FHA Mortgage Calculator
See your real FHA monthly payment — upfront MIP, annual MIP, taxes, insurance, and the 3.5% vs. 10% down payment split based on your credit score, all calculated the way an FHA underwriter actually does it.
Reviewed for accuracy: August 2026 · MIP data from HUD.gov · Loan limits from HUD FHA Lending Limits
Your Loan Details
FHA Mortgage Insurance
Taxes, Insurance & HOA
Monthly FHA Payment
Down Payment Rules by Credit Score
FHA is one of the only major loan programs where your minimum down payment is set directly by your credit score, not your loan amount or debt ratio.
Credit score 580+
The standard path most FHA borrowers use
Credit score 500–579
Still FHA-eligible, just a higher down payment floor
When Does FHA MIP Actually Go Away?
This is the question I get asked more than any other on an FHA calculator, and the answer depends entirely on your down payment at closing.
FHA vs. Conventional vs. VA — Same Home, Same Rate
FHA usually wins on approval flexibility, not on lifetime cost. Here’s how the monthly numbers actually stack up on your scenario above.
| Loan Type | Typical Min. Down | Mortgage Insurance | Upfront Fee | Est. Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FHA Loan | 3.5% | UFMIP + annual MIP | 1.75% UFMIP | $0 |
| Conventional | 5%–20% | Monthly PMI until 20% equity | None | $0 |
| VA Loan* | 0% | None, ever | Funding fee (2.15%+) | $0 |
*VA figures shown for comparison only and require military eligibility — see our VA Mortgage Calculator for a full VA-specific breakdown including funding fee exemptions. Conventional assumes 5% down and 0.65% annual PMI until 20% equity.
2026 FHA Loan Limits
FHA sets a national floor and ceiling every year based on conforming loan limits. Where your county lands between them depends on local home prices.
| Area Type | 2026 Single-Family Limit | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| Floor (most counties) | $541,287 | 65% of the national conforming loan limit |
| High-cost ceiling | $1,249,125 | 150% of the national conforming loan limit |
| Special exception areas | Up to $1,873,675 | Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands |
What This Calculator Gets Right That Others Miss
I built the mortgage tools on this site after spending years watching clients get blindsided by an FHA payment that looked nothing like what a generic calculator had promised. The gap almost always comes down to mortgage insurance. A lot of FHA calculators either skip MIP entirely or apply a flat percentage that doesn’t reflect your actual down payment tier, and that single shortcut can throw your estimate off by $50 to $150 a month — real money on a 30-year commitment.
This tool separates the two MIP charges the way HUD actually structures them: a one-time upfront premium of 1.75% (financed into your loan or paid at closing, your choice) and an ongoing annual premium that’s baked into your monthly payment for either 11 years or the full loan term, depending on how much you put down. That distinction matters more than almost anything else in an FHA payment calculation, and most tools flatten it into a single number.
Why the 10% down payment line matters so much
Putting down exactly 10% instead of the FHA minimum of 3.5% does two things most buyers don’t realize until it’s explained plainly: it drops your annual MIP rate slightly, and it puts a hard 11-year expiration date on that insurance instead of carrying it for the life of the loan. On a $350,000 loan, that difference alone can save a borrower well over $10,000 in mortgage insurance across the life of the loan compared to staying at the minimum down payment. It’s worth running both scenarios through the calculator above before you commit to a number with your lender.
Credit score still drives your down payment floor
FHA gets marketed as the low-credit-score loan program, and that’s true, but the fine print matters. A 580 score unlocks the 3.5% down payment most people associate with FHA loans. Drop below that, into the 500–579 range, and FHA still approves you — but only with 10% down. Plenty of individual lenders set their own internal minimum higher than FHA’s official floor, commonly landing around 600 to 620, so what FHA allows and what a specific lender will actually approve aren’t always the same conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two separate charges: a one-time upfront MIP of 1.75% of your base loan amount, plus an annual MIP that runs 0.55% for most 30-year loans with less than 10% down, or 0.50% with 10% or more down. The annual figure gets divided by 12 and added to your monthly payment.
With less than 10% down, MIP runs for the life of the loan, and the only way off is refinancing into a conventional loan once you’ve built enough equity. With 10% or more down, MIP automatically cancels after exactly 11 years — no refinance required.
580 or higher qualifies for the standard 3.5% down payment. Scores from 500 to 579 are still FHA-eligible but require 10% down. Many individual lenders set their own higher minimum, often 600 to 620, so shop around if you’re near the FHA floor.
The 2026 floor for a single-family home is $541,287 in most counties, rising to a $1,249,125 ceiling in high-cost areas, and up to $1,873,675 in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It depends heavily on your credit score. FHA charges the same flat MIP rate no matter your credit, so borrowers with lower scores often come out ahead versus credit-score-based conventional PMI. Borrowers with strong credit and a small down payment frequently find conventional PMI cheaper, and it can cancel automatically at 22% equity, while FHA MIP often can’t.
Yes, and it’s what most borrowers do. Rolling the 1.75% upfront premium into your loan balance avoids paying it in cash at closing, in exchange for a slightly larger loan and a few extra dollars of monthly interest.
Yes, FHA cash-out and rate-and-term refinances both carry upfront and annual MIP under the same rules as a purchase loan. An FHA Streamline Refinance uses a reduced upfront MIP rate for borrowers refinancing an existing FHA loan.
Yes. FHA is notably flexible here — the entire down payment can come from a gift from a family member, employer, or approved down payment assistance program, with proper documentation.
The standard guideline is a 31% front-end ratio (housing costs) and 43% back-end ratio (total debt), though borrowers with compensating factors like strong credit or cash reserves are sometimes approved with a back-end ratio as high as 50–57%.
Yes. Enter your annual property tax and insurance estimates, plus any monthly HOA dues, and the calculator folds them together with principal, interest, and both MIP charges into one full PITI + MIP monthly payment.
Generally, FHA loans are meant for a primary residence, and most borrowers can only have one FHA loan at a time. There are documented exceptions, such as relocating for work or a change in family size, that allow a second FHA loan under specific HUD guidelines.
Yes. MIP rates reflect HUD’s March 2023 reduction, still unchanged as of 2026, and the loan limit figures reflect HUD’s 2026 update. Both are reviewed periodically against HUD’s published guidance and updated if new figures are released.
Related Mortgage Calculators
- Mortgage Calculators Hub — browse every state-specific and loan-program calculator on DexoCalc, including USDA and conventional tools alongside this FHA calculator.
- Main Mortgage Calculator — compare your FHA scenario against a standard conventional PITI payment with an adjustable PMI toggle.
- VA Mortgage Calculator — if you or a co-borrower are military-eligible, run the same home price and rate through the VA calculator to compare a zero-down, no-MIP scenario side by side.