What will the payment look like?

Loan limits are set county by county. FHFA publishes the conforming limit and HUD publishes the FHA limit, off different median-price data, so the two are frequently different numbers in the same county.

Source: FHFA Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026; HUD 2026 FHA mortgage limits. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands use a baseline 50% above the contiguous-US baseline, and their high-cost ceilings are calculated from that higher baseline, so a county there can exceed the $1,249,125 contiguous-US ceiling. Maui County is the example in the table below.

The conforming limit and the FHA limit are set by different agencies from different median-price data, so they are frequently different numbers in the same county. Honolulu is the sharpest example in the table below: a $1,249,125 conforming limit against a $828,000 FHA limit. That is not a typo.

The limit applies to the base loan amount, the mortgage before any financed upfront fee. A financed FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium, VA funding fee or USDA guarantee fee is added on top of that base amount and is excluded from the maximum mortgage calculation. The note amount can therefore exceed the county limit for that reason alone and the loan is still perfectly within guidelines.

HUD Handbook 4000.1 puts it directly: the Base Loan Amount is “the mortgage amount prior to the addition of any financed Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP)”, and “all references to maximum mortgage amount or mortgage amount shall refer to the Base Loan Amount.” This calculator tests the base loan amount against the limit and shows the financed fee separately.

An upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount, normally financed into the loan, plus an annual premium charged monthly. The $726,200 threshold below is fixed in the governing Mortgagee Letter and does not track the current conforming limit.

Source: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05, effective for case numbers endorsed on or after March 20, 2023.

VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance. The funding fee is a one-time charge, usually financed, and is waived for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, those eligible for it but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead, surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, service members with a pre-discharge memorandum rating, and active-duty Purple Heart recipients.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, rates effective April 7, 2023.

A 1.00% upfront guarantee fee and a 0.35% annual fee for fiscal year 2026, for loans obligated on or after October 1, 2025. The annual fee runs for the life of the loan.

The annual percentage rate is the rate that discounts every payment you make back to the amount financed, expressed as a yearly rate. It is higher than the interest rate whenever there are prepaid finance charges, which is almost always. It is the figure Regulation Z requires be used to compare the cost of credit between loans.

Counted as prepaid finance charges here: origination and discount points, lender fees (underwriting, processing, administration), prepaid per-diem interest from closing to the end of the month, and the upfront FHA mortgage insurance premium, VA funding fee or USDA guarantee fee. Excluded, as 12 CFR 1026.4(c)(7) permits when bona fide and reasonable: title examination and title insurance, escrow and settlement fees, document preparation, notary, appraisal, credit report, survey, and recording fees and transfer taxes. Monthly mortgage insurance is included in the payment stream for as long as it runs, which is why an FHA APR at low down payments sits so far above its interest rate.

The calculation assumes you keep the loan for its full term, make every scheduled payment and never refinance or prepay; that the interest rate is fixed for the whole term; and that mortgage insurance terminates on the schedule shown. It is an estimate built from the fees entered above, not from an actual fee sheet, and it will differ from the APR on your Loan Estimate. Adjustable-rate loans are not modelled here, their APR depends on assumed future index values.

Every closing-cost figure in this tool is an estimate. It is not a Loan Estimate, a Closing Disclosure, a fee worksheet, or a quote, and it is not binding on anyone. Lender fees, title and escrow charges, settlement and recording fees, and prepaid items vary by lender, by settlement agent, by county and state, by loan program, and by the day you close. Your actual figures arrive on the Loan Estimate you receive within three business days of a completed application, and are finalized on the Closing Disclosure you receive at least three business days before closing.

The estimate here is built from a single percentage of the base loan amount plus prepaid interest, the first year's homeowner's insurance premium, and tax and insurance reserves. It does not include: transfer, documentary, mortgage or recording taxes, which are substantial in some states and cities; HOA transfer, document or capitalization fees; home inspection, pest, roof or sewer inspections; appraisal or credit report fees already paid outside closing; home warranty; owner's title policy where the buyer pays it by local custom; survey; flood or earthquake premiums where required; rate lock extension fees; per-diem interest differences from an actual closing date; or prorations of taxes, HOA dues, rent or utilities between buyer and seller, which can move the number in either direction.

Seller and lender credits entered here reduce the estimate but are not verified against anything. Seller-paid amounts are subject to interested-party contribution limits set by the loan program and the loan-to-value, and may be reduced or disallowed at underwriting. Lender credits are tied to pricing on the day you lock. Cash to close must also be documented from acceptable, sourced and seasoned funds, and most programs additionally require reserves after closing.

Private mortgage insurance applies to a conventional loan above 80% loan-to-value. The grid below varies by loan-to-value and credit score because those are the two largest drivers, but they are not the only ones, and a rate card is not a quote.

An actual conventional mortgage insurance premium depends on the credit score, loan-to-value, loan amount, loan term, amortization type (fixed or adjustable), loan purpose (purchase, rate-and-term refinance or cash-out), occupancy (primary residence, second home or investment), property type (single family, condominium, co-op, two- to four-unit or manufactured housing), debt-to-income ratio, the coverage percentage the investor requires, whether the loan is a high-balance loan, the premium plan chosen (borrower-paid monthly, single, split or lender-paid), whether the premium is refundable or non-refundable, self-employment and income documentation type, the number of borrowers, subordinate financing, the state, and the individual insurer's underwriting guidelines. Several of those carry adjustments large enough to change the payment materially, a debt-to-income ratio above 45%, a condominium, a second home, or a two- to four-unit property each add to the rate shown here.

Every national mortgage insurer now prices through its own proprietary risk-based engine rather than a published card, so two borrowers with the same score and loan-to-value can receive different premiums from the same insurer, and different insurers can quote differently on the same file. Mortgage insurance is also not guaranteed to be available: insurers maintain their own eligibility guidelines and can decline a loan a lender would otherwise approve. The figures here are planning estimates only. Your actual premium must be quoted by a mortgage insurance provider through the lender on a specific loan file, and will be disclosed on your Loan Estimate. Mortgage insurance on FHA, VA and USDA loans is set by those agencies and is calculated separately from this grid.

Representative borrower-paid monthly non-refundable factors for a single-family primary residence at standard agency coverage, compiled September 2026. Not a quote from any mortgage insurer. Cancellation is governed by the Homeowners Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 4901–4910: automatic termination at 78% of the original value on the original amortization schedule provided the borrower is current, with a borrower right to request removal at 80% subject to payment history and evidence that value has not declined.