PMI removal calculator
Enter the original value, current balance, payment, and PMI amount to estimate the request and automatic-termination thresholds.
Balance at 80% of original value, at your current payoff pace4 yr 11 mo
The number the federal 80% and 78% rules use86.7%
At or under 75%: loans 2+ years old may already qualify on current value74.3%
Reach it early with extra principal and you can request early$360,000
About 6 yr 1 mo away at your current pace$351,000
The cost of doing nothing$13,140
Calculator results are estimates for education, not a quote, prequalification, or approval. Verify every figure with your loan officer before making decisions.
In short
Key takeaways
- 80% of original value: you can request cancellation in writing, with a clean 12-month payment history. Extra principal payments move this date up.
- 78% of original value: termination is automatic on the scheduled date if you are current. No request, but also no credit for extra payments.
- Appreciation path: 75% LTV on a new servicer-ordered valuation for loans 2 to 5 years old, 80% past five years, under Fannie Mae B-8.1-04.
- FHA MIP follows different rules entirely: with under 10% down it lasts the life of the loan for case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013.
Written and reviewed by the Intel Loans, Inc. lending team · NMLS #2858705Updated July 2026
Sitting close to a threshold and not sure which path is cheapest? Send us the numbers and a licensed loan officer will map the request, the reappraisal, and the refinance routes against each other. No hard credit pull to look.
Money already on the table
PMI comes off on a schedule. You can move the date up.
Mortgage insurance drops automatically at 78% of the original value and can be requested at 80%. The dates above are yours. Extra principal, or a reappraisal after your home has gained value, can pull them forward and stop a payment you no longer owe.
Map the fastest route off PMIThe federal rulebook
Three ways PMI ends under the Homeowners Protection Act
The 1998 Homeowners Protection Act wrote three removal paths into federal law for conventional loans on single-family primary residences. Each has a different trigger and a different set of conditions.
| Path | Trigger | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Borrower request | Balance reaches 80% of original value, on schedule or early through extra payments | Written request; current on payments; no payment 30+ days late in the past 12 months or 60+ days late in the past 24; servicer may require evidence the value has not declined and that no junior liens exist |
| Automatic termination | The date the balance is first scheduled to reach 78% of original value | Must be current (termination then happens once you catch up); based on the original amortization schedule regardless of the actual balance; the servicer cannot charge you for a valuation here |
| Final termination | The midpoint of the amortization term, month 180 of a 360-month loan | Current on payments; this catches loans that never amortized to 78%, including certain high-risk loans where the other paths were limited |
The key distinction: automatic termination runs on the schedule; the request path runs on your actual balance. Prepaying principal moves the 80% request date up. It does nothing to the automatic date. If you have been sending extra money, the request is yours to make, not the servicer's to volunteer.
The Florida shortcut
The appreciation path most owners never use
The federal 80/78 rules measure against what the home was worth when you bought it. In a state where values have climbed the way Florida's have, that is often the wrong yardstick, and the GSEs know it.
Fannie Mae's Servicing Guide (B-8.1-04, as of mid-2026) lets you cancel based on current value: 75% LTV or less if the loan is between two and five years old, 80% or less past five years, with the same clean payment history the request path demands. The seasoning clock can even be waived when documented improvements drove the value gain. Freddie Mac runs a similar framework.
The catch is procedural. Your Zillow guess does not count; the servicer orders the valuation, commonly a broker price opinion or appraisal costing roughly $100 to $600, and you pay for it. If the number comes in where you hoped, PMI ends years ahead of schedule. If it comes in short, you are out the valuation fee, which is why we suggest checking recent closed sales on your street before ordering.
Investment properties and two- to four-unit homes follow a stricter line: 70% LTV under the same guide section.
| A Jacksonville buyer, three years in | |
|---|---|
| Purchase (2023) | $450,000 with 10% down, $405,000 loan |
| Balance today | $390,000 |
| Monthly P&I in this hypothetical | about $2,630, at the note rate preloaded in the calculator above |
| LTV against original value | 86.7%, roughly 59 months from the 80% mark |
| Current value estimate | $525,000 |
| LTV against current value | 74.3%, under the 75% two-to-five-year rule |
| Monthly PMI | $180 |
| The trade | One servicer-ordered valuation now versus about $10,600 of PMI while waiting for the scheduled date |
Government loans
FHA plays by different rules: MIP, not PMI
The Homeowners Protection Act governs private mortgage insurance on conventional loans. FHA annual MIP answers to HUD, and HUD's clock does not care about your LTV.
| FHA scenario (case number assigned on or after June 3, 2013) | Annual MIP duration |
|---|---|
| Down payment under 10% | Life of the loan |
| Down payment of 10% or more | 11 years |
| Case numbers before June 3, 2013 | Older HUD cancellation rules can apply; ask your servicer which regime your loan sits in |
The practical consequence: for most FHA borrowers who put down the minimum, MIP never falls off on its own. The removal path is refinancing into a conventional loan once your equity clears 80%, which trades MIP savings against closing costs, including Florida doc stamps and intangible tax on the new note. That is a break-even problem, and we built a calculator for exactly that: run the refinance break-even math with the MIP you would shed counted inside the monthly savings.
Honest accounting
What removal costs, and where it goes sideways
The valuation fee is spent whether you win or lose. On the current-value path you pay for the servicer's BPO or appraisal up front. A value that comes in short leaves PMI in place and your fee gone. Pull recent comparable sales first; if the margin is thin, waiting two or three months of amortization before ordering can flip the answer.
A junior lien can block the exit. A HELOC or second mortgage on the property gives the servicer grounds to deny a cancellation request, even at 80%. If a small HELOC balance is the only obstacle, paying it off first is often cheaper than the PMI it protects.
Lender-paid MI never cancels. If your loan was built with LPMI, the insurance cost lives inside your note rate, and there is nothing to remove. The exit is a refinance, which is again break-even math.
A lump sum can do double duty. Prepaying principal to reach the 80% mark drops the PMI line and shortens the loan at the same time. Some servicers will also re-amortize the lower balance on request, which recalculates principal and interest for a fee of a few hundred dollars; ask yours whether your loan type qualifies before sending funds. If you would rather reset the rate and term outright, price that in our refinance calculator.
Three exits from PMI. Let's find your cheapest one.
Request, reappraise, or refinance: a licensed loan officer will price all three against your actual numbers and put the answer in writing.
Questions we actually get
Does PMI fall off automatically when I reach 80% LTV?
No, and this is the single most expensive misunderstanding in the PMI rules. Automatic termination happens at 78% of original value, on the date the amortization schedule says you get there. The 80% mark only gives you the right to request cancellation in writing. Nobody at the servicer is watching your balance on your behalf.
Do extra principal payments speed up automatic termination?
No. The automatic 78% date is set by the original amortization schedule regardless of your actual balance. What extra payments do is accelerate the request path: once your real balance touches 80% of original value, you can ask in writing, years ahead of the scheduled date if you have been prepaying.
What exactly is 'original value'?
On a purchase, it is the lesser of the contract price and the appraised value at closing. On a refinance, it is the appraised value the refinance used. Appreciation since then does not change original value; it only helps you through the separate current-value path, which requires a valuation your servicer orders.
Can the servicer refuse my request at 80%?
Yes, for defined reasons: a payment 30 days late in the last 12 months or 60 days late in the last 24, a junior lien like a HELOC on the property, or evidence the value has fallen below original value. If you are declined, get the reason in writing; each one has a fix or a clock attached.
Is FHA mortgage insurance (MIP) removable the same way?
No. The Homeowners Protection Act covers private mortgage insurance on conventional loans only. FHA annual MIP follows HUD's own rules: for case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013, MIP runs 11 years if you put at least 10% down and for the life of the loan if you put down less. For most FHA borrowers the removal path is refinancing into a conventional loan once the numbers clear 80%.
What happens to premiums after PMI is canceled?
Your total monthly payment drops by the premium once the cancellation processes, and the Homeowners Protection Act requires any unearned premiums to be refunded within 45 days. Check the next two statements to confirm the line item is actually gone.
This is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit. All loan approvals are subject to credit review, underwriting, and property evaluation. Programs, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
Intel Loans, Inc., NMLS #2858705. Licensed in Florida. Verify our licensing at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Calculator results are estimates for education, not a quote, prequalification, or approval. Verify every figure with your loan officer before making decisions.
Any rates shown are hypothetical examples you enter for estimation, not offers. Actual rates and terms depend on your application and may change or be unavailable at commitment or closing.
Homeowners Protection Act provisions summarized here apply to conventional loans on single-family primary residences; investment properties, multi-unit homes, and lender-paid MI follow different rules. Cancellation decisions rest with your servicer and mortgage insurer; confirm requirements in writing.