Definitions
Mortgage amount
Original or expected balance for your mortgage. Taxpayers can deduct the interest paid on qualified residences for up to $750,000 in total mortgage debt (the limit is $375,000 if married and filing separately). Any interest paid on first, second or home equity mortgages over this amount is not tax deductible. If you already have outstanding mortgages on other qualified residences, this may limit your deduction. Our calculator limits your interest deduction to the interest payment that would be paid on a $750,000 mortgage.
Interest rate
Annual interest rate for this mortgage.
Interest rate after taxes
Annual effective interest rate, after taxes are taken into account. Please note that in addition to the $750,000 mortgage debt limit; this calculator assumes that your itemized deductions will exceed the standard deduction for your income tax filing status. If your itemized deductions don’t exceed your standard deduction, the benefit of deducting the interest on your home will be reduced or eliminated.
Standard Deductions Table
Term in years
The number of years over which you will repay this loan. The most common mortgage terms are 15 years and 30 years.
Monthly payment
Monthly principal and interest payment (PI).
Federal tax rate:
The marginal Federal tax rate you expect to pay. Use the ‘Filing Status and Federal Income Tax Rates’ table to assist you in estimating your federal tax rate.
Federal Tax Rate Table
State tax rate
The marginal state tax rate you expect to pay.
Loan origination percent
The percent of your loan charged as a loan origination fee. For example, a 1% fee on a $120,000 loan would cost $1,200.
Discount points
Total number of “points” purchased to reduce your mortgage’s interest rate. Each “point” costs 1% of your loan amount. As long as the points paid are not a broker’s commission, they are considered tax deductible in the year that they were paid.
Other fees
Any other fees that should be included in the APR calculation. These fees can vary by lender, but at a minimum usually includes prepaid interest.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
A standard calculation used by lenders. It is designed to help borrowers compare different loan options. For example, a loan with a lower stated interest rate may be a bad value if its fees are too high. Likewise, a loan with a higher stated rate with very low fees could be an exceptional value. APR calculations incorporate these fees into a single rate. You can then compare loans with different fees, rates or different terms.
APR after taxes
Annual percentage rate after taxes are taken into account. Unlike your after-tax interest rate, the APR after taxes takes closing costs into account.