What is an amortization schedule?

It is the month-by-month plan for paying off a loan. Each row shows that month's payment split into interest and principal, the running total of interest paid, and the remaining balance. It reveals something a single payment figure hides: how slowly the balance falls at first, and how much of your early money goes to interest.

Why is so much of my early payment interest?

Because interest is charged on the outstanding balance, which is highest at the beginning. On a $200,000 loan at 6 percent, the first month's interest is $1,000 while only about $199 goes to principal. As the balance shrinks, the interest portion falls and more of each fixed payment goes to principal, until the last payments are almost all principal.

How does this differ from the mortgage calculator?

The mortgage calculator gives your full monthly housing payment, including property taxes, insurance, and PMI, plus a summary. This calculator zooms in on the loan itself: the complete month-by-month table of interest, principal, and balance that lenders usually bury. Use the mortgage calculator to budget the payment, and this one to understand how the loan is paid down.

How can I pay less interest overall?

Paying extra toward principal, especially early when the balance is largest, reduces the interest charged for the rest of the loan and shortens the term. A shorter term or a lower rate also cuts total interest. This schedule assumes only the scheduled payments, so it shows the baseline before any extra payments.

Mortgage Amortization Schedule Calculator

See the full month-by-month amortization table for a loan: how much of every payment goes to interest versus principal, the running interest total, and the balance as it falls to zero.

An amortization schedule is the month-by-month breakdown of a loan: each payment is the same, but early on most of it is interest and only a little is principal, and that mix flips over time. This calculator builds the full table for a loan amount, rate, and term, showing each month's interest, principal, cumulative interest, and remaining balance, plus the payment and total interest. For the full housing payment with taxes and insurance, use the mortgage calculator.

X f in

Monthly payment

$1,199.10

Principal and interest each month. The same every month for a fixed-rate loan.

Total interest: $231,677.04
Total paid: $431,677.04

Principal vs. interest each month

Amortization schedule

Assumptions

This is a fully amortizing fixed-rate loan: equal monthly payments of principal and interest, with the balance reaching exactly zero at the end of the term. Each month, interest is the current balance times the monthly rate (the APR divided by 12), and the rest of the payment reduces the balance.
Early payments are mostly interest because interest is charged on the whole outstanding balance, which is largest at the start. As the balance falls, the interest portion shrinks and the principal portion grows, so the split flips over the life of the loan. The table and chart show exactly when.
The payment shown is principal and interest only. It does not include property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI, or HOA dues. For the full monthly housing payment (PITI) and those escrow costs, use the mortgage calculator; this tool focuses on the amortization breakdown.
The rate is assumed fixed for the whole term, and the term is treated as a whole number of years. The final payment absorbs cent-rounding so the balance lands on exactly zero and the principal portions sum to exactly the loan amount.
Total interest assumes you make every scheduled payment and never pay extra or pay off early. Any extra principal would shorten the schedule and lower total interest. Every figure is rounded to the nearest cent. This is an estimate for educational purposes only, not financial advice.

How it works

A fixed-rate loan has the same payment every month, but what that payment does changes every month. The payment comes from the standard amortization formula, M = P times r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1), where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly rate (the APR divided by 12), and n is the number of months.

Each month then splits in two:

Interest = the current balance times the monthly rate. It is charged on whatever you still owe.
Principal = the payment minus that interest. This is what actually reduces the balance.

Because interest is charged on the outstanding balance, and the balance is largest at the start, the early payments are mostly interest and only a little principal. As the balance falls, the interest portion shrinks and the principal portion grows, so the mix flips over the life of the loan. The schedule lists every month’s interest, principal, running interest total, and remaining balance, and the final payment absorbs rounding so the balance lands on exactly zero.

Worked example: why early payments are mostly interest

Take a $200,000 loan at 6 percent over 30 years. The monthly payment is $1,199.10. Watch the first payment split:

Interest: $200,000 times 6 percent divided by 12 = $1,000.00.
Principal: $1,199.10 minus $1,000.00 = $199.10.

So in month 1, more than 83 percent of your payment is interest, and only $199.10 chips away at the balance. Now jump to the very last payment, month 360:

Interest: about $5.97 (the balance is nearly zero, so almost no interest accrues).
Principal: about $1,194.17 (almost the entire payment).

The payment never changed, but the split completely reversed. Over the full term you pay $231,677 in interest on top of the $200,000 borrowed. This is the single most useful thing an amortization schedule teaches, and why paying extra principal early, when the balance is largest, saves the most interest.

Scope and limitations

The payment shown is principal and interest only. It excludes property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI, and HOA dues; for the full monthly housing payment with those escrow costs, use the mortgage calculator. The rate is assumed fixed and the schedule assumes you make exactly the scheduled payments, with no extra principal or early payoff. This is an estimate for education, not financial advice.

Sources

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: what is amortization, and how does it relate to a mortgage?
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: understanding loan amortization
Standard fixed-rate loan amortization (the monthly payment formula and the per-month interest split).

Frequently asked questions

What is an amortization schedule?: It is the month-by-month plan for paying off a loan. Each row shows that month's payment split into interest and principal, the running total of interest paid, and the remaining balance. It reveals something a single payment figure hides: how slowly the balance falls at first, and how much of your early money goes to interest.
Why is so much of my early payment interest?: Because interest is charged on the outstanding balance, which is highest at the beginning. On a $200,000 loan at 6 percent, the first month's interest is $1,000 while only about $199 goes to principal. As the balance shrinks, the interest portion falls and more of each fixed payment goes to principal, until the last payments are almost all principal.
How does this differ from the mortgage calculator?: The mortgage calculator gives your full monthly housing payment, including property taxes, insurance, and PMI, plus a summary. This calculator zooms in on the loan itself: the complete month-by-month table of interest, principal, and balance that lenders usually bury. Use the mortgage calculator to budget the payment, and this one to understand how the loan is paid down.
How can I pay less interest overall?: Paying extra toward principal, especially early when the balance is largest, reduces the interest charged for the rest of the loan and shortens the term. A shorter term or a lower rate also cuts total interest. This schedule assumes only the scheduled payments, so it shows the baseline before any extra payments.

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Last reviewed June 2026.