A mortgage calculator with PMI and taxes gives you a real monthly number — a basic P+I calculator doesn't, and the gap between the two is bigger than most buyers expect. On a $350,000 home purchased with 10% down, private mortgage insurance (PMI) adds roughly $158 a month and property taxes add another $263. Together those two line items push your payment up by $421 before homeowners insurance even enters the picture — yet most "quick" calculators online only show you principal and interest.
Use the Mortgage Calculator → to enter your purchase price, down payment, and tax rate and see your full PITI payment — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — in one number.
The Bottom Line
Push your down payment from 10% to 20% on that same $350,000 home and PMI disappears entirely. The total PITI drops from $2,593 to $2,210 — a $383-a-month swing at today's 6.67% average rate (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of August 13, 2026). That's the number most buyers weighing "save longer" against "buy now" never see, because it only shows up once you calculate PMI and taxes together, not P+I alone.
What PITI means and why all four components matter
PITI is the acronym lenders use for the four parts of a fully loaded mortgage payment:
Lenders use PITI to calculate your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), not just P+I. The CFPB notes that 43% DTI is the highest ratio a borrower can generally have and still get a Qualified Mortgage. Automated underwriting can approve higher ratios with strong compensating factors like reserves or credit score (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Estimate your payment using only principal and interest and you might qualify on paper. Then the lender's approval comes back based on the higher, PITI-inclusive figure — and the monthly obligation is bigger than you planned for.
PMI: what it is, what it costs, and when it ends
Private Mortgage Insurance protects the lender — not you — if you default. Lenders require it when your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. Below that threshold, the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is high enough that a drop in home prices could leave the lender underwater. You pay the premium; the lender collects the benefit. Not exactly a fair trade, but it's the price of getting in with less than 20% down.
PMI cost: PMI typically costs 0.46% to 1.5% of your loan amount annually (Bankrate, 2026). The exact rate depends on your credit score, loan-to-value ratio, loan type, and the insurer. A borrower with a 760+ credit score putting 10% down might pay near the low end (around 0.46–0.60%). A borrower with a 660 score putting 5% down can pay 1.0–1.5%.
Example: $315,000 loan amount (10% down on $350K), illustrative PMI rate 0.60% for a 720-score borrower at 90% LTV:
```
Annual PMI = $315,000 × 0.60% = $1,890
Monthly PMI = $1,890 ÷ 12 = $157.50 ≈ $158
```
When does PMI end? Under the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (CFPB), lenders must:
On a $350,000 home with 10% down ($315,000 loan), PMI cancels automatically when your balance falls to $273,000 (78% × $350,000). At today's 6.67% average rate (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of August 13, 2026) on a 30-year term, that takes about 9 years and 3 months (111 payments) if you make only minimum payments. Making extra principal payments accelerates the timeline — use the Mortgage Calculator to model how additional payments shrink your PMI window.
Property taxes in your mortgage payment
Property taxes are not optional — they are collected by your county or municipality and, if unpaid, can result in a tax lien that ranks ahead of your mortgage. Most lenders require you to pay property taxes through an escrow account. The lender adds 1/12 of your annual tax bill to each monthly payment, holds it in escrow, and pays the tax authority when the bill comes due.
Average US effective property tax rate: approximately 0.9% of assessed home value (ATTOM, 2025 report) — up from 0.86% in 2024, the highest the national rate has been since 2020. In dollar terms, ATTOM found the average single-family home ($494,231) generated a $4,427 tax bill in 2025, a 3% jump over the prior year. Rates vary enormously by state — from 0.29% in Hawaii to 1.88% in New Jersey and Illinois, tied for the nation's highest (Tax Foundation, 2026).
Example at the national average:
```
Annual property tax = $350,000 × 0.9% = $3,150
Monthly tax escrow = $3,150 ÷ 12 = $262.50 ≈ $263
```
That $263 a month leaves your account as part of the mortgage payment but goes to the county, not to reducing your loan balance.
Using a mortgage calculator with PMI and taxes: $350,000 home, 10% down, 6.67% rate
Here's the complete math for a common scenario: a $350,000 home purchase with 10% down, using today's 6.67% 30-year fixed average as the working rate (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of August 13, 2026). That rate moves week to week — check the current figure before running your own numbers. Homeowners insurance is estimated conservatively at 0.5% of home value for this example — genuinely on the low end. Bankrate's 2026 average for an 8-year-old $300,000 home with a clean claims history runs about $2,470 a year, or roughly $206 a month (Bankrate, 2026) — about 0.82% of that home's value. Rates run well above the national figure in states with heavy storm or wildfire exposure:
| Component | Calculation | Monthly amount |
|---|---|---|
| Principal + Interest | $315,000 loan, 6.67%, 30yr | $2,026 |
| Property tax (0.9% avg) | $350,000 × 0.9% ÷ 12 | $263 |
| Homeowners insurance | $350,000 × 0.5% ÷ 12 | $146 |
| PMI (0.60%, illustrative) | $315,000 × 0.60% ÷ 12 | $158 |
| Total PITI | $2,593 |
The P+I figure alone ($2,026) understates your actual monthly obligation by $567 — a 28% gap. Budget on P+I alone and you're $567 short every month from day one.
Example calculation for P+I (to verify your calculator output):
```
Monthly rate = 6.67% ÷ 12 = 0.5558%
n = 360 payments (30 years × 12)
P+I = $315,000 × [0.005558 × (1.005558)^360] ÷ [(1.005558)^360 − 1]
P+I ≈ $315,000 × 0.006433 = $2,026
```
Run your actual numbers in the Mortgage Calculator → — enter your price, down payment, term, and estimated tax rate to get a PITI figure you can take to the bank.
How PMI + taxes change with different down payments
The down payment is the lever that controls both your LTV and whether PMI applies at all. Here's what the same $350,000 home looks like at four common down payment levels, all at 6.67% / 30-year, using 0.9% property tax and illustrative PMI rates for a 720-credit-score borrower. Actual PMI rates range 0.46–1.5% (Bankrate, 2026):
| Down payment | Loan amount | P+I | PMI (illus.) | Tax + Ins | Total PITI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% ($17,500) | $332,500 | $2,139 | $166 | $409 | $2,714 |
| 10% ($35,000) | $315,000 | $2,026 | $158 | $409 | $2,593 |
| 15% ($52,500) | $297,500 | $1,914 | $149 | $409 | $2,472 |
| 20% ($70,000) | $280,000 | $1,801 | $0 | $409 | $2,210 |
Tax + Ins = property tax $263 + homeowners insurance $146 = $409/month (constant across scenarios).
Moving from 5% to 20% down cuts your monthly payment by $504 — $338 in lower P+I plus $166 in eliminated PMI. That $504/month difference is the financial argument for saving toward a larger down payment. If you want to model how long it takes to save to 20%, the Savings Goal Calculator lets you set a dollar target and a monthly contribution to find your timeline.
Three scenarios where PMI math gets complicated
1. Lender-paid PMI (LPMI). Some lenders offer to absorb the PMI cost in exchange for a higher interest rate. The rate bump varies by lender and loan size, but the effect is permanent — unlike borrower-paid PMI, you cannot cancel it once you hit 80% LTV. As a rough rule of thumb, LPMI tends to come out ahead over shorter ownership windows, and borrower-paid PMI tends to win the longer you stay put and pay it down toward cancellation. The crossover point depends entirely on your specific rate bump versus your PMI rate, so it's worth checking both — run both scenarios in the Mortgage Calculator with the rate adjustment before deciding.
2. FHA loans. FHA mortgage insurance is not the same as conventional PMI. FHA charges an upfront MIP of 1.75% of the loan added to the balance at close, plus an annual MIP of 0.15%–0.75% depending on loan amount, term, and LTV. Per HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (HUD, 2023), those rates were reduced effective March 2023. Unlike conventional PMI, FHA annual MIP does not automatically cancel at 80% LTV if your down payment was less than 10% — it runs for the life of the loan. That's a meaningful cost difference for first-time buyers choosing between FHA and conventional financing.
3. Piggyback loans (80-10-10). Some buyers use a second mortgage (typically a home equity line) to cover the 10% gap between their 10% down payment and the 20% conventional threshold — eliminating PMI entirely. The second mortgage carries a higher rate than the first. Bankrate's national HELOC survey puts the average at 7.30% as of August 12, 2026 — a bit over half a point above the prevailing 30-year fixed rate (Bankrate, 2026). That spread moves with the market week to week, so check Bankrate's current HELOC rate table before running the comparison. The math only works if the PMI savings exceed the second mortgage's extra interest cost — a comparison that typically favors buyers with strong credit, since they qualify for the most competitive HELOC rates.
What your lender's pre-approval is and isn't telling you
A pre-approval letter states a maximum loan amount based on P+I, taxes, and insurance — the full PITI. But the property tax input in the lender's model is an estimate based on state or county averages. New Jersey and Illinois — tied for the nation's highest effective rate at 1.88% per the Tax Foundation — both run more than double the national average. Buy in either state and your actual PITI will exceed the lender's estimate even at the same loan amount.
Before making an offer, look up the property's most recent tax bill on the county assessor's website. That figure, divided by 12, is your actual monthly escrow — not the national average. Feed that real number into the Mortgage Calculator alongside your rate quote to see whether your payment stays inside your budget. If you're weighing renting versus buying, the Rent vs Buy Calculator accounts for property taxes and insurance in its break-even model. The comparison uses full PITI costs on the ownership side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a mortgage calculator with PMI and taxes give a more accurate payment than a basic one?
Yes. A basic mortgage calculator only computes principal and interest — the two components tied directly to your loan terms. A calculator that adds PMI and taxes shows the number you'll actually see on your monthly statement, which on a $350,000 home at 10% down runs about $567 higher than P+I alone.
Is PMI always included in a mortgage payment?
No — only when your down payment is below 20%. Once your loan-to-value ratio hits 80% (either by paying down the balance or through home-price appreciation with a new appraisal), PMI is removable. At 20% down or more from the start, PMI never applies.
How do I estimate my property tax before I have a specific address?
Use your state or county's average effective rate as a placeholder, then replace it with the real figure once you have a property in mind. The Mortgage Calculator defaults to the 0.9% national average, but county rates in high-tax states like New Jersey or Illinois (1.88% statewide, tied for the nation's highest) run more than double that.
Can PMI and property taxes push me over my pre-approved amount?
Yes, if the lender's tax estimate is lower than the actual county rate. Pre-approval is based on an estimated PITI, not the exact figure. Confirm the real property tax bill for any home you make an offer on before assuming your pre-approval covers it.
Practical takeaways
Ready to see your full PITI payment? Use the Mortgage Calculator → as a mortgage calculator with PMI and taxes. Enter your down payment and estimated tax rate, and see whether PMI applies and what your complete monthly obligation looks like.