Pmi Refund Calculator
Most mortgage insurance is money you never see again, but FHA loans are the exception. If you refinance one FHA loan into another within three years of closing, HUD refunds part of the upfront mortgage insurance premium you paid on day one, on a fixed month-by-month schedule. This PMI refund calculator applies that schedule to your loan: enter the original loan amount and how many months have passed, and it shows your refund percentage and the dollar credit toward the new loan.
Quick Answer
On a $300,000 FHA loan you paid $5,250 in upfront MIP (1.75%). Refinance into another FHA loan 12 months after closing and HUD credits you 58%: $3,045 off the new loan’s upfront premium. Wait until month 36 and the credit shrinks to 10% ($525); after month 36 it is $0. The refund is a credit, not cash, and it only exists for FHA-to-FHA refinances.
- Only FHA upfront MIP refunds. Conventional PMI never refunds; it simply stops when you hit 20% equity. Annual FHA MIP never refunds either.
- The schedule is fixed by HUD. 80% in month 1, falling about 2 points a month to 10% in month 36, then zero. No lender can change it.
- It is a credit, not a check. The refund reduces the upfront premium on your new FHA loan; you never receive cash.
- Streamline timing matters. FHA Streamline refinances require a 210-day wait, so the earliest practical credit lands around 66 to 68%.
- Only FHA upfront MIP refunds. Conventional PMI never refunds; it simply stops when you hit 20% equity. Annual FHA MIP never refunds either.
- The schedule is fixed by HUD. 80% in month 1, falling about 2 points a month to 10% in month 36, then zero. No lender can change it.
- It is a credit, not a check. The refund reduces the upfront premium on your new FHA loan; you never receive cash.
- Streamline timing matters. FHA Streamline refinances require a 210-day wait, so the earliest practical credit lands around 66 to 68%.
Which mortgage insurance actually refunds
Three kinds of mortgage insurance exist, and only one refunds. Conventional private mortgage insurance is monthly and cancellable: once your loan balance hits 80% of the original value you can request removal, and at 78% it drops automatically, but nothing you already paid comes back. FHA annual MIP works the same way in reverse: on most loans it lasts the life of the loan and the only exit is refinancing into a conventional loan. The CFPB’s mortgage insurance explainer and its PMI removal guide cover both.
The exception is the FHA upfront premium: 1.75% of the loan amount, usually financed into the loan, which HUD partially refunds when you refinance FHA-to-FHA within 36 months. That is the number this calculator computes. If you are weighing the refinance itself, our remortgage calculator models the full trade, and our mortgage PMI calculator prices the monthly side.
The 36-month HUD schedule
HUD Handbook 4000.1 sets the refund as a straight declining schedule: 80% of the upfront premium in the first month after closing, dropping roughly 2 percentage points each month until 10% in month 36. It does not vary by loan amount, credit score, or state. Key stops on the schedule, shown as the credit on a $5,250 upfront premium:
| Months after closing | Refund % | Credit on $5,250 UFMIP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80% | $4,200 |
| 6 | 70% | $3,675 |
| 12 | 58% | $3,045 |
| 18 | 46% | $2,415 |
| 24 | 34% | $1,785 |
| 30 | 22% | $1,155 |
| 36 | 10% | $525 |
| 37+ | 0% | $0 |
The HUD Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 is the authoritative source for the schedule, and HUD’s FHA mortgage insurance page outlines the program.
How the credit works on your new loan
Here is the part most borrowers misunderstand: the refund never becomes cash. When you close the new FHA loan, its own 1.75% upfront premium is charged, and your refund is applied against it. On the worked example, the new loan’s $5,250 premium minus the $3,045 credit leaves $2,205, which is typically financed into the new loan balance. The credit also cannot exceed the new premium.
Two practical constraints shape the timing. First, the FHA Streamline refinance, the cheapest path, requires 210 days from closing to the new funding date, so the earliest realistic refinance lands around month 7 or 8 with a 66 to 68% credit. Second, the loan must be current with no serious delinquencies, and assumed FHA loans do not qualify. Run the monthly payment impact with our mortgage payment calculator, and check whether you even qualify for the new loan with our loan qualify calculator.
What PMI refund calculators get wrong
The common failure is calling everything “PMI” and implying all of it refunds. Conventional PMI borrowers who find these calculators expect money back that does not exist; the refund belongs exclusively to FHA upfront MIP on FHA-to-FHA refinances inside 36 months. The second failure is presenting the refund as cash, which sends borrowers shopping for a payout instead of a credit. The third is ignoring the 210-day Streamline wait, which makes month-1-to-6 credits theoretical for the most common refinance path. This calculator names the program correctly, applies the real HUD schedule, and labels the result a credit. If your loan is conventional and you want the insurance gone, the path is equity: request cancellation at 80% loan-to-value or let it fall off automatically at 78%.
Chart-only pages from large lenders (Rocket Mortgage, Better, Elevation Mortgage) publish the same HUD percentages but give no interactive credit: they do not show the dollar credit, the net premium on the new loan, or the month-by-month window. One widely shared explainer (The Mortgage Reports) instead gives a coarse three-band schedule of 80% in year one, 60% in year two and 40% in year three, which contradicts the HUD month-by-month schedule at every month except the first. A date-based refund tool (Calculator City) does compute a refund from origination and payoff dates, but it presents the refund as the headline result rather than as a credit capped by the new loan premium. This calculator keeps the HUD schedule, the credit framing, and the net new premium together.
Frequently Asked Questions
On conventional PMI, no: it simply stops when you reach enough equity. On FHA loans, the upfront mortgage insurance premium (1.75% of the loan) is partially refundable as a credit when you refinance into another FHA loan within 36 months of closing.
Multiply your original upfront premium (1.75% of the loan amount) by the HUD refund percentage for your month: 80% in month 1, declining about 2 points monthly to 10% in month 36. A $5,250 premium refinanced in month 12 yields a $3,045 credit.
No. It is applied as a credit against the upfront premium on your new FHA loan, reducing the amount financed. You never receive a check.
No. The refund only applies when the new loan is also FHA-insured. Refinancing into a conventional loan forfeits the credit entirely, though it does end the monthly MIP.
The FHA Streamline program requires 210 days between closing and the new loan's funding, putting the earliest practical refinance around month 7 or 8, worth roughly a 66 to 68% credit. Standard FHA refinances have no such wait but cost more to close.
No. Only the upfront premium carries a refund schedule. The annual MIP, paid monthly, simply stops when the loan is refinanced or, on loans with 10%+ down originated after June 2013, after 11 years.
Refinancing after 36 months, refinancing into a non-FHA loan, serious delinquencies on the current loan, or holding an assumed FHA loan. The loan must be current and the new loan must be FHA-insured.
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References
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA Mortgage Insurance Programs. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What is private mortgage insurance? Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When can I remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) from my loan? Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What is an escrow or impound account? Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Buying a House: Mortgage Tools and Resources. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Freddie Mac. Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Consumer Credit (G.19). Accessed October 25, 2026.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026. Accessed October 25, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS). Accessed October 25, 2026.