PMI Removal Calculator
Find the month your loan reaches 80% LTV so you can request PMI cancellation, the 78% automatic-termination month, and the total PMI paid until each.
On conventional loans, the federal Homeowners Protection Act sets two PMI milestones, both measured against the home's original value — the value at closing, not today's market price. When the loan balance reaches 80% of that original value, you can request cancellation in writing; when it is scheduled to reach 78%, the servicer must terminate PMI automatically. This calculator rebuilds your scheduled amortization, finds the exact month each threshold is crossed, and totals the PMI paid until each — the difference between the two totals is what sending the written request early is worth.
One scope note before the numbers: these milestones govern private mortgage insurance on conventional loans. FHA loans carry a different product — the mortgage insurance premium (MIP) — with different rules: for most FHA loans since mid-2013, MIP runs 11 years with 10% or more down, and for the life of the loan with less. Removing life-of-loan MIP generally means refinancing into a conventional loan, which is a different calculation entirely.
How it's calculated
The scheduled payment comes from the standard annuity formula,
Payment = P · r / (1 − (1 + r)−n), and the
balance path from simulating the schedule month by month. Then:
80% month = first month balance ≤ 0.80 × original value
78% month = first month balance ≤ 0.78 × original value
PMI paid to each = months × monthly PMI
The milestones follow the scheduled balance — the Homeowners Protection Act baseline, which is also how a servicer computes the automatic-termination date. Full formulas are on our methodology page. For the cancellation rights themselves — the written request, the good-payment-history and no-junior-liens conditions, and the midpoint backstop — the CFPB's explainer on when PMI can be removed is the primary reference.
Worked example: $382,500 loan on a $425,000 home
Take the calculator's default scenario: a $425,000 home bought with 10% down, leaving a $382,500 loan (90% LTV) at 6.5% over 30 years, with $175 a month of PMI. The scheduled balance reaches 80% of original value ($340,000) at month 95 and 78% ($331,500) at month 109. Here is how the down payment changes that picture, computed with the same engine as the tool above (PMI held at $175 for comparability):
| Start | 80% month (request) | 78% month (automatic) | PMI paid to 80% | PMI paid to 78% | Asking early saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% down (95% LTV) | 124 | 135 | $21,700 | $23,625 | $1,925 |
| 10% down (90% LTV) | 95 | 109 | $16,625 | $19,075 | $2,450 |
| 15% down (85% LTV) | 56 | 75 | $9,800 | $13,125 | $3,325 |
Two things stand out. First, the totals: in the default case PMI costs $16,625 even when removed at the earliest scheduled opportunity — a real component of the cost of buying with 10% down. Second, the gap between asking and waiting: fourteen months and $2,450 in the default case, and wider at lower starting LTV, because the balance curve is flatter where it crosses the thresholds. The request at 80% is not automatic — the servicer acts at 78% on its own, but the earlier month only happens if you ask in writing. Enter your own loan above to see both of your months and what the letter is worth.
When should you use this calculator?
Use it to put two dates on the calendar: the month your written cancellation request becomes possible, and the month termination happens on its own if you do nothing. It is also the honest baseline for evaluating the faster paths — if you are prepaying principal, compare the schedule-only months here against your actual balance to see how far ahead you are running (the mortgage payoff calculator models exactly that), and if your market value has risen, the scheduled months tell you what you get by waiting versus paying for an appraisal to pursue current-value cancellation under your servicer's policy. Checking a servicer's quoted termination date against the arithmetic is a legitimate third use.
The tool computes dates and dollar totals from the schedule. Whether your specific loan qualifies on a given date — payment history, junior liens, value declines, investor overlays — is between you and your servicer.
Assumptions and limitations
- Conventional loans with PMI only. FHA MIP and VA funding fees follow different rules — see the scope note above and the FAQ below.
- Milestones are computed from the scheduled amortization with no extra payments. Extra principal reaches 80% sooner; this tool shows the guaranteed floor, not the best case.
- Original value is treated as fixed (for a purchase, generally the lower of price and appraisal; for a refinance, the appraisal at closing). Current market value is not an input.
- The HPA's midpoint backstop — PMI must end at the amortization midpoint, 15 years on a 30-year loan, even if 78% has not been reached — is not modeled. It binds only when high starting LTV meets a high rate: at 97% LTV and a 10% rate, for example, the schedule reaches 78% at month 187, so the midpoint would end PMI at month 180 first.
- Automatic termination requires the loan to be current, and request-based cancellation carries the CFPB-listed conditions (written request, good payment history, no junior liens, no value decline).
- The PMI amount is held constant until removal. Lender-paid PMI, which is built into the rate and cannot be cancelled this way, is not modeled.
This page is educational content about how PMI-removal math works under the Homeowners Protection Act. It is not financial or legal advice and does not consider your personal circumstances. For decisions that matter, consult a qualified professional.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-09