Amortization Schedule Calculator: See Every Year of Your Mortgage

An amortization schedule shows where every mortgage dollar goes. Your monthly payment on a fixed-rate loan never changes, but what it buys does: early on, most of it pays interest; near the end, almost all of it pays down the loan. This amortization schedule calculator builds the full table, year by year, so you can see your balance at any point and the true interest cost of the loan.

How this amortization schedule calculator works

The calculator first finds the fixed monthly payment for principal and interest:

M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)

P is the loan amount, r is the yearly rate divided by 12, and n is the number of payments (360 for 30 years). Then it steps through the loan one month at a time:

1. Interest this month = balance × r.
2. Principal this month = M − interest.
3. New balance = balance − principal.

It repeats until the balance reaches zero, adds the monthly figures into yearly rows, and totals the interest.

Worked examples

Example 1: a $320,000 loan over 30 years

Assume a $320,000 loan at an assumed 6.5% rate for 30 years.

1. Monthly rate: 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.5417%.
2. Monthly payment: about $2,023.
3. First month: interest is $320,000 × 0.5417% = about $1,733, so only about $289 goes to principal.
4. Total interest over 360 payments: about $408,142, more than the amount borrowed.

The yearly table shows how slowly the balance falls at first:

After 10 years of payments, the borrower still owes about 85% of the original loan. Principal does not overtake interest until year 20.

Example 2: the same loan over 15 years

Keep the $320,000 loan and the assumed 6.5% rate, but choose 15 years. The payment rises to about $2,788, or about $765 more a month. Total interest falls to about $181,758, roughly $226,000 less than the 30-year loan. After 5 years the balance is about $245,495, compared with about $299,555 on the 30-year schedule. In real life a 15-year loan usually also carries a lower rate, which widens the gap further.

What your result means

Use the schedule to answer practical questions:

• How much equity will I have? Your balance at a given year, compared with the home’s value, shows your equity from payments alone. The loan-to-value calculator turns that into a percentage.
• When could PMI end? On a conventional loan, PMI can be cancelled on request when the balance reaches 80% of the original value. Find the year your balance crosses that line, or use the PMI removal calculator.
• What does it cost to keep the loan? The interest column shows what you would pay each year if you do not refinance, sell or pay extra.

Program rules that change the answer

The math is the same for every fixed-rate loan, but what goes into the loan amount differs by program.

Federal Qualified Mortgage rules limit QM loans to terms of 30 years or less and generally do not allow payments that leave the balance growing. A standard fully amortizing loan, like the one modeled here, pays itself off by the last payment.

Assumptions

• One fixed rate for the full term and no extra payments.
• Payments are made on time every month; interest is calculated monthly, not daily.
• Figures are not rounded to the cent each month, so the last payment may differ by a few cents from a lender’s schedule.
• Taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues are not part of the schedule because they do not reduce the balance.

Common mistakes

• Entering the home price instead of the loan amount. Subtract your down payment first.
• Forgetting financed fees. FHA upfront MIP, the VA funding fee or the USDA upfront fee raise the balance that amortizes.
• Reading total interest as a fixed cost. Most people sell or refinance before year 30, so they pay only part of that total. Look at the years you actually expect to keep the loan.
• Assuming equity builds evenly. It builds slowly at first and much faster in later years.

Limits of this estimate

Your lender’s schedule will use your closing date, exact payment dates and rounding rules. Before you pay extra or refinance, check your loan documents for a prepayment penalty; federal rules restrict them on most home loans, but not all. To test extra payments, use the extra payment calculator. If you are still deciding between loan terms or types, our guide to types of mortgage loans explains the trade-offs.