When can I stop paying PMI?
Two different thresholds, two different rules, and one of them you have to ask for.
Private by design. Your numbers stay on this device.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.
At what point does private mortgage insurance come off?
On a conventional loan, two thresholds apply under the US Homeowners Protection Act. You can request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must terminate it automatically at 78%. FHA premiums since June 2013 last 11 years with at least 10% down and the whole loan term otherwise.
When does PMI go away on a conventional loan?
80% and 78% of the original value, and only the 78% one happens without you doing anything.
On a conventional loan, the US Homeowners Protection Act sets both. At 80%, you may request that private mortgage insurance be cancelled. At 78%, the servicer must terminate it automatically. If neither has happened by the midpoint of the loan term, the CFPB explains that PMI ends the month after the midpoint, as long as your payments are current.
Both are measured against the original value (broadly, the lesser of the purchase price and the appraised value when you bought), not against what the house is worth today. That surprises people whose homes have appreciated.
| Request at 80% | Automatic at 78% | |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts it | You | The servicer |
| When | Once the balance reaches 80% of original value | When the balance is scheduled to reach 78% |
| Form | A written request | No action needed |
| Conditions | Good payment history; servicer may require a current appraisal | Payments must be current |
| Extra principal counts | Yes, it reaches the threshold sooner | Based on the original schedule |
Applies to conventional loans covered by the Homeowners Protection Act. Your servicer's own requirements sit on top of it, so ask them in writing.
Can I reach the threshold faster?
Yes. Paying the balance down early is the one lever entirely under your control.
Automatic termination follows the original amortization schedule, so paying early does not bring it forward. Extra principal payments get you to the 80% request point sooner, and on a loan that started near the maximum loan-to-value that can be a difference of years.
A separate route exists where the property has appreciated. Some servicers will cancel on the basis of a new appraisal showing current value, but that is a servicer or investor policy rather than an entitlement under the Act, and you pay for the appraisal. Ask what their rule is before ordering one.
When does PMI go away on an FHA loan?
After 11 years if you put at least 10% down. With less down, it lasts as long as the loan.
FHA loans carry a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) instead of PMI, and the 80% and 78% thresholds do not apply to it. For FHA loans with a case number assigned on or after June 3, 2013, HUD sets the length of the annual premium by the loan-to-value at the start. With an original LTV of 90% or less, which takes at least 10% down, it lasts 11 years. Above 90%, it lasts for the full term. Extra payments do not end it sooner, short of paying the loan off. HUD’s current premium chart, with both durations, is in Mortgagee Letter 2023-05.
Take the $350,000 home from our FHA loan calculator example. With 3.5% down, MIP runs for all 360 payments and costs $36,450.69 in total. With 10% down on the same home, it stops after payment 132 and costs $16,009.70.
To get rid of a life-of-loan premium, you refinance into a conventional loan once your equity allows it; at 20% equity the new loan needs no PMI at all. An FHA streamline refinance keeps you in FHA, so the premium stays. Loans with case numbers assigned before June 3, 2013 follow older rules, under which MIP can be cancelled at 78% of the original value, usually after at least five years of premiums. Ask your servicer which rule your loan falls under.
What is dropping PMI worth?
It cuts the payment with no offsetting cost.
Unlike a refinance, you give nothing up: the rate and term stay the same, you pay no fees, and the payment falls. Keep track of when you reach 80%, because nobody files the request for you. The PMI calculator shows the month your loan reaches each threshold and what you pay until then.
It also matters for how you read a calculator. Modelling PMI as a 30-year cost overstates the true figure of owning the home, which is why the tools here drop it at the point the rules allow rather than carrying it to the end of the schedule. You can see the effect in the breakdown of a full monthly payment.