Mortgage Calculator

1. Under "Home price," enter the amount you paid or intend to pay.

2. Under "Down payment," enter the down payment amount, either in dollars or as a percentage of the home's price.

3. Under "Interest rate," enter the mortgage interest rate that you got or expect to get.

4. Under "Loan term (years)," enter the length of the mortgage in years. Most mortgages have 30-year terms.

5. Under "Start date," select the month of the first payment.

After you enter this information, the calculator displays your monthly payment inside the circle graph in the "Loan Estimate" tab.

This circle represents the cost breakdown of your monthly payment, including principal and interest, estimated property taxes, home insurance and homeowner association fees. Mortgage insurance is not included.

You’ll also see:

• The loan amount (under "Total principal")

• How much interest you would pay over the life of the loan ("Total interest payments")

• The total principal plus interest you would pay over the loan's term ("Total loan payments")

• The payoff date, which is the month when you would pay the last scheduled payment

Calculating costs in addition to principal and interest

This calculator lets you fine-tune your payment by entering your annual property tax, annual home insurance premium and monthly homeowner association fee.

The "Amortization Schedule" tab displays how much you'll pay in principal and interest each month, as well as the remaining amount you owe ("Principal balance") after making that payment.

» MORE: What is mortgage amortization?

Explanation of terminology

• Down payment: The cash you pay upfront. Your loan amount is the home's price minus your down payment.

• Interest rate: How much the lender charges you to lend you the money. Interest rates are expressed as an annual percentage. A lower interest rate gives you a smaller monthly payment.

• Loan term (years): The term is how many years it will take to pay off the mortgage. A longer term gives you a lower monthly payment than a shorter term. But you pay more total interest with a longer term because you pay interest for more months.

• Property taxes: The annual tax assessed by a government authority on your home and land. You pay about one-twelfth of your annual tax bill with each mortgage payment, and the servicer saves them in an escrow account. When the taxes are due, the loan servicer pays them.

• Homeowners insurance: Your policy covers damage and financial losses from fire, storms, theft, a tree falling on your house and other bad things. As with property taxes, you pay roughly one-twelfth of your annual premium each month, and the servicer pays the bill when it's due.

• Monthly HOA fees: The amount you may pay each month if you belong to a homeowners association. Typically, these dues are billed directly, not added to the monthly mortgage payment. Because HOA dues can be easy to forget when considering the cost of homeownership, NerdWallet's mortgage calculator allows you to enter them here.

Using the mortgage calculator to compare scenarios

This mortgage calculator lets you change the loan amount, interest rate, loan term and other factors so you can see the effect on monthly payments.

Feel free to test it out by entering your loan amount, then altering the interest rate or the loan term (or both). You won't break anything!

If you're looking to see how much you could save by refinancing your mortgage, try NerdWallet's refinance calculator.

» MORE FOR CANADIAN READERS:Canada mortgage payment calculator