Estimate your real monthly payment with UFMIP, annual MIP, taxes, and insurance — plus your MIP cancellation date and lifetime cost.
FHA loans let you buy a home with 3.5% down and a 580 credit score, but they come with mortgage insurance that most buyers underestimate. This free calculator shows every component of your payment so there are no surprises at closing.
With less than 10% down, FHA MIP remains for the life of the loan. The exit strategy is a conventional refinance once you reach 20% equity (roughly year 7–10 at current appreciation rates). That eliminates $166/mo — potentially saving $59.7K over the remaining term.
Direct answers to the most common questions, in plain language. Skim if you're in a hurry; dig deeper below.
3.5% if your credit score is 580 or above.
FHA loans require a minimum 3.5% down payment for borrowers with a credit score of 580 or higher. If your score is 500–579, HUD requires 10% down. Below 500, you do not qualify for an FHA-insured loan.
An upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount.
UFMIP stands for Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. FHA charges 1.75% of the base loan amount, collected at closing. Most borrowers finance it into the loan rather than paying cash, which adds it to the note balance and means you pay interest on it over the full term.
Only if you put 10% or more down — after 11 years.
If your LTV at origination is above 90% (down payment below 10%), annual MIP is charged for the entire life of the loan. If you put 10% or more down, MIP cancels after 11 years. The most common workaround is refinancing into a conventional loan once you reach 20% equity.
$524,225 for most US counties; up to $1,209,750 in high-cost areas.
FHA loan limits are set county by county by HUD. In 2026 the baseline (floor) for a single-family home is $524,225 and the ceiling (high-cost areas like San Francisco, NYC, Honolulu) is $1,209,750. Enter your county limit in the calculator above to see if your loan fits.
The mechanics in short answers — no jargon, no upsell.
Your base loan is the purchase price minus your down payment. FHA adds 1.75% of that base loan as an Upfront MIP. Most borrowers roll it into the note, so the actual financed amount is slightly larger — and that is the balance you amortize over 15 or 30 years.
Each month you pay standard P&I on the financed balance plus an Annual MIP divided into 12 installments. At 0.55% annual rate (the most common 2026 figure for 30-yr loans with <5% down), that adds roughly $120–170/mo on a $300,000 base loan.
Lenders collect property tax, homeowner insurance, and any HOA dues in escrow — so your real monthly outflow is PITI + MIP. This calculator shows all five components so you see the true all-in number.
If you put less than 10% down, MIP is permanent until you refinance or pay off the loan. Once you build 20% equity (typically 7–10 years in at today's home prices), refinancing into a conventional loan eliminates MIP, often saving $100–200/mo.
Designed so anyone can model their situation in under a minute, with or without a finance background.
Get into a home with as little as 3.5% down — roughly $13,125 on a $375,000 home — versus 20% for a conventional loan without PMI.
FHA insures lenders against default, allowing them to approve borrowers with credit scores as low as 580. Conventional loans typically require 620–640+.
Because lenders carry less risk, FHA note rates are often 0.25–0.50% below comparable conventional rates — which can offset some of the MIP cost.
FHA guidelines allow a back-end DTI up to 57% in some cases. Conventional loans typically cap at 45–50%, making FHA easier to qualify for.
Your entire down payment and closing costs can come from a gift from a family member, employer, or nonprofit — subject to documentation requirements.
Once you have an FHA loan you can use the FHA Streamline program to refinance with minimal documentation and no appraisal — a fast route to a lower rate.
Everything you might ask before, during, or after using this tool.
580 or above qualifies you for the 3.5% down option. Scores 500–579 can still get FHA financing but require 10% down. Below 500, FHA will not insure the loan. Individual lenders often overlay stricter minimums — many require 620 even for FHA — so shop multiple lenders.
Conventional PMI can be cancelled once you reach 80% LTV; FHA MIP (for loans with <10% down) is permanent for the life of the loan. On the other hand, FHA note rates are usually lower and qualification standards are more flexible. At 5% down with a 640 score, the total monthly cost of FHA and conventional are often comparable for the first 7 years — after that, conventional wins because PMI drops off.
Yes. FHA covers 1–4 unit properties as long as you occupy one unit as your primary residence. Loan limits are higher for 2-, 3-, and 4-unit properties. House hacking — living in one unit and renting the others — is a common FHA strategy.
FHA limits the maximum loan amount it will insure, by county. In 2026 the floor is $524,225 and the ceiling is $1,209,750 for single-family. If your base loan exceeds the county limit, you cannot use FHA financing — you would need conventional or jumbo. The limit field in this calculator is informational: it checks your base loan against the limit but does not change any math.
Yes, and most borrowers do. When you finance the UFMIP, your note balance is baseLoanAmount + UFMIP (roughly 1.75% more). Your monthly P&I payment is calculated on this higher amount. The trade-off: less cash at closing, but you pay interest on the premium for the full loan term.
The cleanest path is a conventional refinance once your LTV reaches 80% or below. At today's home appreciation rates and 3.5% down, that could happen in 6–10 years. The FHA Streamline refinance is faster but keeps you in the FHA ecosystem (MIP continues). Putting 10% down at origination gives you MIP cancellation at the 11-year mark without refinancing.
FHA closing costs are similar to conventional — typically 2–5% of the loan amount. They include origination fees, appraisal, title insurance, prepaid taxes and insurance, and the UFMIP (if not financed). Sellers can contribute up to 6% of the sale price toward your closing costs, which is higher than the 3% conventional cap — a negotiating advantage in soft markets.
FHA is usually better if you have a credit score below 680 or less than 10% to put down. If your score is 720+ and you have 10–20% down, conventional PMI will likely cost less over time because it cancels when you reach 80% LTV. Run both scenarios: the numbers often surprise people.
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FHA wins on qualification: lower credit score floors (580 vs. 620+), higher allowable debt-to-income ratios, and gift funds covering 100% of down payment. If you're a first-time buyer with a 620 score and 5% saved, FHA is often your only realistic path.
Conventional wins on long-term cost: private mortgage insurance (PMI) cancels automatically at 80% LTV — FHA MIP does not, unless you put 10% or more down. At today's home prices that break-even point is roughly year 7–9. If you plan to stay in the home longer than that, a conventional loan at 5% down will typically be cheaper in total.
The rate gap narrows the comparison. FHA note rates in 2026 run about 0.25–0.50% below comparable conventional rates. On a $350,000 loan, that saves roughly $50–90/mo on P&I — which offsets a significant chunk of the MIP cost, especially in the early years.
FHA mortgage insurance has two pieces. The Upfront MIP (UFMIP) is 1.75% of the base loan, paid at closing or rolled into the note. On a $360,000 base loan that is $6,300 — a meaningful number. When financed, it raises your note to $366,300 and you pay interest on that extra $6,300 for the full term.
The Annual MIP is divided into 12 monthly installments. The most common 2026 rate for a 30-year loan with less than 5% down is 0.55% annually. On a $360,000 loan that is $165/month. Over 30 years (if MIP is never cancelled) that totals roughly $59,400 in insurance premiums alone.
The MIP rate drops for 15-year loans (0.15–0.65% depending on LTV) and for loans with higher down payments. If you can stretch to 10% down, you not only lower the MIP rate slightly, you also lock in MIP cancellation at the 11-year mark — avoiding up to 19 extra years of monthly premiums.
HUD's official minimum credit score for 3.5%-down FHA loans is 580. But lenders are allowed to set stricter standards — called "overlays" — and most do. In practice, you'll find it hard to get an FHA loan below 620 at most banks and credit unions. A handful of lenders, including some non-bank mortgage companies, still work down to 580.
If your score is 580–619, shop widely: a mortgage broker who works with multiple wholesale lenders is often your best path. One lender's rejection is not an industry-wide no. Get your official tri-merge credit report and dispute any errors before applying — a single corrected item can move a score 20–30 points.
FHA publishes a new loan limit table every November, effective January 1. For 2026, the single-family floor (baseline) is $524,225 and the ceiling (for high-cost metros) is $1,209,750. Between those extremes, each county has its own limit based on median home prices.
If your loan amount exceeds the limit, FHA will not insure it — you need a conventional or jumbo loan. This is most common in expensive coastal metros. Look up your county at the HUD website or use the field in this calculator to check whether your deal fits within the limit before you make an offer.
For borrowers who put less than 10% down — the majority of FHA buyers — MIP is permanent. The only way out is to refinance into a conventional loan. The break-even question is: when will you have 20% equity? That depends on your down payment, appreciation rate, and how aggressively you pay down the principal.
At 3.5% down with 3% annual appreciation, many borrowers cross the 80% LTV threshold somewhere in year 6–8. At that point, a refi into a conventional loan eliminates MIP and — if rates have held or fallen — can actually lower the total monthly payment.
The refinance math: assume $200/mo in MIP, $3,000 in closing costs. Break-even on the refi cost is 15 months. After that, every month is $200 ahead. Over the remaining loan life, the savings are substantial — often $25,000–40,000 on a median US home.
Two short notes worth reading before you trust any number on this page.
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