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Calculator Description
Calculate Your Upfront Home Cost and Mortgage Amount Use the down payment calculator to determine your estimated upfront cost of a home, and understand its impact on your borrowing amount. Fill out your home's sales price and down payment - either as a dollar amount or as a percentage - to see your estimated up front money and how it will impact your overall mortgage amount. These estimates are helpful if you're evaluating various down payment options on different purchasing prices.
This is an estimate and can't be used to assess loan approvals, interest rates,closing expenses, taxes or insurance costs.
How to Use the Down Payment Calculator
- Enter the home price: Enter the expected purchase price of the property in U.S. dollars. Use the purchase price rather than the amount you expect to borrow.
- Enter the down payment percentage: If you know the percentage you want to put down, enter it as a percentage such as 10%, 20%, or 25%.
- Enter the down payment amount: If the calculator supports a dollar-based input, you can enter the amount you plan to pay upfront instead of a percentage.
- Review the down payment: The calculator determines the dollar amount represented by the selected percentage.
- Review the estimated loan amount: The remaining portion of the purchase price after the down payment represents the simplified amount financed.
Say the purchase of a house is $400,000, the down payment the user is considering is 20%, the estimated down payment would be $80,000 and the purchase price left would be $320,000.
How the Down Payment Calculator Works
Calculation of Down Payment Amount In order to calculate upfront the money by: First multiply your house price to you down payment. Second Calculate how much you financed: House Price - DownPayment (which you calculated above).
The larger your down payment, the smaller the portion of your price you’ll have to finance. When you arrive for closing, even the actual number you will bring with you can be greater than the down payment for a home; there are usually other closing fees, prepaid items, deposits, or similar charges attached to real estate purchases.
Down Payment Calculator Formula
The basic down payment formula is:
Down Payment = Home Price × Down Payment Percentage
When the percentage is entered as a whole number, convert it to a decimal before multiplying.
Down Payment Percentage as Decimal = Percentage ÷ 100
The estimated amount remaining to finance is:
Estimated Loan Amount = Home Price − Down Payment
- Home Price = purchase price of the property
- Down Payment Percentage = portion of the purchase price paid upfront
- Down Payment = dollar amount paid toward the purchase price upfront
- Estimated Loan Amount = purchase price remaining after subtracting the down payment
Down Payment Calculator Example
Suppose you are considering a home priced at $450,000 and want to make a 20% down payment.
Home price: $450,000
Down payment percentage: 20%
Convert the percentage: 20% = 0.20
Down payment calculation: $450,000 × 0.20 = $90,000
Estimated amount remaining to finance: $450,000 − $90,000 = $360,000
Estimated down payment: $90,000
Estimated amount financed: $360,000
Example assumes the down payment applies entirely to the purchase price, and does not include closing costs, lender charges, taxes, insurance, or any other fees that are due around the time of closing.
Understanding Your Results
The primary result shows the value that was derived from calculating your selected percentage of the homes’ sales price that was designated as cash. The remaining balance is calculated by simply taking your selected purchase prices - minus the amount calculated.
For the same home price, increasing the down payment reduces the amount remaining to finance.
| Home Price |
Down Payment |
Down Payment Amount |
Amount Remaining |
| $300,000 |
5% |
$15,000 |
$285,000 |
| $300,000 |
10% |
$30,000 |
$270,000 |
| $300,000 |
20% |
$60,000 |
$240,000 |
| $400,000 |
10% |
$40,000 |
$360,000 |
| $400,000 |
20% |
$80,000 |
$320,000 |
| $500,000 |
20% |
$100,000 |
$400,000 |
Remaining to finance is not automatically the final mortgage balance or sum paid over the length of the loan. Interest and various other loan charges can alter this total repayment to a great extent.
Down Payment Percentage vs. Down Payment Amount
A down payment percentage: - Is simply the fraction of the sale value that you wish to pay with cash. The dollar amount in this example helps determine how many dollars that portion equates to on your intended home.
As an example, 10% of a $300k home would still be $30,000, whereas 10% of a $600k home would actually be $60,000. That’s even though it’s for a 10% down payment on both purchase prices.
How a Larger Down Payment Changes the Amount Financed
The higher the downpayment, the lower percentage of the purchase price you need to finance. The calculator will allow you to compare several options before settling on one to investigate in more detail.
For example, on a $500,000 property:
- 10% down: $50,000 down and $450,000 remaining.
- 15% down: $75,000 down and $425,000 remaining.
- 20% down: $100,000 down and $400,000 remaining.
- 25% down: $125,000 down and $375,000 remaining.
The information above illustrates the direct mathematical relationship between down payment amount and sales price of an item. It doesn't necessarily mean one is "more appropriate" than another given the financial characteristics of the borrower.
Down Payment and Mortgage Costs
The down payment is just one component of the entire home buying process. Other components of a mortgage may include interest, the cost of lender fees, closing costs, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and more depending on the specific home buying transaction.
Increasing the amount used for down payment might lower the amount financed, but can also reduce the amount available for reserves, repairs, moving or other finances. Finding balance depends on the financial situation of the homebuyer and loan products offered to that individual.
Down Payment and Loan-to-Value Ratio
Down payment percentage and loan-to-value ratio are closely related for a simple purchase-price calculation.
Loan-to-Value Ratio = Loan Amount ÷ Property Value × 100
If a $400,000 home has a $320,000 loan based on a $80,000 down payment, the simplified loan-to-value ratio is:
($320,000 ÷ $400,000) × 100 = 80%
Actual lender calculations can use specific definitions of property value and loan amount, so this simplified relationship should not be treated as an official underwriting calculation.
Cash Needed at Closing vs. Down Payment
However, not necessarily, the cash due at the down payment (not the only one) needs to also account for closing charges such as closing expenses paid, advance spending, Escrow payments, checks the examination cost, a check for appraisal, along with other bills relevant in that purchase, all of which can consist of substantial monetary amount
For example, to purchase a $400,000 home, you’d need 20% down payment, which equals $80,000 in cash for the purchase price. You'd actually need cash for much higher at close for other charges of the transaction to apply.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing down payment with total cash to close: The down payment is only one component of the money that may be required at closing.
- Entering the loan amount as the home price: Start with the property's purchase price when calculating a percentage-based down payment.
- Entering 20 instead of 0.20 in a decimal field: Follow the calculator's input format for percentages.
- Forgetting to update the down payment when the home price changes: A fixed percentage produces a different dollar amount for every purchase price.
- Assuming a larger down payment guarantees a lower mortgage rate: Loan pricing depends on multiple factors and lender-specific terms.
- Ignoring other purchase expenses: Closing costs and prepaid expenses may require additional funds beyond the down payment.
- Assuming the calculated amount is an approved loan amount: The calculator performs arithmetic and does not determine mortgage eligibility.
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Detailed Calculator Guide
Down Payment Scenarios by Home Price
An easy way to demonstrate this difference in initial cash needed is by going through the calculations based on different percentages for the down payment at various purchase prices. The following examples make no attempt to account for closing costs or any other cost of buying.
| Home Price |
5% Down |
10% Down |
15% Down |
20% Down |
25% Down |
| $250,000 |
$12,500 |
$25,000 |
$37,500 |
$50,000 |
$62,500 |
| $300,000 |
$15,000 |
$30,000 |
$45,000 |
$60,000 |
$75,000 |
| $400,000 |
$20,000 |
$40,000 |
$60,000 |
$80,000 |
$100,000 |
| $500,000 |
$25,000 |
$50,000 |
$75,000 |
$100,000 |
$125,000 |
| $600,000 |
$30,000 |
$60,000 |
$90,000 |
$120,000 |
$150,000 |
| $750,000 |
$37,500 |
$75,000 |
$112,500 |
$150,000 |
$187,500 |
| $1,000,000 |
$50,000 |
$100,000 |
$150,000 |
$200,000 |
$250,000 |
How to Calculate Down Payment From a Dollar Amount
If you know exactly how much you would spend on the purchase in cash, you can also calculate this price percentage based upon the figure.
Down Payment Percentage = (Down Payment Amount ÷ Home Price) × 100
For example, if you plan to put $60,000 toward a $400,000 home:
($60,000 ÷ $400,000) × 100 = 15%
Your planned down payment represents 15% of the purchase price.
How to Calculate the Home Price From a Down Payment
If you have information of the down payment amount available and your desired percentage, you may figure out purchase price that it should amount to.
Home Price = Down Payment Amount ÷ Down Payment Rate
For example, if you have $80,000 available and want that amount to represent 20% of the purchase price:
$80,000 ÷ 0.20 = $400,000
Under this simplified calculation, $80,000 represents a 20% down payment on a $400,000 property.
Down Payment and Estimated Mortgage Balance
The amount remaining after the down payment provides a simple estimate of the portion of the purchase price that would need financing.
For example, a $500,000 home with a $100,000 down payment leaves:
$500,000 − $100,000 = $400,000
The estimated financing amount is therefore $400,000 before considering any financing of eligible transaction costs or other adjustments.
Down Payment Does Not Equal Total Home-Buying Budget
The amount of cash a buyer has and how much they’re able to put down aren’t always equal. A buyer may need to set money aside for costs related to buying, moving in, and upkeep of the property.
So the Down Payment Calculator answers a very precise question: what portion of the asking price am I going to buy with my given payment at the outset. It is *not* designed to suggest how much money you should have left in the bank or how much you can risk not getting back in the immediate to medium future.
Comparing Down Payment Percentages
For the same buy price, varying the percentage of down payment changes the amount paid up front and the amount to finance.
For a $450,000 home:
- 5% down: $22,500 down and $427,500 remaining.
- 10% down: $45,000 down and $405,000 remaining.
- 15% down: $67,500 down and $382,500 remaining.
- 20% down: $90,000 down and $360,000 remaining.
- 25% down: $112,500 down and $337,500 remaining.
These calculations prove only the fact of having the direct mathematical relationship between the rate of a down payment and sum being on credit. They do not explain, which percentage to be optimal and to choose from.