Mortgage Payoff Calculator
Extra Payments, Interest Saved, Pay Off or Invest
See how much sooner you could own your home, and how much interest you would save, with extra monthly, yearly or lump-sum payments. Then compare paying it off with investing the money instead.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: Extra payments go straight to principal, so they cut both the time and the interest on a mortgage. On a $300,000 30-year loan at 6.5% (payment $1,896), paying $200 more a month pays it off in 23 yrs 1 mo instead of 30 years and saves $103,449 of interest; $100 more saves $60,995 and 4 yrs.
Paying early is a guaranteed return equal to your mortgage rate: investing the extra instead only comes out ahead if your after-tax investment return beats that rate.
How much faster will extra payments pay off my mortgage?
On a $300,000 30-year mortgage at 6.5%, $200 extra a month pays it off in 23 yrs 1 mo and saves $103,449 of interest. One extra payment a year (the biweekly effect) pays it off in 24 yrs 4 mo.
Paid off in
23 yrs 1 mo
Time saved
6 yrs 11 mo
Interest saved
$103,449
Monthly payment (P&I)
$1,896
How it adds up
- • Without extras: 30 yrs and $382,633 of interest.
- • With extras: 23 yrs 1 mo and $279,185 of interest.
- • You save $103,449 and 6 yrs 11 mo of payments.
Pay it off or invest the difference?
- • Pay off early, then invest the freed-up payment: $225,363 invested when the original loan would have ended.
- • Keep the normal payment and invest every extra: $243,994.
- • Investing comes out $18,631 ahead at 7%. The break-even return is your mortgage rate, 6.500%.
Investment returns are not guaranteed; paying down the mortgage is. Both paths are mortgage-free at the original payoff date.
Loan balance by year
| Year | Current plan | With extras |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $296,647 | $294,174 |
| 5 | $280,833 | $266,698 |
| 10 | $254,328 | $220,648 |
| 15 | $217,677 | $156,968 |
| 20 | $166,996 | $68,912 |
| 25 | $96,912 | $0 |
| 30 | $0 | $0 |
See how much of your home you own, and what you could borrow against it, with the home equity calculator.
Weighing a lower rate instead? Try the refinance calculator, or compare investing the money with the compound interest calculator.
Last reviewed 23 September 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Your monthly principal and interest payment is fixed by the balance, rate and remaining term. Each month, interest is charged on the balance and the rest of the payment reduces principal. An extra payment goes entirely to principal, so every later month is charged interest on a smaller balance. That is why extra payments save far more than their face value, and why they are worth most early in the loan.
The pay-off-vs-invest comparison spends the same cash both ways until your original payoff date. Paying early: the extras go to the loan, then the whole payment is invested once it is gone. Investing: you keep the normal payment and invest every extra. The comparison is neutral when your return equals the mortgage rate, so the decision is really whether you expect to beat that rate after tax. Taxes, insurance and PMI are left out; they do not change when the loan is paid off.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your current loan balance, interest rate and the years left on the loan.
- Add an extra amount each month, once a year, or as a one-off lump sum.
- Read your new payoff time, the time saved and the interest saved.
- Compare paying off early with investing the same money at a return you choose.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much will $100 extra a month save on my mortgage?
On a $300,000 30-year mortgage at 6.5%, $60,995 of interest and 4 yrs off the loan; $200 a month saves $103,449 and 6 yrs 11 mo. Savings are largest early in the loan, when interest takes the biggest share of each payment.
Enter your own balance, rate and remaining term above.
Is it better to pay off my mortgage early or invest?
Paying down the mortgage earns exactly your mortgage rate, guaranteed (a little less if you deduct mortgage interest). Investing earns an uncertain return.
If your expected after-tax return is higher than the rate, investing tends to leave you wealthier; if it is lower, prepaying wins. The calculator's comparison shows both for the same monthly cash.
Keep an emergency fund and any employer 401(k) match first, and remember money in the house is hard to get back out.
Do extra payments automatically go to principal?
Usually, but tell your servicer to apply the extra to principal, not to next month's payment, and check your statement. Prepayment penalties are uncommon on US home loans and federal rules have restricted them since 2014; if yours has one, it is in your note or closing disclosure.
Do biweekly payments pay off a mortgage faster?
Yes: 26 half-payments a year equal 13 monthly payments, one extra a year. On a $300,000 loan at 6.5% that pays it off in 24 yrs 4 mo and saves about $83,985.
You get the same result by adding one extra payment a year, set "extra each year" to your monthly payment, without paying a service for a biweekly plan.
Should I recast or refinance instead?
A recast re-amortizes your loan after a large lump-sum payment, lowering the monthly payment while keeping your rate and term, usually for a small fee. A refinance replaces the loan and only makes sense if the new rate is low enough to cover the closing costs.
Extra payments keep the payment the same and shorten the loan instead.
Should I pay off my mortgage before I retire?
Entering retirement without a mortgage lowers the income you need, which can mean smaller withdrawals, less tax, and less of your Social Security becoming taxable. Against that, paying it off with a large IRA withdrawal can push you into a higher bracket.
Model the extra payments here, and the tax side with the Social Security tax calculator.
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Further Reading
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