Refinance Calculator

Yes. The calculator computes the full PITI total — principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, plus PMI on conventional loans above 80% LTV or FHA MIP. HOA dues are a separate input. Property tax and insurance defaults are loaded by state and can be overridden with your actuals.

Property tax rates from the Tax Foundation's annual analysis and Census ACS data. Insurance baselines from the Insurance Information Institute and NAIC. Transfer and mortgage recording taxes from each state's revenue department. Title insurance from state insurance commissioners (where regulated) or industry surveys. Full source list is under the calculator.

We divide your total closing costs (if paid out of pocket) by your monthly P&I savings. If you roll closing costs into the new loan, breakeven is reflected directly in the new monthly payment instead. Property tax, insurance, and HOA are excluded from the comparison because they don't change from refinancing alone.

The Texas constitution (Section 50(a)(6)) caps cash-out refinances at 80% loan-to-value. The calculator enforces this cap and warns you when a cash-out amount would push your new LTV above 80% — those refinances cannot close in Texas. The calculator suggests the maximum cash-out allowed in your scenario.

Yes. Selecting FHA adds the 1.75% upfront MIP (financed into the loan) plus monthly MIP per HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 — bps vary by term, LTV, and whether your base loan exceeds the 2026 national conforming limit of $832,750. A toggle handles the FHA streamline carve-out for loans endorsed on or before May 31, 2009 (UFMIP 0.01%, annual MIP 0.55%). Selecting VA adds the funding fee with a toggle for first-use versus subsequent-use. Eligible disabled veterans are exempt — override the funding fee field to $0 if applicable.

The calculator does not pull live rates — you enter the rate you have been quoted by a lender. The page is reviewed at least quarterly. For market context, the standard U.S. reference is the weekly Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), updated Thursdays.

Most conventional refinances require a 620 minimum FICO, with the lowest rates unlocked at 740 and above. FHA streamline refinances allow 580 (sometimes lower with manual underwriting). VA IRRRLs have no statutory minimum but lenders typically want 620+. Credit score also drives your PMI rate if your new loan exceeds 80% LTV — a 760+ score can cut PMI cost by roughly a third compared with 680.

Rolling closing costs into the loan keeps out-of-pocket near zero, but you pay interest on those costs for the full loan term — often $4,000–$6,000 extra over 30 years on a typical $5,000 closing-cost refinance. Paying upfront is cheaper if you have the cash and will stay in the home past the breakeven point. The calculator's Roll closing costs into the new loan toggle lets you compare both scenarios directly.

Most refinances close in 30 to 45 days from application. Streamline products (FHA Streamline, VA IRRRL) skip income documentation and the appraisal, closing in 2–3 weeks. Cash-out refis take longer because they require full underwriting and a fresh appraisal — plan for 45–60 days, especially in busy purchase markets when appraisers are backed up.

Conventional refis cap at 95–97% LTV depending on the product. FHA allows up to 96.5% LTV on a streamline from another FHA loan. VA IRRRLs have no LTV cap. If you're underwater (LTV above 100%), check Fannie Mae's RefiNow or Freddie Mac's Refi Possible programs, which are designed for high-LTV and lower-income scenarios and ignore the 97% cap.

The hard inquiry typically lowers your score by 5–10 points temporarily. Multiple mortgage inquiries within 14–45 days count as a single inquiry for FICO scoring, so shopping multiple lenders does not compound the hit. The new loan replacing the old one is a neutral substitution, not a credit downgrade. Scores usually recover within a few months of consistent on-time payments on the new loan.

No. The calculator excludes mortgage interest deduction effects. After the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubled the standard deduction, fewer homeowners itemize, so we don't assume a tax benefit by default. If you do itemize, your effective interest rate is lower than the quoted rate by approximately your marginal tax bracket × the deductible portion of interest. We're working on a dedicated tax implications guide.

Defaults are calibrated from public sources (Tax Foundation, NAIC, state revenue departments) and are reasonable starting points for budgeting. Your actual Loan Estimate from a specific lender is the authoritative number. Once you have it, override the line items in Closing costs (itemized) with your real values — the calculator updates breakeven and monthly figures live as you type.

Several common reasons: the lender's APR includes mortgage insurance or discount points that this calculator handles separately; their PMI rate comes from a specific MI provider with proprietary pricing; their title insurance is from a specific title company with its own rate filing; their appraisal fee reflects their vendor. The Loan Estimate is regulated under TRID disclosure rules and is always the authoritative number for your actual transaction — override our defaults with those values.