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Mortgage Points Calculator (11a)

Break-Even Period on Paying Points on Fixed-Rate Mortgages

Who This Calculator is For: Borrowers who want to know whether they
will save or lose money over a specified period by paying points in order
to reduce the interest rate on an FRM.

What This Calculator Does:This calculator shows the costs and benefits
of paying points to reduce the rate on an FRM, and the minimum period
they must hold an FRM before it makes sense to pay
additional points (the "break-even period").

 

Enter Loan Information
  Expected Years in House, Cannot Exceed Term
   Is This Loan for the Purchase of a Property or a Refinance?
  New Loan Amount  (e.g. 100000)
  New Loan Term, in Months  (e.g. 360)
  Income Tax Bracket ( e.g. 27 )
  Rate of Interest on Savings  (e.g. 3.5)
Enter Interest Rate and Points
  Low Int Rate
High Points
High Int Rate
Low Points
  Interest Rate  (e.g. 7.50)
  Points  (e.g. 1.5)
  Points Are:     Paid in Cash     Financed    

DO NOT USE DOLLAR SIGNS ($), COMMAS (,) PLUS SIGNS ( + )
OR PERCENTAGE SIGNS (%) IN ANY INPUT BOXES

This is your marginal tax rate, the rate at which each additional dollar of income will be taxed. If you pay only Federal income taxes, it is the highest tax bracket you used when you calculated your taxes. Federal tax brackets currently are: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%. If you also pay state and/or local income taxes, these marginal rates can be added to the Federal rate. For example, if you had to pay 25% to the IRS and 5% to the state of Pennsylvania, your tax bracket is 30%. To perform a "pre-tax" analysis enter zero (0) as the tax rate. The period cannot exceed the shortest mortgage term. The period may be stated in fractions. For example, 25 years and 1 month would be entered as 25.083, 25 years and two months would be 25.167, and 25 years and 3 months would be 25.25, etc. This affects the after-tax analysis because on a purchase transaction points are fully deductible in the first year whereas on a refinance the deduction must be spread over the life of the loan. This is the interest rate you could earn on the monies you spend during the period you are in your home. For most people, it would be the interest rate on a bank account or a money market fund. In after-tax cost comparisons, this figure is adjusted to an after-tax basis.