Enter your home price, down payment, rate, and term to see the full FHA payment — including the upfront mortgage insurance premium financed into your loan and the ongoing annual MIP.
MIP (Mortgage Insurance Premium) is required on all FHA loans regardless of down payment size, and comes in two parts: an upfront premium — typically financed directly into the loan balance rather than paid in cash at closing — and an ongoing annual premium charged monthly for as long as it applies. It protects the lender if you default, in exchange for FHA loans allowing much lower down payments and credit score minimums than most conventional loan programs.
Conventional PMI applies only when the down payment is under 20% and can typically be cancelled once you reach 20% equity. FHA MIP applies to every FHA loan no matter the down payment, includes an upfront premium that conventional loans don't have at all, and — depending on your loan's origination date and down payment size — can last for the life of the loan rather than being cancellable at a set equity threshold. See the Mortgage Calculator to model the conventional PMI version side by side.
It depends on when the loan originated and the down payment size: loans with at least 10% down typically drop annual MIP after 11 years, while loans with under 10% down generally keep MIP for the full loan term under current rules. The most common way borrowers exit FHA MIP entirely is refinancing into a conventional loan once they've built enough equity — see the Down Payment Calculator for how a larger down payment changes your insurance picture from the start.
FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and are popular with first-time and lower-down-payment buyers because of their lower credit score minimums — often 580 for the standard 3.5% down payment — compared to many conventional loan programs. Specific eligibility, loan limits by county, and required documentation are set by HUD and your individual FHA-approved lender, and change periodically, so always confirm current figures at hud.gov before relying on any specific number.
Worked example: a $350,000 home with the FHA minimum 3.5% down gives a base loan of $337,750. A 1.75% upfront MIP adds $5,910.63, financed into the loan for a total loan amount of $343,660.63. At 6.5% over 30 years, principal & interest comes to about $2,172.17/month, and a 0.55% annual MIP on the total loan adds about $157.51/month — for a total monthly payment of roughly $2,329.68, before property tax, insurance, and HOA are added on top.
Comparing a conventional loan with PMI instead? See the Mortgage Calculator. Figuring out how much down payment you'll need? Try the Down Payment Calculator.