Pay Off Mortgage Early Calculator
See how much faster you can pay off your mortgage and how much interest you save by paying extra each month — enter your balance, rate, years left and the extra payment.
Estimate only, not financial advice. Assumes the extra amount goes entirely to principal each month at a fixed rate; check that your servicer applies extra payments to principal.
Why extra payments save so much
Early in a mortgage, most of each payment goes to interest and only a little to principal. When you add an extra amount that goes straight to principal, you skip all the future interest that balance would have generated — so even a small monthly extra can cut years off the loan and save tens of thousands in interest. This calculator runs the amortization month by month, with and without the extra payment, and shows the months saved and the interest you avoid.
Make sure the extra hits principal
The saving only works if your servicer applies the extra to principal rather than to next month’s payment, so mark it accordingly. If instead you’ve come into a lump sum and want a lower monthly payment while keeping the term, a mortgage recast may fit better. To model a full payment with taxes and insurance, use the mortgage calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much faster can I pay off my mortgage with extra payments?
Even a modest extra payment makes a big difference because it goes straight to principal. For example, adding $200 a month to a $300,000 balance at 6.5% with 30 years left pays the loan off about 6 years sooner and saves tens of thousands in interest. Enter your numbers above to see your own result.
Is it worth paying extra on my mortgage?
Paying extra guarantees a return equal to your mortgage rate by avoiding that interest, and it builds equity faster. Whether it beats investing the money instead depends on your rate and goals, but for higher-rate loans the interest saved is substantial and risk-free.
Should I make one extra payment a year or pay more monthly?
Both work; paying a little extra every month tends to save slightly more interest than one annual lump because the principal drops sooner each month. The calculator above models an extra amount every month — the key is that the extra is applied to principal.