Buyer Cost Calculator
Buyers lose deals and sleep over the same surprise: the down payment is not the check you write at closing. Origination fees, title insurance, prepaid taxes, and a year of insurance all land on the same day, and the true cash-to-close figure runs thousands higher than the down payment alone.
This calculator builds that figure line by line. Enter the price, down payment, loan type, and terms, plus each closing-cost item, and it returns your cash to close, an itemized closing-cost table, the full monthly payment with taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA, the total loan interest, and a verdict on whether your closing costs sit inside the typical 2% to 5% band.
Purchase and loan
Closing cost items
Taxes, insurance, and monthly charges
A planning estimate, not a Loan Estimate. Your lender Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure carry the binding figures for your loan, and prepaid escrow amounts vary by closing date and lender policy.
Quick Answer
Key takeaways
- Cash to close is down payment plus closing costs. On the worked example the down payment is $40,000 but the check at closing is $52,000.
- Prepaid escrows are the surprise line: this tool collects 6 months of taxes and 12 months of insurance at closing, $4,200 of the $12,000 total.
- Closing costs between 2% and 5% of the price are typical, a range the CFPB closing costs guidance also uses. Below or above that band deserves a question, not panic.
- PMI follows loan type here: it applies under 20% down on conventional, FHA, USDA, and jumbo loans in this model, and never on VA loans or cash purchases.
- Quick Answer
- How to use the buyer cost calculator
- The formulas behind cash to close and the monthly payment
- Worked example: $400,000 with 10% down, checked line by line
- Cash to close and the monthly payment are different problems
- PMI: when this tool charges it and when it stops
- What competing calculators miss
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Add This Calculator to Your Website
- References
How to use the buyer cost calculator
Start with the purchase block: price, down payment as a percent, loan type, rate, and term. The loan type matters more than it looks, because it switches the PMI logic and, for a cash purchase, removes the loan entirely and reports your monthly carrying cost instead of a mortgage payment. Then enter the closing items as your lender quoted them. If you only have a single closing-cost estimate so far, split it roughly across the lines and refine it when the Loan Estimate arrives; the percentage verdict still works.
Finish with the annual tax and insurance bills, the PMI rate, and any HOA dues. This tool treats half the annual tax bill and the full annual insurance premium as prepaid at closing, which is how most lenders seed the escrow account. Press Calculate and read the breakdown table first: it separates money that becomes your equity (the down payment) from money that is spent (fees) and money that is prepaid (escrows), three very different kinds of cost wearing the same closing-day deadline. If you already know your loan amount and total closing costs and just want the cash figure in four inputs, the quicker buyers net out calculator does that single sum.
The formulas behind cash to close and the monthly payment
Four short calculations run this tool, and each one matches how lenders actually build the numbers.
The amortization formula is the standard one every mortgage uses: the payment is the loan times the monthly rate times (1 + monthly rate) to the power of the number of payments, divided by that same factor minus one. At a $360,000 loan, 6.5%, and 360 payments it returns $2,275.44, and multiplying the payment by 360 and subtracting the loan gives the $459,160.16 lifetime interest figure. Seeing that number next to the monthly payment is deliberate: a loan that feels affordable month to month can still cost more in interest than the house itself.
Worked example: $400,000 with 10% down, checked line by line
The calculator is pre-filled with this case. Every figure below is what it returns.
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment (10% of $400,000) | $40,000.00 | Becomes your equity |
| Loan origination (1% of $360,000 loan) | $3,600.00 | Largest single fee |
| Inspection, appraisal, title, attorney, recording, survey | $4,200.00 | $500 + $600 + $1,500 + $1,000 + $200 + $400 |
| Prepaid taxes (6 months of $4,800) | $2,400.00 | Escrow seed money |
| Prepaid insurance (12 months of $1,800) | $1,800.00 | Escrow seed money |
| Total closing costs | $12,000.00 | 3.00% of price: Inside 2% to 5% |
| Cash to close | $52,000.00 | Down payment + closing costs |
| Monthly payment | $3,075.44 | $2,275.44 loan + $400 tax + $150 insurance + $150 PMI + $100 HOA |
Two checks worth doing with your own quote. First, compare your closing percentage with the closing cost percentage calculator if a lender quotes you a lump sum instead of lines. Second, look at the prepaid share: $4,200 of this example closing bill is not a fee at all, it is your own taxes and insurance paid early into escrow. Buyers who understand that distinction negotiate the real fees harder and stop resenting the escrows.
Cash to close and the monthly payment are different problems
Cash to close: the sprint
- One-time money needed on closing day
- Down payment plus every closing line
- Reduced by earnest money and seller or lender credits in a real deal
- The number that decides whether you can buy now or in six months
Monthly payment: the marathon
- Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA
- PMI drops away at 20% equity on conventional loans
- Taxes and insurance rise over time even when the loan payment is fixed
- The number that decides whether the home stays comfortable
A buyer can clear the sprint and lose the marathon. Run both numbers before you tour homes, and test the monthly figure against your income with a buy a home calculator that weighs the full purchase, not just the payment. The affordability ratio calculator adds the debt side of that picture.
PMI: when this tool charges it and when it stops
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, and it appears when your down payment is under 20% on most loan types. In this calculator, PMI is charged monthly at your entered rate for conventional, FHA, USDA, and jumbo loans under 20% down, skipped for VA loans, and skipped entirely for cash purchases, which mirrors how the programs broadly work, though FHA loans carry their own mortgage insurance structure in real life. On a conventional loan you can request removal at 20% equity, and it terminates automatically at 22% under the Homeowners Protection Act, which the CFPB PMI removal guidance explains in detail. On the worked example, PMI is $150 a month: real money, and a concrete reason the jump from 10% down to 20% down changes the monthly math so much.
What competing calculators miss
Bank and broker calculators are built to start a loan application, not to audit one. The gaps show up in the same places across the tools reviewed for this page.
Miss 1: closing costs as one vague line, or missing entirely. Many tools ask for a single closing-cost guess or default it to a percent, so you never see which lines are fees, which are prepaids, and which you can shop for. This calculator itemizes eight lines and shows the prepaid escrows separately in the breakdown.
Miss 2: PMI applied blindly, or not at all. Tools that charge PMI on every loan overstate VA costs; tools that skip it understate a 10%-down conventional payment by $150 a month on this example. Loan-type-aware PMI is the honest middle.
Miss 3: no lifetime interest, no verdict. A monthly payment with no total interest hides the largest cost of the loan, and a closing total with no benchmark gives you nothing to push back on. Here the $459,160.16 interest figure and the 2% to 5% verdict sit next to the numbers they judge.
One honest limit: real cash to close is reduced by earnest money already paid and any seller or lender credits, and this tool does not subtract those. Treat its output as the gross figure before credits, then deduct what you have already paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
With 10% down and the worked example fees, $52,000: a $40,000 down payment plus $12,000 in closing costs. Your figure moves with your down payment and your lender lines, but the structure, down payment plus itemized closing costs, is the same on every purchase.
Typically 2% to 5% of the purchase price, covering origination, appraisal, title, attorney or settlement fees, recording, survey, and prepaid taxes and insurance held in escrow. This calculator flags your total as below, inside, or above that band.
Principal and interest come from the amortization formula on your loan amount, rate, and term. The tool then adds monthly property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI when it applies for your loan type and down payment, and HOA dues, giving the full payment rather than just the loan part.
On conventional loans, you can request removal at 20% equity and it terminates automatically at 22%. VA loans never carry PMI in this model, and cash purchases have no PMI at all. FHA loans follow their own mortgage insurance rules, so confirm the schedule with your lender.
The down payment is the part of the price you pay instead of borrowing, and it becomes your equity. Cash to close is everything you must bring on closing day: the down payment plus all closing costs, before deducting earnest money or credits you already have.
Yes, but they are your own future bills paid early, not fees. Lenders collect months of property tax and a year of insurance at closing to fund your escrow account, then pay the bills from it as they come due. In the worked example they are $4,200 of the $12,000 closing total.
Yes. FHA loans add an upfront mortgage insurance premium, VA loans add a funding fee, and jumbo loans can carry higher origination charges, while the third-party lines like title, appraisal, and recording look similar across programs. The loan type selector here adjusts the PMI and loan logic; enter program-specific fees on their lines when your lender quotes them.
No. It is a planning estimate built from the figures you enter. Your lender Loan Estimate, and later the Closing Disclosure you receive at least three business days before closing, are the documents with legal standing, so compare this output against them line by line.
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References
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “What are closing costs?” – the federal consumer guide to closing cost components and the typical range buyers pay. CFPB: What are closing costs?. Accessed October 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “When can I remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) from my loan?” – the 20% request and 22% automatic termination rules under the Homeowners Protection Act. CFPB: Removing PMI. Accessed October 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “Owning a Home: Loan Estimate” – how to read the official Loan Estimate form, including the cash to close section this calculator mirrors. CFPB: Loan Estimate explainer. Accessed October 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “What is private mortgage insurance?” – what PMI is, who it protects, and when lenders require it. CFPB: What is PMI?. Accessed October 2026.