A $200,000 mortgage is not $1,199 a month
· 8 min read
The monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage over 30 years at 6% is $1,199.10. That is principal and interest only. Add property tax and home insurance and the same loan on the same house costs more: $1,732.43 a month in our example, and $1,994.82 if the down payment is under 20%.
6% is a round figure that makes the sums easy to follow. It is not a current rate and not a rate anyone is offering you. The tax and insurance figures are ones we chose. This is an estimate from one example, not financial advice.
Monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage at 5%, 6%, 6.5% and 7%
Principal and interest on $200,000 over 30 years, fixed rate. This is the part that is pure arithmetic: same loan, same rate, same term, and a lender gets the same figure.
| Rate | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $1,073.64 | $186,512 |
| 6% | $1,199.10 | $231,676 |
| 6.5% | $1,264.14 | $255,089 |
| 7% | $1,330.60 | $279,018 |
Half a point, from 6% to 6.5%, is $65 a month. Over the life of the loan it is about $23,400 more interest. To price a different loan amount, rate or term, use the mortgage payment calculator. It is free, there is no account, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
15-year, 20-year and 30-year payments on $200,000
| Term at 6% | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 15 years | $1,687.71 | $103,788 |
| 20 years | $1,432.86 | $143,887 |
| 30 years | $1,199.10 | $231,676 |
The shorter loan costs more each month and far less in total. Over 30 years you pay back $431,676 on the $200,000 you borrowed.
What is included in a mortgage payment?
Four things, usually. The number most calculators lead with is the first one alone. A lender quotes all of them together, often called PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.
| Each month, 20% down | Amount |
|---|---|
| Loan principal and interest | $1,199.10 |
| Property tax, $4,800 a year | $400.00 |
| Home insurance, $1,600 a year | $133.33 |
| Monthly payment, all in | $1,732.43 |
That is $533.33 a month more than the number everyone quotes, on the same house and the same loan. The example is a $250,000 home with $50,000 down. The tax and insurance figures are ours: property tax depends on your county and insurance on the insurer and the house, which is why the calculator asks for both instead of guessing.
Why did my mortgage payment go up if my rate is fixed?
Because only the loan part is fixed. Property tax and insurance are usually collected with the payment and paid out for you, and when either bill rises, the monthly payment rises with it.
This catches a lot of owners out. In a survey of 1,037 US homeowners with an escrow account, run in December 2025 for LERETA, a company that provides tax and flood services to mortgage lenders, 39% believed a fixed-rate mortgage means a fixed monthly payment. Among those whose payment had gone up, 60% said the increase surprised them. LERETA, Borrower Escrow Survey, read at the page linked on 10 October 2026. It covers people who bought or refinanced between 2021 and 2025, not every homeowner.
That is the real reason to look the payment up before buying. The useful number is not the loan payment. It is the whole monthly cost of the house, worked out before you sign anything.
How much does PMI add to a mortgage payment?
Put down less than 20% and a lender usually adds private mortgage insurance, which protects the lender, not you. With $25,000 down on the same $250,000 home, two things move: the loan is now $225,000, and mortgage insurance appears.
| Each month, 10% down | Amount |
|---|---|
| Loan principal and interest | $1,348.99 |
| Property tax | $400.00 |
| Home insurance | $133.33 |
| Mortgage insurance, estimated | $112.50 |
| Monthly payment, all in | $1,994.82 |
The mortgage insurance line is an estimate at 0.6% of the loan a year, and the calculator says so next to the field. Your lender sets the real figure, and it typically comes off once you have built enough equity.
How much of a mortgage payment is interest?
Most of it, for a long time. 6% a year is 0.5% a month, and 0.5% of $200,000 is $1,000. So of the first $1,199.10 payment, $1,000.00 is interest and $199.10 pays down the loan.
| Year | Interest | Paid off the loan | Still owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $11,933 | $2,456 | $197,544 |
| 18 | $7,595 | $6,794 | $122,878 |
| 19 | $7,176 | $7,213 | $115,665 |
Year 19 is the first year in which more goes to the loan than to interest. Paying a little extra early moves that point forward, because early extra money lands on the balance that interest is charged on; the extra payment calculator shows by how much.
What to do with the number
Type in a house, then fill in the two boxes most calculators leave out: tax and insurance. The figure that comes back is the one to hold a lender’s quote up against.
For the real price, ask for a Loan Estimate. It is a standard three-page form a lender has to give you within three business days of your application, and every lender uses the same layout, so two of them can be compared line by line. Why a lender’s figure still differs from any calculator’s is covered in why your lender’s quote doesn’t match the calculator.
What this does not tell you
- The rate you would be offered. That is priced on your credit, your down payment and the property, after you apply.
- Your property tax or your insurance premium. Ours are examples, and yours could be half that or double.
- Your mortgage insurance. 0.6% is our starting estimate.
- Closing costs, points and HOA fees, which are left out here. The calculator has boxes for closing costs and HOA fees, but not for points.
- Anything about an adjustable rate. Every figure assumes a fixed rate for the whole term.
