Refinance break-even calculator
Compare closing costs with monthly principal-and-interest savings, then inspect the break-even month, five-year net, and term-reset effect.
Keep the loan longer than this and the refinance paid for itself23 mo
60 months of savings minus closing costs$13,240
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
- Break-even months = closing costs ÷ monthly P&I savings. $8,000 ÷ $354 = 23 months in the worked Orlando example below.
- Florida refinances pay doc stamps of $0.35 per $100 of the new note and intangible tax of $2 per $1,000 of the new mortgage, per floridarevenue.com rates as of mid-2026.
- Rolling costs into the loan does not remove them from the math. You pay interest on them too.
- Prepaid escrow and the "skipped" payment are timing, not savings. Leave them out of both columns.
Written and reviewed by the Intel Loans, Inc. lending team · NMLS #2858705Updated July 2026
The cleanest inputs come from an actual Loan Estimate. Tell us your scenario and we'll shop it across our wholesale lending partners so you have real numbers to feed this page, not guesses. No hard credit pull to look at options.
Before you refinance
A lower rate only helps after it pays for its costs.
Every refinance has closing costs, and the savings take time to catch up. The break-even month above is when a lower payment finishes paying for the switch. Plan to keep the loan past that month and the refinance is worth it. Sell or refinance again before it, and it is not.
Get real numbers to plug inMethod
The formula is easy.
Counting honestly is the hard part.
Most break-even calculators flatter the refinance, because the person publishing the calculator sells refinances. We arrange them too, but we would rather you trust the math. Four rules keep the answer honest.
Count every dollar, even the rolled-in ones
Financing your closing costs into the new balance does not make them disappear. It moves them into the loan, where they accrue interest for decades. They belong in the cost column either way.
The skipped payment is timing, not savings
Every refinance comes with a month where no payment is due, and an escrow refund from the old loan a few weeks after closing. Both feel like found money. Both are your own money moving between pockets; leave them out of the math.
A term reset restarts the interest clock
Replace a loan with 27 years left with a fresh 30-year note and you just signed up for 36 extra payments. The monthly delta can look great while lifetime interest barely moves, or moves against you. The calculator's rates mode prices this explicitly.
Match the answer to your horizon
Break-even in 23 months means nothing if you expect to sell in 18. If your timeline is shorter than the break-even month, the refinance loses no matter how pretty the payment looks.
The cost column
What counts in closing costs (and what only looks like it does)
Some states add transfer or mortgage taxes that generic calculators forget. Florida is the clearest example, with two of them; both hit the new loan, both are real money, and both belong in your break-even math. Check what your own state levies before you trust a national average.
| Line item | Example: the Florida reality | Counts toward break-even? |
|---|---|---|
| Lender fees and points | Origination, underwriting, and any discount points; varies with lender and pricing | Yes |
| Appraisal | Commonly $450 to $800 for a single-family home; some refis qualify for a waiver | Yes |
| Title insurance and settlement | Florida uses promulgated title rates; ask about the reissue credit on a refinance, it is often left unclaimed | Yes |
| Documentary stamp tax | $0.35 per $100 of the new note (Fla. Stat. ch. 201), as of mid-2026 | Yes |
| Nonrecurring intangible tax | $2 per $1,000 of the new mortgage amount, as of mid-2026 | Yes |
| Credit report, flood cert, recording | Usually a few hundred dollars combined | Yes |
| Prepaid escrow (taxes, insurance) | Your old escrow is refunded after closing; this is your money changing accounts | No, it is timing |
| Per-diem interest | Depends on the closing date within the month | Mostly timing |
One Florida quirk worth real money: refinance with your current lender and Fla. Stat. §201.09 can exempt the unpaid balance from doc stamps, taxing only new money. Move to a new lender and the full note is taxed. On a $400,000 balance that is a $1,400 line item that exists or does not based on who wins your file. Every one of these items is itemized county by county in our Florida closing cost calculator.
Worked example
An Orlando refinance, counted honestly
A homeowner owes $400,000 with 27 years left, paying about $2,817 in principal and interest at the hypothetical current rate preloaded in the calculator above. She refinances into a 30-year loan at the calculator's hypothetical new rate, and the new payment computes to about $2,463. The monthly delta is $354.
Costs: $1,400 of doc stamps on the new note, $800 of intangible tax, and roughly $5,800 of lender, title, and appraisal charges. Call it $8,000. Break-even lands at month 23; by year five she is about $13,200 ahead.
Now the honest part. The new loan added 36 months to her payoff date. Run the whole term and she still wins, about $18,000 less lifetime interest even after costs, but the margin is far thinner than "$354 a month forever" implies. That is precisely why the calculator prices the term reset instead of hiding it.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Balance refinanced | $400,000 |
| Current loan | 27 yrs left at the calculator's hypothetical current rate, about $2,817 P&I |
| New loan | 30 yrs at the calculator's hypothetical new rate, about $2,463 P&I |
| Monthly savings | $354 |
| Florida doc stamps ($0.35 per $100) | $1,400 |
| Florida intangible tax ($2 per $1,000) | $800 |
| Lender, title, appraisal, recording | about $5,800 |
| Total closing costs | about $8,000 |
| Break-even | 23 months |
| Five-year net | about $13,200 ahead |
| Lifetime interest after costs | about $18,000 ahead, despite 36 added months |
Before you shop
Two checks that come before the break-even math
Are you even eligible to refinance yet?
Seasoning rules gate the calendar. FHA streamline and VA IRRRL both require 210 days and six payments on the loan being replaced; conventional cash-out generally needs twelve months of ownership under Fannie Mae's rules as of mid-2026. If a bankruptcy or foreclosure sits in your history, separate waiting periods stack on top. The program-by-program chart lives in our waiting periods guide.
Is a refinance even the right tool?
If your gripe is the payment and your rate is already at or below market, a refinance replaces a good note to solve a cash-flow problem. Price the new payment first in our refinance calculator and see whether the drop is worth surrendering the rate. And if the refinance is really about removing mortgage insurance, check whether PMI can simply be canceled first with the PMI removal calculator.
Get real numbers for the cost column.
We shop your refinance across wholesale lending partners and hand you an itemized estimate you can feed straight into this calculator. Two minutes to ask, no hard pull to look.
Questions we actually get
Should I count the new escrow deposit as a closing cost?
No. Prepaid escrow for taxes and insurance is your own money parked in a new account, and the escrow balance from your old loan is refunded to you after closing. It affects cash-to-close, not the economics of the refinance. Count lender fees, third-party fees, points, and Florida transfer taxes; leave the prepaids out.
What monthly savings number should I use?
Principal and interest only, on both sides. Taxes and insurance ride along with the house, not the loan, so they cancel out. One exception: if the refinance eliminates PMI, that premium is real monthly savings and belongs in the delta.
Is rolling closing costs into the loan a bad idea?
Not inherently. It preserves cash, and for many borrowers that is worth it. Just be honest in the math: the costs still count toward break-even, and because they are financed, you also pay interest on them for the life of the loan. The break-even month lands slightly later than the cash-pay version.
What is a lender credit, and how does it change the math?
A lender credit covers some or all of your closing costs in exchange for a somewhat higher rate. Your break-even month arrives almost immediately because you paid little up front, but the payment is higher forever. Credits tend to win for short horizons; paying costs, or even paying points, tends to win when you will keep the loan for many years.
How soon after closing can I refinance again?
It depends on the program. FHA streamline and VA IRRRL refinances both require 210 days and six on-time payments on the loan being replaced. Conventional cash-out generally requires twelve months of ownership under Fannie Mae's rules as of mid-2026, with exceptions such as delayed financing. Rate-and-term conventional refinances have looser federal timing, but many lenders apply their own seasoning overlays. The full program-by-program chart is in our waiting periods guide.
Does this calculator work for a cash-out refinance?
Only roughly. Cash-out changes the balance, not just the rate, so the payment delta mixes the cost of the new money with the economics of the rate change. For a cash-out scenario, have a loan officer split the two effects apart; the break-even framing alone will flatter or punish the deal unfairly.
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.
Florida documentary stamp tax and nonrecurring intangible tax figures reflect rates published at floridarevenue.com as of mid-2026. Confirm current rates and your loan's specific costs before closing.