Amortization Calculator
Every payment's principal, interest and balance
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- PMI
- Down payment
- Loan payoff date
- Total interest paid
- Property tax
- Home insurance
- Annual payment
- Total of all payments
| Year | Ends | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
| # | Date | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
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How to read an amortization schedule
An amortization schedule lists every payment on a fixed-rate loan. Each row shows how much of that payment goes to interest, how much reduces the balance, and the balance left afterward. The yearly table above sums each year; the monthly table shows every payment. The chart shows the balance falling while the total principal and interest you've paid rise.
With the example numbers, a $270,000 loan at 6.5% for 30 years has a principal and interest payment of about $1,707. In the first month, $1,462.50 is interest and about $244 goes to principal. About 85% of the first year's payments are interest. Principal doesn't overtake interest until around year 20, and total interest over 30 years comes to about $344,400.
Why the split changes over time
Interest is charged on the balance you still owe, so it's largest at the start. Because the payment stays the same, every dollar of balance you pay down leaves a little more of the next payment for principal. That's also why extra payments early in a loan save the most interest. See the mortgage payoff calculator to try it.
Using this schedule
- Set the home value and down payment, or enter the price as your loan amount with 0% down to amortize any loan.
- Switch to biweekly payments to see a schedule with 26 payments a year.
- Taxes, insurance and PMI are shown in the payment summary but don't change the amortization of the loan itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is amortization?
Amortization is paying off a loan with regular, equal payments that cover interest and part of the balance each time, so the loan reaches zero at the end of its term.
What is an amortization schedule?
A table listing every payment on a loan, showing how much goes to interest, how much goes to principal and the balance left afterward. The calculator above builds one for any loan, by month or by year.
How do you calculate amortization?
Each month, interest is the balance times the annual rate divided by 12. The rest of the fixed payment reduces the balance. On a $270,000 loan at 6.5%, the first month's interest is $1,462.50 and about $244 goes to principal out of a $1,707 payment.
Why does most of my payment go to interest?
Interest is charged on the balance, which is largest at the start. On a 30-year loan at 6.5%, about 85% of the first year's payments go to interest, and principal doesn't overtake interest until around year 20. Extra principal payments shift that sooner.
What is negative amortization?
When a payment is too small to cover the interest, the unpaid interest is added to the balance, so you owe more over time. Standard fixed-rate mortgages don't do this.
How do I make an amortization schedule in Excel?
Use =PMT(rate/12, years*12, -loan) for the payment, =IPMT(rate/12, n, years*12, -loan) for the interest in payment n and =PPMT(rate/12, n, years*12, -loan) for the principal. Or use the calculator above and copy the table.