property calculator

Down Payment Assistance Savings Calculator

Value a grant, forgivable, deferred or repayable second against mortgage insurance saved and years of saving avoided.

Net benefit = assistance - amount owed at exit - interest paid + mortgage insurance saved. A $15,000 second forgiven over five years is worth $15,578 if you stay seven years and $9,248 if you leave after three. Assistance that takes loan-to-value from 90% to 80% is worth far more, because it removes mortgage insurance entirely.

Quick actions: Save inputs, view saved runs, print, share, or export results

Saved Runs

Inputs

Home Price$

Your Own Down Payment$

Assistance Amount$

Assistance Structure

Forgiveness Periodyears

Years You Expect to Stayyears

Assistance Interest Rate%

Assistance Termyears

First Mortgage Rate%

First Mortgage Termyears

Annual Mortgage Insurance%

What You Could Save per Month Instead$

Results

Net Benefit of the Assistance

$15,578

Amount Forgiven by Year $15,000

Amount Still Owed at Exit$0

Interest Paid on the Assistance$0

Total Down Payment With Assistance$25,200

Down Payment Percent With7.41%

Down Payment Percent Without3.00%

First Mortgage With Assistance$314,800

First Mortgage Without$329,800

Loan-to-Value With92.59%

Loan-to-Value Without97.00%

Principal & Interest With$1,990

Principal & Interest Without$2,085

Mortgage Insurance With$144

Mortgage Insurance Without$151

Assistance Payment$0

Total Monthly With Assistance$2,134

Total Monthly Without$2,236

Mortgage Insurance Saved Over the Stay$578

First-Mortgage Interest Saved Over the Stay$6,526

Time Saved Not Saving the Cash2.1 years

Eliminates Mortgage InsuranceNo

Tip

Useful when comparing two programmes with the same headline amount and different repayment terms, and useful for deciding whether accepting a repayable second is worth it at all.

Formula

What the assistance is actually worth

Grant:      forgiven in full, nothing owed
Forgivable: forgiven = Amount x min(1, Years in home / Forgiveness years)
Deferred:   owed at exit = Amount x (1 + rate x Years in home)
Repayable:  amortised second lien; owed at exit = remaining balance

Net benefit = Amount - Owed at exit - Interest paid + Mortgage insurance saved

The four structures look similar at closing and are worth completely different amounts by the time you sell. Net benefit here is the cash value of the assistance after repayment, plus the mortgage insurance a larger down payment avoids. The lower monthly payment is shown separately, because most of it reflects borrowing less rather than being given more.

Step by step

How the calculation works

1Pick the structure carefully, because it dominates every other input. A grant is money; a forgivable second is money if you stay long enough; a deferred loan is an interest-free loan you repay at sale; a repayable second is simply more debt, sometimes at a decent rate and sometimes not.
2For a forgivable second, the forgiveness schedule and how long you actually stay are the whole calculation. A $15,000 second forgiven over five years is worth the full $15,000 if you stay seven years and $9,000 if you leave after three, and there is a $6,000 cliff sitting between those two outcomes.
3Check whether the assistance clears the mortgage insurance threshold, because that is often worth more than the money itself. Adding $50,000 to a $50,000 down payment on a $500,000 home takes loan-to-value from 90 percent to 80 percent and removes mortgage insurance entirely — $18,000 over eight years, on top of a smaller loan.
4A repayable second can raise your monthly cost even while helping you buy. In the example of a $12,000 second at 3 percent over ten years, the assistance payment more than offsets the smaller first mortgage, and the total monthly housing cost is higher than it would have been with a 3 percent down payment. That can still be the right trade if it gets you into the house, but it is not a saving.
5The saving-time figure is the argument that usually matters most. At $600 a month, accumulating $15,000 takes just over two years — two more years of rent, and two more years of whatever the market does in the meantime.
6Programme rules are local and change often. Income caps, purchase price limits, first-time-buyer definitions, homebuyer education requirements and recapture periods all vary by state and by city, so treat this as a way to compare offers rather than as a guide to what you qualify for. The [down payment calculator](/calculators/down-payment-calculator) sizes the cash target itself, the [home affordability calculator](/calculators/home-affordability-calculator) checks the payment you can carry, and the [down payment savings guide](/blog/finance/down-payment-savings-plan) covers the plan around both.

Related guides

Learn more about this calculation

Guide

Down Payment Savings Guide: Cash Target, Closing Costs, and Timeline Planning

Build a realistic down payment plan by including closing costs, savings pace, PMI tradeoffs, and the cash cushion you still need after closing.

Guide

Home Affordability: Budget, Formula, and Calculator

Estimate a home-price range from income, debt, down payment, rate, taxes, and insurance, then test costs the DTC model does not include.

Finance Tool

Down Payment Calculator

Work out the cash target before deciding how much of it assistance can cover.

Finance Tool

Home Affordability Calculator

Check the payment you can carry once the down payment is settled.

property calculator

Down Payment Assistance Savings Calculator

Value a grant, forgivable, deferred or repayable second against mortgage insurance saved and years of saving avoided.

Quick actions: Save inputs, view saved runs, print, share, or export results

Saved Runs

Inputs

Home Price$

Your Own Down Payment$

Assistance Amount$

Assistance Structure

Forgiveness Periodyears

Years You Expect to Stayyears

Assistance Interest Rate%

Assistance Termyears

First Mortgage Rate%

First Mortgage Termyears

Annual Mortgage Insurance%

What You Could Save per Month Instead$

Results

Net Benefit of the Assistance

$15,578

Amount Forgiven by Year $15,000

Amount Still Owed at Exit$0

Interest Paid on the Assistance$0

Total Down Payment With Assistance$25,200

Down Payment Percent With7.41%

Down Payment Percent Without3.00%

First Mortgage With Assistance$314,800

First Mortgage Without$329,800

Loan-to-Value With92.59%

Loan-to-Value Without97.00%

Principal & Interest With$1,990

Principal & Interest Without$2,085

Mortgage Insurance With$144

Mortgage Insurance Without$151

Assistance Payment$0

Total Monthly With Assistance$2,134

Total Monthly Without$2,236

Mortgage Insurance Saved Over the Stay$578

First-Mortgage Interest Saved Over the Stay$6,526

Time Saved Not Saving the Cash2.1 years

Eliminates Mortgage InsuranceNo

Tip

Useful when comparing two programmes with the same headline amount and different repayment terms, and useful for deciding whether accepting a repayable second is worth it at all.

Summary

Key output metrics

Net Benefit

$15,578

after 7 years in the home

Monthly Difference

$102

lower with assistance

Saving Time Avoided

2.1 years

to save $15,000 at $600 a month

D3 visualization

Monthly Housing Cost, With and Without Assistance

Principal and interest, mortgage insurance, and any assistance repayment, compared side by side.

Guide

How to understand and use this calculator

Quick Answer — Which Kind of Down Payment Assistance Is Worth Most?

Assistance comes in four structures, and the headline dollar amount tells you almost nothing about what it is worth. A grant is never repaid. A forgivable second is written off over a residency period. A deferred loan is repaid in full when you sell or refinance. A repayable second amortises monthly like any other loan.

A $340,000 home with $10,200 of your own money (3 percent) and $15,000 of assistance, at a 6.5 percent first mortgage rate over 30 years with 0.55 percent annual mortgage insurance:

Down payment rises from 3.0 percent to 7.41 percent
First mortgage falls from $329,800 to $314,800
Loan-to-value falls from 97.0 to 92.59 percent
Monthly cost falls from $2,235.72 to $2,134.03 — $101.69 less
First-mortgage interest saved over seven years — $6,526

What it is worth depends entirely on the structure and how long you stay. A grant is worth $15,578 including mortgage insurance saved. A five-year forgivable second is worth the same $15,578 if you stay seven years, and only $9,248 if you leave after three — a $6,330 cliff sitting between two perfectly ordinary outcomes.

How to Use This Calculator: A $340,000 First Purchase

Enter the home price, your own down payment, and the assistance amount separately. Here $10,200 of savings — a 3 percent down payment — plus $15,000 of assistance, which together get you to 7.41 percent down.

Pick the structure, because it dominates everything else. Then set how long you expect to stay, which is the input people guess at and which decides the answer on forgivable and deferred programmes.

For a five-year forgivable second with a seven-year stay, the whole $15,000 is forgiven and nothing is owed at exit. Change the stay to three years and $9,000 is forgiven, $6,000 is still owed, and the net benefit drops from $15,578 to $9,248.

Enter the first mortgage rate, term and mortgage insurance rate. At 6.5 percent over 30 years the smaller loan saves $94.81 a month in principal and interest, and slightly less mortgage insurance because the balance is lower. Over a seven-year stay, the interest saved on the first mortgage alone comes to $6,526.

Finally, enter what you could save each month instead. At $600 a month, accumulating $15,000 takes 25 months — just over two years of renting, and two more years of whatever the market does. That is often the strongest argument for taking assistance even when its cash value is modest.

The Formulas This Calculator Uses

Grant: forgiven in full, nothing owed at any point.

Forgivable: amount forgiven = Assistance × min(1, Years in home ÷ Forgiveness years); the remainder is owed at exit.

Deferred: owed at exit = Assistance × (1 + rate × Years in home), using simple interest, and often at a zero rate.

Repayable: an amortising second lien; the amount owed at exit is the remaining balance after the months you have paid.

Net benefit = Assistance − Owed at exit − Interest paid on the assistance + Mortgage insurance saved over the stay.

Mortgage insurance is dropped once loan-to-value reaches 80 percent, which is why an assistance amount that crosses that threshold is worth far more than one that does not.

The monthly difference is reported separately from the net benefit on purpose. Most of a lower monthly payment reflects borrowing less rather than being given more — the genuinely new money is the interest avoided, which the calculator shows on its own line.

A Second Example: When Assistance Eliminates Mortgage Insurance

Take a $500,000 home where the buyer has $50,000 saved and a programme offers a $50,000 deferred loan at zero percent, repayable on sale, with an eight-year expected stay.

On savings alone the down payment is 10 percent and loan-to-value is 90 percent, so mortgage insurance applies: $187.50 a month at a 0.5 percent annual rate. With the assistance, the down payment reaches 20 percent, loan-to-value hits 80 percent exactly, and mortgage insurance disappears entirely.

The monthly cost falls from $3,031.81 to $2,528.27 — $503.53 a month. Over eight years the mortgage insurance saved alone is $18,000, and that is the net benefit figure the calculator reports, because the $50,000 itself is repaid in full at sale.

This is the case where assistance is worth far more than its face value suggests on paper, and it is worth checking deliberately: an amount that takes loan-to-value from 90 to 80 percent buys something an equivalent amount from 97 to 92 percent does not.

The contrasting case. A $280,000 home with $8,400 saved and a $12,000 repayable second at 3 percent over ten years, staying six years. The assistance payment is $115.87 a month, and the total monthly housing cost rises from $1,852.50 to $1,886.52 — $34.02 more than buying without it. The smaller first mortgage does not offset the second lien payment.

The net benefit is still $5,619 at exit, because six years of payments have retired most of the second lien while mortgage insurance was slightly lower throughout. But the monthly picture is worse, and a buyer who assumed assistance always lowers the payment would be surprised at closing.

What to Check Before Accepting Assistance

The recapture period. A forgivable second forgiven over five years is worth nothing at all in year zero and everything in year five. If there is any chance you move for work, upsize, or refinance within that window, price the early-exit case before signing rather than after.

Whether refinancing triggers repayment. Many deferred and forgivable programmes come due on refinance as well as on sale. In a falling-rate environment that can lock you out of a refinance that would otherwise be obviously worth doing, and the cost of that constraint does not show up anywhere on a programme brochure.

Whether the first mortgage rate is competitive. Some programmes require you to take their first mortgage, and a rate a quarter point above market on a 30-year loan can quietly cost more than the assistance is worth. Price the package rather than the assistance.

The eligibility conditions. Income caps, purchase price limits, first-time-buyer definitions that often include anyone who has not owned for three years, homebuyer education requirements and occupancy conditions all vary by state and city, and several are checked again after closing.

Whether the money is the constraint at all. If the barrier is the down payment, assistance is transformative. If the barrier is the monthly payment or the debt-to-income ratio, it may not help — the home affordability calculator tests that directly, and the down payment calculator sizes the cash target before you go looking for help with it.

Limitations

Programme rules are local, numerous and change often. There are thousands of down payment assistance programmes across the United States run by states, counties, cities, employers and non-profits, and their terms differ in ways no calculator generalises. Use this to compare offers you have in hand, not to work out what you qualify for.

Net benefit here is the cash value of the assistance net of repayment, plus mortgage insurance saved. It deliberately does not add the full monthly payment difference, because most of that reflects borrowing less rather than receiving more. The genuinely new money — interest avoided on a smaller first mortgage — is shown on its own line.

The deferred and forgivable models use simple interest and a straight-line forgiveness schedule. Real programmes sometimes forgive in annual steps, sometimes forgive nothing until the end of the period, and occasionally charge a below-market rate that accrues. Read the note.

Mortgage insurance is modelled as a conventional annual rate that stops at 80 percent loan-to-value. FHA mortgage insurance behaves differently and in many cases lasts the life of the loan regardless of equity, which changes this calculation substantially.

Nothing here is advice about which programme to take, and this is not tax guidance. Some assistance has tax consequences, particularly forgiven debt, and that is a question for a professional.

Related Calculators

Before looking for assistance it helps to know the target: the down payment calculator sizes the cash needed at various down payment percentages, and the down payment savings guide covers building a realistic plan including closing costs and the cushion you still need after closing. The home affordability calculator checks whether the monthly payment works once the down payment question is settled, and the mortgage calculator runs the amortisation on whichever first mortgage you end up with.

Assistance is usually paired with a government-backed first mortgage, and the FHA/VA loan affordability calculator works out what those programmes support on your income before assistance is layered on top.

Related concepts

Forgivable Second Mortgage

Assistance written off over a residency period, commonly five to ten years. Worth its full amount only if you stay past the end of that window.

Deferred Loan

Assistance with no monthly payment, repaid in full on sale or refinance. Its value is the interest-free use of the money plus any mortgage insurance avoided.

The 80 Percent Threshold

Where conventional mortgage insurance drops. Assistance that crosses it is worth far more than an equivalent amount that does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the types of down payment assistance?+

Four. A grant is never repaid. A forgivable second is written off over a residency period, commonly five to ten years. A deferred loan is repaid in full when you sell or refinance, often at zero interest. A repayable second amortises monthly like any other loan. The same headline amount is worth very different sums across those four.

How much is down payment assistance actually worth?+

It depends on the structure and how long you stay. A $15,000 grant on the worked example is worth $15,578 including mortgage insurance saved. The same $15,000 as a five-year forgivable second is worth $15,578 if you stay seven years and $9,248 if you leave after three.

What happens if I sell before a forgivable loan is forgiven?+

You repay the unforgiven balance. On a $15,000 second forgiven straight-line over five years, leaving after three years means $9,000 is forgiven and $6,000 is owed at closing. That $6,330 swing in net benefit is why the expected length of stay is the most important input on this page.

Does down payment assistance eliminate mortgage insurance?+

Only if it takes loan-to-value to 80 percent or below. A $50,000 deferred loan on a $500,000 home with $50,000 already saved moves LTV from 90 to exactly 80 percent and removes mortgage insurance entirely — worth $18,000 over eight years, on top of a smaller loan.

Can down payment assistance increase my monthly payment?+

Yes, when it is a repayable second. A $12,000 second at 3 percent over ten years adds $115.87 a month, and on a $280,000 purchase that more than offsets the saving on a smaller first mortgage — total monthly housing cost rises by $34.02. It can still be the right trade if it gets you into the house, but it is not a saving.

Does refinancing trigger repayment of assistance?+

Often, yes. Many deferred and forgivable programmes come due on refinance as well as on sale, which can lock you out of an obviously worthwhile refinance if rates fall. Check this specifically before accepting, because it does not appear on most programme summaries.

How long would it take to save the same amount instead?+

At $600 a month, accumulating $15,000 takes 25 months — just over two years. That is two more years of rent and two more years of whatever house prices do, which is frequently a stronger argument for taking assistance than its cash value is.

Do I have to be a first-time buyer?+

Usually, but the definition is broader than it sounds. Most programmes define a first-time buyer as anyone who has not owned a principal residence in the last three years, which brings a lot of previous owners back into eligibility. Income caps, purchase price limits and homebuyer education requirements vary by programme.

There are thousands of down payment assistance programmes across the United States, run by states, counties, cities, employers and non-profits, and their terms differ in ways no calculator generalises — use this to compare offers you have in hand rather than to establish what you qualify for. Net benefit is the cash value of the assistance net of repayment plus mortgage insurance saved; it deliberately excludes the full monthly payment difference, because most of that reflects borrowing less rather than receiving more. Forgiveness is modelled straight-line and deferred interest as simple, where real programmes vary. Mortgage insurance is modelled as conventional coverage ending at 80 percent loan-to-value; FHA insurance often lasts the life of the loan and changes this calculation substantially. Forgiven debt can have tax consequences, which is a question for a professional.

Formula

What the assistance is actually worth

Grant:      forgiven in full, nothing owed
Forgivable: forgiven = Amount x min(1, Years in home / Forgiveness years)
Deferred:   owed at exit = Amount x (1 + rate x Years in home)
Repayable:  amortised second lien; owed at exit = remaining balance

Net benefit = Amount - Owed at exit - Interest paid + Mortgage insurance saved

Step by step

How the calculation works

1Pick the structure carefully, because it dominates every other input. A grant is money; a forgivable second is money if you stay long enough; a deferred loan is an interest-free loan you repay at sale; a repayable second is simply more debt, sometimes at a decent rate and sometimes not.
2For a forgivable second, the forgiveness schedule and how long you actually stay are the whole calculation. A $15,000 second forgiven over five years is worth the full $15,000 if you stay seven years and $9,000 if you leave after three, and there is a $6,000 cliff sitting between those two outcomes.
3Check whether the assistance clears the mortgage insurance threshold, because that is often worth more than the money itself. Adding $50,000 to a $50,000 down payment on a $500,000 home takes loan-to-value from 90 percent to 80 percent and removes mortgage insurance entirely — $18,000 over eight years, on top of a smaller loan.
4A repayable second can raise your monthly cost even while helping you buy. In the example of a $12,000 second at 3 percent over ten years, the assistance payment more than offsets the smaller first mortgage, and the total monthly housing cost is higher than it would have been with a 3 percent down payment. That can still be the right trade if it gets you into the house, but it is not a saving.
5The saving-time figure is the argument that usually matters most. At $600 a month, accumulating $15,000 takes just over two years — two more years of rent, and two more years of whatever the market does in the meantime.
6Programme rules are local and change often. Income caps, purchase price limits, first-time-buyer definitions, homebuyer education requirements and recapture periods all vary by state and by city, so treat this as a way to compare offers rather than as a guide to what you qualify for. The [down payment calculator](/calculators/down-payment-calculator) sizes the cash target itself, the [home affordability calculator](/calculators/home-affordability-calculator) checks the payment you can carry, and the [down payment savings guide](/blog/finance/down-payment-savings-plan) covers the plan around both.

Related guides

Learn more about this calculation

Guide

Down Payment Assistance Savings Calculator

Inputs

Results

What the assistance is actually worth

How the calculation works

Learn more about this calculation

Down Payment Savings Guide: Cash Target, Closing Costs, and Timeline Planning

Home Affordability: Budget, Formula, and Calculator

Down Payment Calculator

Home Affordability Calculator

Key facts

Down Payment Assistance Savings Calculator

Inputs

Results

Key output metrics

Monthly Housing Cost, With and Without Assistance

How to understand and use this calculator

Quick Answer — Which Kind of Down Payment Assistance Is Worth Most?

How to Use This Calculator: A $340,000 First Purchase

The Formulas This Calculator Uses

A Second Example: When Assistance Eliminates Mortgage Insurance

What to Check Before Accepting Assistance

Limitations

Related Calculators

Related concepts

Frequently Asked Questions

What the assistance is actually worth

How the calculation works

Learn more about this calculation

Down Payment Savings Guide: Cash Target, Closing Costs, and Timeline Planning

Home Affordability: Budget, Formula, and Calculator

Down Payment Calculator

Home Affordability Calculator

Key facts

Key output metrics

Monthly Housing Cost, With and Without Assistance

How to understand and use this calculator

Quick Answer — Which Kind of Down Payment Assistance Is Worth Most?

How to Use This Calculator: A $340,000 First Purchase

The Formulas This Calculator Uses

A Second Example: When Assistance Eliminates Mortgage Insurance

What to Check Before Accepting Assistance

Limitations

Related Calculators

Related concepts

Frequently Asked Questions