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Printed August 25, 2026 · https://trycleartally.com/down-payment-calculator
Estimates for educational purposes only — not financial advice. See https://trycleartally.com/disclaimer.
Down Payment Calculator
= $40,000
What you've already set aside toward the down payment.
Return on your savings while you build the down payment.
Down payment
10.0% of the home price
Loan amount
Loan-to-value (LTV)
Under 20% down — PMI likely
Still to save
Save each month to be ready in 24 months
Assumes your savings earn the APY above
PMI likelihood assumes a conventional loan; FHA, VA, and USDA loans follow different rules. Estimate only, not financial advice.
Down Payment Worksheet
Down payment
$40,000 (10.0%)
PMI likelihood assumes a conventional loan. Estimate only, not financial advice.
Calculated using the standard formulas described at https://trycleartally.com/methodology — for educational estimates only, not a quote or financial advice. Verify with your lender or financial institution before making decisions.
See what your down payment works out to, the loan and loan-to-value it leaves you with, whether PMI is likely, and how much to save each month to get there.
Reviewed by the ClearTally editorial team · Last updated July 16, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Part of the mortgage calculators collection — 12 tools in the order most people need them.
The down payment is one piece of the cash you'll need. The closing cost calculator adds the rest of your cash to close, and the mortgage calculator turns your loan into a monthly payment.
How it works
The down payment is the slice of the price you pay up front; the rest becomes your loan. Enter it as a percent or a dollar amount and the calculator shows both, plus your loan-to-value (LTV) — the loan as a percent of the price. LTV is the number lenders watch: on a conventional loan, putting down less than 20% (an LTV above 80%) usually means paying private mortgage insurance until you build enough equity, which is why 20% is the figure everyone quotes.
The savings side runs the math in reverse. Given what you've already set aside and a target date, it solves for the fixed monthly amount that gets you to the full down payment — the same solver behind our savings goal calculator, so the interest your savings earn along the way is counted, not ignored.
Example:on a $400,000 home, 10% down is $40,000, leaving a $360,000 loan at 90% LTV — under 20% down, so PMI is likely. If you've saved $10,000 and want to buy in two years, reaching $40,000 means putting away about $1,169 a month — a little under the $1,250 you'd need with no interest, since savings at 4% do part of the work.
Sources & further reading
FAQ
There's no single right number. Putting 20% down avoids private mortgage insurance and lowers your loan, but plenty of buyers put down far less — conventional loans can go as low as 3%, FHA loans 3.5%, and VA and USDA loans allow 0% for those who qualify. The tradeoff is real: a smaller down payment gets you in sooner but means a bigger loan, PMI, and more interest over time. What you shouldn't do is drain your emergency fund to hit 20% — being house-poor with no cushion is its own risk.
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender (not you) if you default, and on a conventional loan it's typically required when you put down less than 20%. It's added to your monthly payment until your loan-to-value falls to about 80% — you can request cancellation at 80% and it ends automatically at 78%. Our PMI calculator estimates the monthly cost and when it drops off. FHA loans have their own version (MIP) with different, often longer-lasting rules.
Yes, two ways. It shrinks the loan directly, so the principal-and-interest payment is smaller, and once you cross 20% down it removes PMI from the payment entirely. On a $400,000 home, moving from 10% to 20% down cuts the loan by $40,000 and drops the PMI line to zero. The money isn't lost, either — it becomes home equity from day one.
No — budget for closing costs on top of it. Lender fees, title, appraisal, and prepaid taxes and insurance typically add a few percent of the loan amount, due at closing alongside the down payment. The total is your 'cash to close.' Our closing cost calculator estimates that piece so you're planning for the whole check, not just the down payment.
It solves for the fixed monthly contribution that grows your current savings to the full down payment by your target date, assuming the savings earn the APY you enter. Because the money compounds while you save, the required monthly amount is a little less than simply dividing the shortfall by the number of months — at 0% APY they're identical.