Refi CompassMortgage decision tools

Mortgage Amortization Schedule

A complete month-by-month table of every payment: how much retires principal, how much goes to interest, and what you still owe afterwards — downloadable as a spreadsheet.

Private by design. Your numbers stay on this device.

Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.

How does mortgage amortization work?

Each month, interest is calculated on the balance you still owe: balance × (annual rate ÷ 12). Whatever remains of your payment goes to principal. Because the balance falls a little each month, the interest portion shrinks and the principal portion grows — every month, for the life of the loan.

That is why early payments are so interest-heavy. On a 30-year loan at 6.5%, roughly three-quarters of the first payment is interest. It takes about eighteen years before principal and interest are even.

interest = balance × (rate ÷ 12)
principal = payment − interest
new balance = balance − principal − extra principal

Built for US mortgages. Every rate, cost and tax figure below is an editable example you enter — never a live quote.

Stays on this device

Refinance decision

Today
$2,767/mo
Rate & term refi
$2,623/mo
Break-even
Month 29
Staying
7 years
Jump to results

Your mortgage today

Take these from your most recent statement. Results update as you type.

The payoff balance you owe today, not the original loan amount.

Leave at 0 to calculate it from the balance, rate and term.

Sets the dates in the amortization schedule.

What are you considering?

Pick anything you want in the comparison. Each one adds a column and asks only for its own figures.

The refinance you are considering

Enter the terms from a Loan Estimate. Nothing here is a live rate — every figure is an example you control.

Enter the rate after any discount points you are buying. This tool does not model the buydown curve, so points are counted as an upfront cost only.

Matching your remaining term avoids restarting the amortization clock.

Of the new loan amount.

The dollar amount is driving. The two stay in step against a $320,000 loan; edit either one and the other follows. Discount points below are additional to this figure and are never folded into it.

On: your balance starts higher and you pay interest on the fees. Off: you pay them in cash at closing.

Costs that don't change between scenarios

These are a real part of your monthly bill, but identical in every option, so they cannot change the ranking.

Results update as you type — this just jumps you down to them.

Your decision dashboard

Each card shows which scenario leads on one measure over your 7 years planned stay — and what you give up to get it. There is no single best option, because these measures pull against each other.

  • Lowest monthly payment

    Rate-and-term refinance

    $2,623/mo all-in

    Trade-off: A lower payment usually means a longer term or a bigger balance, which can raise what you pay in total.

  • Lowest cost over your planned stay

    Rate-and-term refinance

    $449,929

    Trade-off: This counts payments made plus the balance still owed at the end of your stay, minus any cash you received. It can still carry a higher monthly payment.

  • Fastest payoff

    Rate-and-term refinance

    25 years

    Trade-off: Paying off soonest normally requires the highest monthly outlay and ties up cash you cannot easily get back.

  • Lowest closing cash needed

    Keep current mortgage

    $0

    Trade-off: Paying little or nothing upfront often means costs are financed into the balance, where they accrue interest.

Jump to full schedule

Scenario by scenario

  • Keep current mortgage

    Change nothing. No closing costs, no new loan, and your existing rate and payoff date stay exactly as they are.

    All-in monthly
    $2,767
    Cost over your stay
    $465,286
    vs keeping your loan
    Baseline
    Break-even
    —

  • Rate-and-term refinance

    Replace your mortgage with a new 25-year loan at 5.75%.

    All-in monthly
    $2,623
    Cost over your stay
    $449,929
    vs keeping your loan
    +$15,357
    Break-even
    Month 29

Full comparison

Every measure, side by side, over the 7 years you expect to stay. Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen.

Side-by-side comparison of every selected mortgage scenario across monthly cost, closing costs, interest, break-even point and payoff time.
MeasureKeep currentRate & term refi
Interest rateThe rate on the new or largest loan in this scenario.6.875%5.75%
Starting loan balance$320,000Low$327,500
Starting LTV (loan-to-value)71.1%72.8%
Principal & interest$2,204$2,060Low
Extra principalVoluntary principal on top of the scheduled payment. Part of what you pay each month, so it belongs in the all-in figure.——
PMI——
Property tax + insuranceIdentical across every scenario for the same home, but a real part of the monthly bill.$563$563
Monthly HOA dues——
All-in monthly payment$2,767$2,623Low
Total closing costsNoneLow$7,500
Cash needed at closingClosing costs paid in cash, plus any lump sum you contribute.$0Low$0Low
Cash receivedNoneNone
Interest over 7 years$145,286$122,429Low
Balance left after 7 yearsWhat you would still owe when you expect to sell or refinance again.$280,138$276,862Low
Equity after 7 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.$169,862$173,138Low
Invested balance after 7 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.$465,286$449,929Low
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+$15,357Low
Why that differs from interest saved—$22,857 less interest, less $7,500 of extra balance you start out owing — leaving you $15,357 better off.
Break-even point“Ahead from month 1” means there was no upfront cost to recover. “Never recovers” means the costs are never paid back.—Month 29
Simple paybackUpfront 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.—No upfront cash to recover
Time to payoff26 years25 yearsLow
Total interest, full term$367,691$290,598Low
Lifetime cost (interest + costs)$367,691$298,098Low

How to read this: “Low” marks the lowest figure among the scenarios shown — it 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.

Charts

Mortgage balance over time

What you still owe each month under every selected scenario, including any second lien. The dashed line marks the end of your planned stay.

Cumulative interest paid

Total interest paid to date. A line that flattens has reached payoff. Where lines cross is where one scenario overtakes another on interest.

Break-even: cumulative savings against keeping your mortgage

Above the zero line a scenario has saved you money overall; below it, it has cost you. Each marker is that scenario's break-even month — where its line crosses zero.

Rate & term refi: breaks even in month 29 (2 years 5 months).

What your first monthly payment is made of

Principal and interest is only part of the bill. Property taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues are stacked here at their month-one amounts.

What each scenario actually means

Keep current mortgage

  • This is the baseline every other scenario is measured against.

Rate-and-term refinance

  • A rate-and-term refinance replaces your entire existing mortgage balance with a new loan. No cash is taken out.
  • Closing costs are financed, so you pay interest on them for the life of the loan and your balance starts higher than it is today.

Want the terminology behind these figures? The mortgage glossary defines every term used here, including break-even point, LTV and mortgage recast.

Full amortization schedule

Every payment, month by month: how much goes to interest, how much retires principal, and what you still owe afterwards. Switch to the annual view for a year-by-year summary, or download the full schedule as a CSV that opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.

View
Monthly amortization schedule for Keep current mortgage, Current mortgage.
MonthPayment dateBeginning balancePaymentPrincipalInterestExtra principalEnding balanceCumulative interestMortgage insuranceLTV
1Jan 01, 2026$320,000.00$2,204.15$370.82$1,833.33—$319,629.18$1,833.33—79.9%
2Feb 01, 2026$319,629.18$2,204.15$372.94$1,831.21—$319,256.24$3,664.54—79.8%
3Mar 01, 2026$319,256.24$2,204.15$375.08$1,829.07—$318,881.16$5,493.61—79.7%
4Apr 01, 2026$318,881.16$2,204.15$377.23$1,826.92—$318,503.93$7,320.53—79.6%
5May 01, 2026$318,503.93$2,204.15$379.39$1,824.76—$318,124.54$9,145.29—79.5%
6Jun 01, 2026$318,124.54$2,204.15$381.56$1,822.59—$317,742.98$10,967.88—79.4%
7Jul 01, 2026$317,742.98$2,204.15$383.75$1,820.40—$317,359.23$12,788.28—79.3%
8Aug 01, 2026$317,359.23$2,204.15$385.95$1,818.20—$316,973.28$14,606.48—79.2%
9Sep 01, 2026$316,973.28$2,204.15$388.16$1,815.99—$316,585.12$16,422.47—79.2%
10Oct 01, 2026$316,585.12$2,204.15$390.38$1,813.77—$316,194.74$18,236.24—79.0%
11Nov 01, 2026$316,194.74$2,204.15$392.62$1,811.53—$315,802.12$20,047.77—79.0%
12Dec 01, 2026$315,802.12$2,204.15$394.87$1,809.28—$315,407.25$21,857.05—78.8%

Showing 1–12 of 312 payments

Page 1 of 26

Download any scenario

Each file is generated in your browser — nothing is uploaded. Scenarios with a second lien include a separate block for each loan.

Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice. Every rate here is an example you enter, never a live quote or an offer. Verify loan terms, closing costs, property taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance with qualified providers before deciding.

What each column means

Nine columns, and each one answers a different question.

Amortization schedule columns
ColumnWhat it tells you
MonthThe payment number, counting from your first payment
Payment dateWhen that payment is due, based on your start date
Beginning balanceWhat you owed before the payment
PaymentThe scheduled principal and interest collected
PrincipalThe part that reduces what you owe
InterestThe part that is the cost of borrowing — it buys you nothing
Extra principalAny additional amount you sent, applied straight to the balance
Ending balanceWhat you owe after the payment
Cumulative interestTotal interest paid to date — usually the sobering column

The final payment is normally a few dollars different from the others. That is not an error: the scheduled payment is rounded to whole cents, and the small rounding difference accumulates over the term. Servicers absorb it into the last payment rather than issuing an extra bill, and this calculator does the same.

Why the front-loading matters for real decisions

It is the reason two of the most common mortgage moves backfire.

The interest-heavy start is not a lender trick — it falls directly out of charging interest on the outstanding balance. But it has two consequences worth acting on:

  • Refinancing resets you to the start of the curve. Eight years into a 30-year loan you have finally reached the part where meaningful principal is being retired. A fresh 30-year term puts you back at the interest-heavy beginning, which is how a lower rate can still produce more total interest. The break-even calculator quantifies it.
  • Early extra payments are disproportionately powerful. A dollar of principal removed in year two eliminates far more future interest than the same dollar in year twenty. See the extra payment calculator.

Downloading and printing

Both work entirely offline, in your browser.

Download CSV generates the file locally — no server sees your figures. The file includes a UTF-8 byte-order mark so Excel reads currency symbols correctly, uses CRLF line endings, and writes numbers unformatted so spreadsheets parse them as values rather than text. It opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers. Scenarios with a second lien, such as a HELOC alongside your first mortgage, include a separate block for each loan.

Print results uses a dedicated print stylesheet that removes navigation, buttons and the reserved ad space, keeps table headers repeating across pages, and avoids breaking rows in half. It produces a clean PDF through your browser’s “Save as PDF” option.

Copy summary puts a plain-English comparison on your clipboard — a readable paragraph-and-figures summary you can paste into an email to a partner, a lender or a financial adviser.

Amortization schedule questions

How is each month's interest calculated?
Interest for a month equals the remaining balance multiplied by the monthly rate, which is the annual rate divided by twelve. Whatever is left of the payment goes to principal. Because the balance falls each month, the interest portion shrinks and the principal portion grows.
Why is so much of my early payment interest?
Because interest is charged on the balance, and the balance is at its largest at the start. On a 30-year loan at 6.5%, roughly three-quarters of the first payment is interest. This front-loading is exactly why refinancing into a fresh 30-year term can raise total interest even at a lower rate.
Can I download the amortization schedule?
Yes. Every scenario has a Download CSV button that generates the file in your browser with no server involved. The file opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers, with numbers written unformatted so spreadsheets parse them as values rather than text.

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