance is required on most conventional loans with less than twenty percent down. It insures the lender against default; it provides the borrower no coverage at all. The premium is typically between 0.3 and 1.5 percent of the loan a year depending on credit score and down payment, which on a 400 thousand loan is between 100 and 500 a month for a benefit that accrues entirely to someone else.
Two different removal rules
Under the United States Homeowners Protection Act, a borrower may request cancellation once the principal balance reaches eighty percent of the original property value, provided payments are current and the lender may require an appraisal. Separately, the servicer must terminate it automatically at seventy eight percent of the original value based on the original amortisation schedule, whether or not the borrower asks. The difference between those two dates is frequently more than a year of premiums that nobody refunds, which is why the request matters.
Appreciation and extra payments change everything
The automatic termination uses the original value, but a cancellation request based on current value can come far sooner in a rising market, typically after two years with a new appraisal. Extra principal payments accelerate the schedule directly. A few hundred a month applied to principal can bring removal forward by a year or more, and the premium saved usually exceeds the interest saved, which makes it one of the highest return uses of spare cash a homeowner has.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When can I ask for PMI to be removed?
Under the Homeowners Protection Act you can request it at 80 percent loan to value based on the original property value, with payments current. The servicer may require an appraisal and a good payment history, and the request must generally be in writing.
When does it come off automatically?
At 78 percent of the original value based on the original amortisation schedule, regardless of extra payments made. It also terminates at the midpoint of the loan term if that comes first. Automatic termination is later than the point you could have requested it, which is why asking matters.
Does a higher home value help?
For a borrower request, yes. Many servicers will cancel based on a current appraisal showing 80 percent or less, typically after two years of ownership and often at 75 percent between two and five years. Automatic termination always uses the original value.
Is FHA mortgage insurance the same?
No. FHA insurance follows different rules: on most loans since 2013 it lasts for the life of the loan unless the down payment was 10 percent or more, in which case it runs 11 years. Removing it usually means refinancing into a conventional loan.
Is paying extra to remove PMI worth it?
Frequently yes, because the return is the premium eliminated plus the interest saved, and the premium buys you nothing. The calculator shows the month removal moves to and the total premium avoided for a given extra payment.
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How to Use
Enter your loan details and PMI premium to see when it can be removed and what it costs until then.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.
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