When does PMI automatically fall off?

The month your balance is first scheduled to reach 78 percent of the home's original value, as long as the loan is current, no request needed (Homeowners Protection Act). There is also a backstop: PMI must end at the loan's midpoint even if the balance has not reached 78 percent, which matters on interest-heavy schedules.

How do I request PMI cancellation at 80 percent?

Send your servicer a written request once your balance reaches 80 percent of original value, on the schedule or through extra payments. Expect requirements: a good payment history (no 30-day lates in the past year, none 60-day in two), no second liens, and possibly a value certification. The servicer must respond and cannot charge PMI past a valid cancellation.

Can rising home values remove PMI early?

Often, yes, through the servicer's current-value process rather than the HPA: with a new appraisal, Fannie and Freddie guidelines generally allow cancellation at 75 to 80 percent of current value after a seasoning period. In a market that has appreciated since you bought, this route commonly beats the scheduled dates by years.

Why does the calculator use the original value instead of today's value?

Because the law does. The HPA's 80 and 78 percent thresholds are defined against original value, the lesser of the purchase price and the origination appraisal, so appreciation cannot trigger the automatic rules. Appreciation works through the separate servicer appraisal route described above.

How much does waiting for automatic termination cost?

The premiums between the 80 percent request point and the 78 percent automatic point: on a $360,000 loan at 6.5 percent against a $400,000 original value, about 14 months of PMI, $2,100 at $150 a month. Requesting costs a letter; the difference is pure waste if you qualify.

PMI Removal Calculator

Find when PMI can come off your mortgage: the 80% request point and the 78% automatic termination under the Homeowners Protection Act, plus what waiting costs.

X f in

Until you can request cancellation (80%)

71 months

Request date: June 2032
Until automatic termination (78%): 85 months
Automatic termination date: August 2033
PMI cost if you wait for automatic: $12,750.00
Saved by requesting at 80%: $2,100.00
Current scheduled balance: $351,683.03
Current LTV (original value): 87.92%
Where you stand: On the scheduled amortization you reach the 80% request threshold in 71 months and the 78% automatic point 14 months later. Extra principal payments or a higher current appraisal can move both dates up; ask your servicer about a current-value cancellation.

Quick answer: With the example inputs this page loads by default, the headline result (Until you can request cancellation (80%)) comes to 71 months. Find when PMI can come off your mortgage: the 80% request point and the 78% automatic termination under the Homeowners Protection Act, plus what waiting costs. Change any input above and every figure updates instantly in your browser.

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PMI does not last forever: under the Homeowners Protection Act you can request cancellation once your balance reaches 80 percent of the home's original value, and the lender must terminate it automatically at 78 percent on the scheduled amortization. This calculator walks your loan's schedule to both dates and prices the premiums you save by requesting instead of waiting.

What this result means

The gap between the two dates is free money for a stamp: requesting at 80 percent instead of waiting for 78 typically saves a year or more of premiums, and the request costs only a letter (with a good payment history and no second liens). Two accelerants can beat the scheduled dates entirely: extra principal payments, and appreciation, since many servicers cancel based on a current appraisal at 75 to 80 percent LTV even though the HPA only requires the original-value math. If your home has appreciated meaningfully, the appraisal route is often the fastest exit. Not advice.

Assumptions

Thresholds follow the Homeowners Protection Act (12 USC 4901-4910) for single-family primary residences: borrower-requested cancellation at 80 percent of ORIGINAL value (the lesser of purchase price or origination appraisal), automatic termination at 78 percent based on the amortization schedule, and a final termination at the loan's midpoint regardless of LTV (not modeled). FHA mortgage insurance follows different rules entirely and is outside this tool.
Dates come from the scheduled amortization of the original loan (the shared engine's month-by-month schedule): each month's interest is rounded to the cent and the balance walks down accordingly. Extra principal payments you have made or will make move the real dates earlier than shown.
Requesting at 80 percent requires a written request, a good payment history, no junior liens on the property, and possibly evidence the value has not declined; the servicer's confirmation governs. Automatic termination additionally requires the loan to be current.
Many servicers also cancel PMI based on CURRENT value with a new appraisal (commonly at 75 to 80 percent LTV, with seasoning requirements), which the HPA does not require but investor guidelines (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) permit. This appreciation route is often faster in rising markets and is deliberately not modeled here; ask your servicer for its policy.
The savings figures multiply your entered monthly PMI by the months between thresholds; PMI itself is assumed constant.
This is an estimate for educational purposes only, not legal or financial advice.

Key terms

Definitions for the terms this calculator uses, in our finance glossary .

How it works

The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 gives PMI two statutory exits, both measured against the home’s ORIGINAL value (the lesser of the purchase price and the origination appraisal):

80 percent, on request. Once the balance reaches 80 percent of original value, you may cancel by written request, with a good payment history, no junior liens, and possibly a value certification.
78 percent, automatically. The servicer must terminate PMI the month the balance is first scheduled to reach 78 percent, provided the loan is current, no request needed. A midpoint backstop ends PMI at the term’s halfway mark regardless of LTV.

The calculator walks the loan’s month-by-month amortization schedule (the same shared engine as the mortgage calculator, cent-rounded interest each month) to the first months hitting each threshold, measures them from the payments you have already made, and prices the wait: the premiums between the two thresholds are what a written request saves over doing nothing.

A third exit lives outside the statute: many servicers cancel based on CURRENT value with a new appraisal (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines commonly allow 75 to 80 percent of current value after seasoning), which often beats both scheduled dates in appreciated markets.

Worked example

A $360,000 loan (10 percent down on a $400,000 home) at 6.5 percent over 30 years, 24 payments in, $150 a month of PMI.

Thresholds: 80% of $400,000 = $320,000; 78% = $312,000.
The schedule reaches $320,000 at month 95 and $312,000 at month 109.
From payment 24: the request opens in 71 months; automatic termination in 85 months.
Waiting for automatic costs $12,750 of PMI; requesting at 80 percent saves $2,100 of it.

Scope and limitations

Scheduled amortization only: extra principal payments move the real dates earlier. Single-family primary residences under the HPA; FHA mortgage insurance follows different rules entirely. The midpoint backstop and the current-value appraisal route are described but not computed. This is an estimate for education, not legal or financial advice; your servicer’s PMI disclosure governs.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

When does PMI automatically fall off?: The month your balance is first scheduled to reach 78 percent of the home's original value, as long as the loan is current, no request needed (Homeowners Protection Act). There is also a backstop: PMI must end at the loan's midpoint even if the balance has not reached 78 percent, which matters on interest-heavy schedules.
How do I request PMI cancellation at 80 percent?: Send your servicer a written request once your balance reaches 80 percent of original value, on the schedule or through extra payments. Expect requirements: a good payment history (no 30-day lates in the past year, none 60-day in two), no second liens, and possibly a value certification. The servicer must respond and cannot charge PMI past a valid cancellation.
Can rising home values remove PMI early?: Often, yes, through the servicer's current-value process rather than the HPA: with a new appraisal, Fannie and Freddie guidelines generally allow cancellation at 75 to 80 percent of current value after a seasoning period. In a market that has appreciated since you bought, this route commonly beats the scheduled dates by years.
Why does the calculator use the original value instead of today's value?: Because the law does. The HPA's 80 and 78 percent thresholds are defined against original value, the lesser of the purchase price and the origination appraisal, so appreciation cannot trigger the automatic rules. Appreciation works through the separate servicer appraisal route described above.
How much does waiting for automatic termination cost?: The premiums between the 80 percent request point and the 78 percent automatic point: on a $360,000 loan at 6.5 percent against a $400,000 original value, about 14 months of PMI, $2,100 at $150 a month. Requesting costs a letter; the difference is pure waste if you qualify.

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By Sam Sage Last reviewed July 2026.