Recast vs Extra Payments
Both send money to principal, but they buy different things: a recast lowers the payment you are obliged to make, and extra principal shortens how long you make it.
Private by design. Your numbers stay on this device.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.
Updated
Which one should you choose?
A recast applies your lump sum to principal and then re-amortizes the remaining balance over the time that was already left, at the rate you already have. The required monthly payment drops and the payoff date stays put.
Extra principal works the other way. The required payment stays where it is, and every additional dollar shortens the loan, often by years, which cuts total interest compared with keeping the mortgage as it is.
Which is cheaper depends on how much you put in and whether it arrives as one lump sum or a monthly habit. The calculator below prices both against keeping your mortgage unchanged, on the same figures, so you can see which your own numbers favour.
Over your 26-year stay
Which one costs less depends on how much money goes in and when. Either way, the recast lowers the payment you are obliged to make and extra principal leaves that obligation alone. Read both rows before deciding which you need.
- Keep current
- Monthly payment
- $2,767
- Net cost over your stay
- $687,691
- vs keeping your mortgage
- —
- Break-even, ours
- —
- Break-even, conventional
- —
- Recast
- Monthly payment
- $2,422
- Net cost over your stay
- $630,490
- vs keeping your mortgage
- +$57,201
- Break-even, ours
- Ahead from month 1
- Break-even, conventional
- 12 years 2 months
- Extra payments
- Monthly payment
- $2,967
- Net cost over your stay
- $605,112
- vs keeping your mortgage
- +$82,579
- Break-even, ours
- Ahead from month 1
- Break-even, conventional
- Nothing upfront to recover
Why two break-even figures? The conventional figure counts only the monthly payment saving against the cash you pay upfront. Ours also counts what you still owe when you sell, which is why the two disagree.
Compared over
the 26 years you expect to stay
Two break-even figures. The conventional figure counts only the monthly payment saving against the cash you pay upfront. Ours also counts what you still owe when you sell, which is why the two disagree.
| Leave it alone | Change your current loan | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure | Keep current | Recast | Extra payments |
| Interest rateThe rate on the new or largest loan in this scenario. | 6.875% | 6.875% | 6.875% |
| Starting loan balance | $320,000 | $270,000Low | $320,000 |
| Starting LTV (loan-to-value) | 71.1% | 60.0% | 71.1% |
| Principal & interest | $2,204 | $1,860Low | $2,204 |
| Extra principalVoluntary principal on top of the scheduled payment. Part of what you pay each month, so it belongs in the all-in figure. | — | — | $200 |
| PMI | — | — | — |
| Property tax + insuranceIdentical across every scenario for the same home, but a real part of the monthly bill. | $563 | $563 | $563 |
| Monthly HOA dues | — | — | — |
| All-in monthly payment | $2,767 | $2,423Low | $2,967 |
| Total closing costs | NoneLow | $250 | NoneLow |
| Cash you have to put inClosing costs paid in cash, plus any lump sum or one-time payment this option needs upfront. | NoneLow | $50,250 | NoneLow |
| Monthly commitment on topMoney you have to keep finding every month beyond the required payment: voluntary extra principal, or the same money invested instead. The required payment itself is the all-in figure above. | NoneLow | NoneLow | $200/mo |
| Cash received | None | None | None |
| Interest over 26 years | $367,691 | $310,240 | $285,112Low |
| Balance left after 26 yearsWhat you would still owe when you expect to sell or refinance again. | $0Low | $0Low | $0Low |
| Equity after 26 yearsHome value less the balance owed. Uses your assumed appreciation rate, which is 0% unless you change it. It is never used to remove mortgage insurance early. | $450,000Low | $450,000Low | $450,000Low |
| Invested balance after 26 yearsOnly the growth on this account is credited against net cost. The contributions are money you paid in, so counting the whole balance would count them twice. | — | — | — |
| Net cost over your planned stayCash closing costs + payments made + balance still owed − cash received. Excludes property tax, insurance and HOA, which are identical across scenarios. | $687,691 | $630,490 | $605,112Low |
| Savings vs keeping your mortgageThis is not the same as interest saved: it also counts the balance you still owe at the end of your stay and any cash you paid upfront. The row above reconciles the two. | Baseline | +$57,201 | +$82,579Low |
| Why that differs from interest saved | — | $57,451 less interest, plus $50,000 of balance you no longer owe, less $50,250 paid in cash at closing — leaving you $57,201 better off. | They agree. |
| Break-even point, ours“Ahead from month 1” means there was no upfront cost to recover. “Never recovers” means the costs are never paid back. | — | Ahead from month 1 | Ahead from month 1 |
| Break-even point, conventionalUpfront cash divided by the monthly payment saving. This is the number most people mean by break-even, and it flatters a refinance: it ignores the principal you stop paying down when the term restarts. The equity-adjusted figure above is the one to rank on. | — | 12 years 2 months | Nothing upfront to recover |
| Time to payoff | 26 years | 26 years | 21 yearsLow |
| Total interest, full term | $367,691 | $310,240 | $285,112Low |
| Lifetime cost (interest + costs) | $367,691 | $310,490 | $285,112Low |
How to read this: “Low” marks the lowest figure among the scenarios shown and is not a recommendation. Net cost counts payments made plus the balance still owed at the end of your stay, minus cash received, which is what makes loans of different sizes and terms comparable.
Full amortization schedule
Every payment, month by month: how much goes to interest, how much retires principal, and what you still owe afterwards. The last money column is the all-in cost (principal, interest, any extra you send, mortgage insurance, property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA dues), which is what leaves your account. Switch to the annual view for a year-by-year summary. Printing and the CSV both follow whichever view you are in, so a year-by-year download gives a year-by-year file, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
| Month | Payment date | Beginning balance | Payment | Principal | Interest | Extra principal | Ending balance | Cumulative interest | Mortgage insurance | Taxes & insurance | HOA | Total monthly cost | LTV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 01, 2026 | $320,000.00 | $2,204.15 | $370.82 | $1,833.33 | — | $319,629.18 | $1,833.33 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 71.0% |
| 2 | Feb 01, 2026 | $319,629.18 | $2,204.15 | $372.94 | $1,831.21 | — | $319,256.24 | $3,664.54 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 71.0% |
| 3 | Mar 01, 2026 | $319,256.24 | $2,204.15 | $375.08 | $1,829.07 | — | $318,881.16 | $5,493.61 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.9% |
| 4 | Apr 01, 2026 | $318,881.16 | $2,204.15 | $377.23 | $1,826.92 | — | $318,503.93 | $7,320.53 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.8% |
| 5 | May 01, 2026 | $318,503.93 | $2,204.15 | $379.39 | $1,824.76 | — | $318,124.54 | $9,145.29 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.7% |
| 6 | Jun 01, 2026 | $318,124.54 | $2,204.15 | $381.56 | $1,822.59 | — | $317,742.98 | $10,967.88 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.6% |
| 7 | Jul 01, 2026 | $317,742.98 | $2,204.15 | $383.75 | $1,820.40 | — | $317,359.23 | $12,788.28 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.5% |
| 8 | Aug 01, 2026 | $317,359.23 | $2,204.15 | $385.95 | $1,818.20 | — | $316,973.28 | $14,606.48 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.4% |
| 9 | Sep 01, 2026 | $316,973.28 | $2,204.15 | $388.16 | $1,815.99 | — | $316,585.12 | $16,422.47 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.3% |
| 10 | Oct 01, 2026 | $316,585.12 | $2,204.15 | $390.38 | $1,813.77 | — | $316,194.74 | $18,236.24 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.3% |
| 11 | Nov 01, 2026 | $316,194.74 | $2,204.15 | $392.62 | $1,811.53 | — | $315,802.12 | $20,047.77 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.2% |
| 12 | Dec 01, 2026 | $315,802.12 | $2,204.15 | $394.87 | $1,809.28 | — | $315,407.25 | $21,857.05 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.1% |
Showing 1–12 of 312 payments
Download any scenario
Each file is generated in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. Scenarios with a second lien include a separate block for each loan.
The link carries these figures inside it, after the #. That part of a web address is never sent to any server, ours or anyone else’s, so sharing one transmits nothing. Anyone you send it to can read the figures in it.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice. Want every option side by side instead? Open the full comparison.
The same lump sum, spent two ways
The same money and the same loan give two results, and which is better depends on what you need.
A borrower owes $350,000 at 6.25% with 25 years left, paying $2,308.84 a month, and has $40,000 to put in. Nothing else differs between the two columns below.
| Keep as is | Recast | Extra principal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required monthly payment | $2,308.84 | $2,044.98 | $2,308.84 |
| Payoff | 300 months | 300 months | 232 months |
| Interest saved | — | $39,164 | $117,883 |
| What it buys | — | $263.86 a month back | 5.7 years off the loan |
Computed by the same engine as the calculator above and re-checked against it on every build. Servicer recast fees, minimum lump sums and eligibility are not modelled here.
Extra principal saves $78,719 more interest, about three times as much, and retires the loan 5.7 years early.
It does nothing for the required payment, though. After an extra payment the required payment is still $2,308.84: the money has gone into the house and next month’s bill is unchanged. The recast turns the smaller balance into a smaller obligation, $263.86 a month for each of the remaining 300 months, without refinancing or giving up the rate you hold.
Which matters more depends on your situation. A household with secure income and no need for monthly room is in a different position from one that would struggle if a salary stopped, and the table can’t tell which you are.
Recast and extra payment questions
- Does a recast or extra principal save more interest?
- Extra principal, usually by a wide margin, because it shortens the loan. On a $350,000 balance at 6.25% with 25 years left, a $40,000 lump sum applied as extra principal saves about $117,883 in interest and retires the loan 68 months early. The same $40,000 through a recast saves about $39,164, roughly a third as much, because the payoff date does not move. What the recast buys instead is a required payment about $264 a month lower.
- Can I recast and make extra payments?
- In principle yes, and the order matters. Extra principal paid before a recast reduces the balance the recast then re-amortizes, so the new required payment comes out lower still. Extra principal paid after a recast shortens the loan from its new, lower payment. Servicers set their own rules on minimum lump sums, fees and how often a loan may be recast, so the sequence you want has to be one they will perform.
- Why would anyone choose the option that saves less interest?
- Because a lower required payment is not the same thing as a smaller total, and for some households it is worth more. A recast reduces the amount you are obliged to pay every month for the rest of the loan, which is real protection if income falls. Extra principal leaves the obligation where it was: the money has gone into the house and next month's bill is unchanged.
- What happens if I recast and then keep paying the old amount?
- You get both effects, in sequence. The recast lowers what you are obliged to pay; continuing to pay the old figure means the difference goes to principal every month as an extra payment, shortening the loan from the new schedule. It is the closest thing here to having it both ways: the obligation drops, so a bad month is survivable, while the loan still retires early for as long as you choose to keep overpaying.