Skip to main content
Calcora

Housing

Mortgage Refinance Calculator

Compare your current mortgage with a refinance at a new rate and term: monthly payment, closing costs, break-even, and estimated lifetime savings.

Your mortgage and the refinance

Enter your current mortgage as it stands today, the new loan's rate and term, and what the refinance would cost. The comparison covers principal and interest.

Current mortgage

Your mortgage from today forward. Your current payment is recalculated from these numbers.

Enter the remaining principal balance on your current mortgage.

Your current mortgage's annual percentage rate. Use 0 for a 0% loan.

Whole years left on your current mortgage. Use 0 if less than a year is left.

Months on top of the years, from 0 to 11. Leave blank for 0.

New refinance loan

The new loan replaces your current balance. No cash is taken out, and closing costs are paid separately rather than added to the loan.

The refinance loan's annual percentage rate.

New loan term, in years

A fixed-rate term that starts today.

Refinance costs

Include lender fees, title fees, appraisal costs, and other refinance costs you expect to pay, including any discount points. Use 0 if there are none.

Private by design

Your mortgage balance, rates, term, and refinance costs stay in your browser and are not sent to Calcora.

How a refinance comparison works

  1. Start from your mortgage today

    Enter the balance you still owe, its APR, and the time left. The calculator works out the principal-and-interest payment from those numbers.

  2. Describe the new loan

    A refinance pays off the current balance with a new fixed-rate loan at a new APR and term. No cash is taken out.

  3. Add the closing costs

    Lender, title, appraisal, and other fees, including any points. They are paid at closing, not added to the new loan.

  4. Compare the two paths

    The monthly payments, how long the payment savings take to repay the closing costs, the interest on each loan, and the lifetime difference: current remaining interest − refinance interest − closing costs.

What decides whether refinancing saves

What mortgage refinancing means

Refinancing replaces your current mortgage with a new loan, usually at a different rate, a different term, or both. The new loan pays off the old balance, and you pay closing costs to get it.

What break-even means

Break-even is how long monthly payment savings take to repay the closing costs: closing costs ÷ monthly savings, rounded up to a whole month. $6,000 at $197.26 a month takes 31 months.

Why a lower rate may not mean lower total cost

A lower rate on a longer loan can cost more. With $250,000 left over 15 years at 6.5%, refinancing at 5.75% for 30 years lowers the payment by $718.84 a month but adds $133,218.60 in interest.

How loan term affects refinancing

A shorter term raises the payment and cuts the interest; a longer term does the opposite. A new 30-year loan restarts the clock on a mortgage that may have far fewer years left.

Refinance closing costs

Lender fees, title insurance, appraisal, recording fees, and any discount points you pay for a lower rate. Enter them as one amount: the calculator does not estimate them or how points change the rate.

Monthly savings vs lifetime savings

Monthly savings compare the two payments. Lifetime savings compare everything left to pay: the interest on each loan and the closing costs. A refinance can save on one and cost more on the other.

Example refinance calculation

Two refinances at a lower rate, calculated the same way as the calculator above: one keeps the term, one restarts it.

$300,000 from 7% to 6%, 30 years

Current payment
$1,995.91 at 7% for 30 years
Refinance payment
$1,798.65 at 6% for 30 years
Monthly payment change
Save $197.26/month
Break-even
31 months ($6,000.00 closing costs)
Remaining interest
$418,524.05 now, $347,515.44 refinanced
Estimated lifetime savings
+$65,008.61

The same term at a lower rate lowers both the payment and the interest, so the closing costs come back in under three years.

$250,000, 15 years left, into a 30-year loan

Current payment
$2,177.77 at 6.5% for 15 years
Refinance payment
$1,458.93 at 5.75% for 30 years
Monthly payment change
Save $718.84/month
Break-even
7 months ($5,000.00 closing costs)
Remaining interest
$141,998.15 now, $275,216.75 refinanced
Estimated lifetime savings
−$138,218.60

The payment falls, but spreading the balance over 30 years instead of 15 adds more interest than the lower rate saves.

Assumptions

  • The refinance replaces your current principal balance with a new loan for the same amount. No cash is taken out.
  • Closing costs, including any points, are paid separately at closing. They are not added to the new loan.
  • Both loans have fixed rates and monthly payments from today. The APR you enter is used as the loan's interest rate: each month's interest is the balance × APR ÷ 12, as in Calcora's other loan calculators.
  • Your current payment is recalculated from the balance, APR, and time remaining. It is principal and interest only, so it can differ from your statement.
  • Property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, and HOA dues are left out on both sides, because they generally do not change simply because the mortgage is refinanced.
  • Break-even counts only monthly payment savings, up to the month the shorter loan is paid off, and rounds up to a whole month. Lifetime savings compare the interest on both loans and the closing costs.
  • Not modeled: prepayment penalties, lender credits, escrow refunds or new escrow deposits, tax deductions, adjustable rates, cash-out refinancing, and what the payment savings could earn.

How Calcora calculates

  • Every calculator explains the formula behind its result in plain language.
  • Calculators are designed to run in your browser, so your inputs are not sent to Calcora.
  • Results help you understand your options. They are not financial advice.
Read the methodology

Frequently asked questions

What is a mortgage refinance?
A refinance replaces your current mortgage with a new loan that pays off the old balance. People refinance for a lower rate, a different term, or both. You pay closing costs to take out the new loan.
How do I calculate the refinance break-even point?
Divide the closing costs by the monthly payment savings and round up to a whole month. $6,000 in closing costs with $197.26 a month in savings breaks even in month 31. If the new payment is not lower, there is no payment-based break-even.
Is refinancing worth it if my monthly payment drops?
Not necessarily. A lower payment can come from a lower rate, a longer term, or both. A longer term can add more interest than the lower rate saves, so check the lifetime savings as well as the monthly savings.
Can refinancing increase my total interest?
Yes. Spreading the balance over more years charges interest for longer. Refinancing 15 years left on a mortgage into a new 30-year loan often raises the total interest even at a lower rate.
What refinance costs should I include?
Include what you expect to pay to close the new loan: lender origination and underwriting fees, appraisal, title insurance, recording fees, and any discount points. Your lender's Loan Estimate lists them.
Does this calculator include property taxes and insurance?
No. It compares principal and interest. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, and HOA dues generally stay the same after a refinance, so they would not change the comparison. The Mortgage Calculator includes them for a home purchase.
Does Calcora store my mortgage information?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Your balance, rates, term, and refinance costs are not sent to Calcora, stored, or shared.

Related calculators

To estimate the full monthly housing payment on a mortgage, with property tax and insurance, use the Mortgage Calculator. The Amortization Calculator shows how either loan is paid down month by month.