Front-loaded interest
Early payments are mostly interest because they are calculated on a large remaining balance. Extra principal in year one buys more than the same dollars in year twenty.
Estimates only · not lender advice
Turn principal, rate, and term into a full monthly amortization schedule. Add extra monthly or one-time principal and see the new payoff date and interest saved — in the browser, with a CSV you can keep.
The ledger
U.S. fixed-rate P&I. Taxes and insurance are not included.
Amortization schedule
Early payments are mostly interest because they are calculated on a large remaining balance. Extra principal in year one buys more than the same dollars in year twenty.
Extra principal does not automatically lower the required monthly P&I. It shortens the loan instead — unless you ask the servicer for a recast.
Your lender draft may be larger because of escrow. This calculator is the loan itself: principal, interest, extras, and the remaining balance.
How amortization works·Extra payments guide·Anatomy of a schedule