Down Payment Calculator · filed Oct 9, 2026
FHA down payment requirements
The FHA loan is the lowest door into homeownership: 3.5% down for borrowers with a 580+ credit score. The trade is the mortgage insurance — two premiums, one of which is the stickiest insurance in the mortgage business. Here are the rules, priced out on a $400,000 home at 7% on a 30-year loan.
The down payment tiers
These are the FHA’s floors; individual lenders can and do set higher overlays, especially in the 500–579 band. The score also moves the rate you are quoted, so two buyers on the same house can post different monthly numbers.
The two MIP premiums, worked
FHA loans do not have PMI. They have MIP — the FHA’s own mortgage insurance — and it comes in two parts:
The upfront premium is almost always financed into the loan rather than paid in cash — that is the standard practice, and it is why the amortized balance ($392,755) is higher than the loan amount ($386,000). Total cash at closing on this file is still about $26,000 ($14,000 down plus 3% closing costs).
The rule that matters most: MIP drop-off
- 10% or more down: MIP drops after 11 years (month 132).
- Less than 10% down: MIP stays for the life of the loan. There is no 78% automatic drop like conventional PMI.
At $176.92 a month, lifetime MIP costs about $63,691 over 30 years — which is why borrowers who buy FHA at 3.5% and then watch their equity cross 20% usually refinance into a conventional loan to kill it. That exit plan belongs in the spreadsheet before you sign.
FHA vs conventional at 3.5% down
On paper the FHA check is smaller ($14,000 vs a conventional 5% check of $20,000 on $400,000), but the conventional 3.5%-down file — where a lender offers it — carries PMI that drops off in month 148. The FHA’s MIP at this down level never drops. Price both in the Down Payment Calculator with the program tabs before choosing.
Program figures are the FHA’s published standards. Actual rates, overlays, and insurance quotes vary by lender and credit score — confirm exact numbers with a lender.
Filed under down payments
- Down Payment CalculatorRun the ladder at your price, rate, and loan program.
- How Much Down Payment on $400k?The four standard checks — 3.5%, 5%, 10%, 20% — posted line by line.
- Is 20% Down Necessary?The myth, the PMI math, and the wait-it-out arithmetic.
- Down Payment vs PMI CostWhen the bigger check beats the insurance, and when it doesn’t.
- How Much Do I Need to Buy a House?Down payment plus closing costs plus reserves — the whole cash picture.