Home Equity Loan Calculator
Calculate your fixed-rate home equity loan payment, see how much equity you actually have available, and get a warning if your request is too large.
Calculator verified • Last updated: August 2026
—
Paid separately at closing — not included in Total Cost above.
Amortization Schedule
| Period | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Balance Over Time
This loan's fixed payment covers more interest than principal in the early months, when the balance you owe is largest — as that balance shrinks, less of each payment is needed for interest, so more goes toward principal and the balance falls faster.
Term Comparison
| Term | Payment | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|
| 5 years | — | — |
| 10 years | — | — |
| 15 years | — | — |
| 20 years | — | — |
How a Home Equity Loan Payment Is Calculated
A home equity loan is a standard fixed-rate installment loan — the only thing that makes it different from a personal loan is that the amount you can responsibly borrow is capped by your available equity, not just your income. Once the loan amount is set, the monthly payment comes from the same amortization formula every fixed-rate loan uses:
M: the monthly payment.
P: the loan amount requested.
r: the monthly interest rate (the annual rate divided by 12).
n: the number of monthly payments (loan term in years × 12).
Available Equity Sets the Ceiling on What You Can Borrow
Available equity is simply your home's current market value minus what you still owe on your primary mortgage. Lenders typically cap a home equity loan well below 100% of that number (often around 80-85% of your home's value across both loans combined), so treat the raw equity figure this calculator shows as an upper bound, not a guaranteed approval amount.
Why This Calculator Warns You, Instead of Blocking the Input
Requesting more than your available equity doesn't stop the math from running — the calculator still shows you the payment you'd owe on that amount — but it does flag the request as exceeding what you actually own, since a lender would almost certainly reject or scale back a request like that.
Worked Example
A home worth 400,000 dollars with a 250,000-dollar mortgage balance has 150,000 dollars of available equity. Borrowing 60,000 dollars of that at 8% for 10 years: the monthly rate is 8% ÷ 12 ≈ 0.667%, and n = 120 payments. Plugging into the formula gives a monthly payment of about 728 dollars, with roughly 27,356 dollars in total interest over the 10 years.
Home Equity Loan Terms You Should Know
Available Equity — your home's current value minus your remaining mortgage balance, the raw amount of ownership you could theoretically borrow against.
Loan-to-Value Ratio (LTV) — your total debt against the home (existing mortgage plus the new loan) divided by the home's value, the figure lenders actually use to set an approval limit.
Lump Sum — the entire loan amount is disbursed at once at closing, unlike a HELOC's revolving draw period.
Closing Costs — appraisal, title, and lender fees charged to originate the loan, typically 2%-5% of the loan amount. Enter them above to see the figure alongside your payment — they don't change the monthly payment itself, which is still calculated on the full loan amount.
This calculator provides an estimate for planning purposes only, not a loan offer or financial advice. Actual approval amounts, rates, and fees depend on your lender, credit profile, and combined loan-to-value limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is home equity calculated?
Available equity is your home's current market value minus what you still owe on your existing mortgage. If your home is worth 400,000 dollars and you owe 250,000 dollars, you have 150,000 dollars of equity — though lenders typically only let you borrow against a portion of that, not all of it.
What happens if I request more than my available equity?
Most lenders won't approve a home equity loan larger than your available equity (and often cap it well below 100% of that equity). This calculator still computes the payment for whatever amount you enter, but flags the shortfall so you know the request likely exceeds what a lender would approve.
Is a home equity loan the same as a HELOC?
No. A home equity loan disburses one lump sum at a fixed rate, repaid on a fixed schedule — exactly like this calculator models. A HELOC is a revolving line of credit with a draw period and a separate repayment period, usually at a variable rate. See the HELOC Calculator to model that option instead.
Do closing costs change my monthly payment?
No. Closing costs (appraisal, title, and lender fees, typically 2%-5% of the loan amount) are shown for reference alongside your results, but the monthly payment is still calculated on the full loan amount alone — the same convention this calculator's closing-costs field follows on the refinance calculator.