Two different paths
For many eligible conventional mortgages, a borrower can request cancellation when the balance reaches 80% of the original value. Automatic termination generally uses the date the original schedule reaches 78%, provided the loan is current. Other conditions apply. FHA and lender-paid mortgage insurance do not use this model.
What this calculator assumes
Automatic is the default: extra payments do not accelerate its scheduled termination date. The optional request-at-80% setting assumes a qualifying request is approved for the payment after the actual balance reaches the threshold. The original-term midpoint backstop is also included. Neither setting guarantees a servicer will approve a request in your circumstances.
Check the original value
HomeMathKit uses the entered purchase price as the original value. A lower original appraisal could change the real threshold. Appreciation-based cancellation, new appraisals and investor-specific rules are outside this model.
Run a useful comparison
Set a down payment below 20%, enter the PMI premium from a quote, and save an automatic-cancellation scenario. Then add extra principal and choose request-at-80%. Compare the schedules and PMI totals. Ask the servicer which documentation and conditions would apply before treating the projected savings as certain.
A fictional payment timeline
Suppose the purchase price is $400,000 and the original loan is $360,000. In this model the 80% target is $320,000 and the 78% target is $312,000. Those are balance thresholds, not amounts of principal you must pay in one transaction. If an extra payment takes the actual balance below $320,000 in month 40, approved-request mode removes PMI starting with month 41. Automatic mode still follows the original schedule. At an entered 0.5% annual PMI rate, the modeled premium is $150 each month it remains active. The saving from cancellation depends on the number of premiums actually avoided, not on the loan payment becoming smaller by an arbitrary percentage.
Questions to take to your servicer
Ask for your loan’s original value, its scheduled cancellation information, the current principal balance, and the process for submitting a request. Then compare those figures with the inputs used here. Keep the answer with your loan documents and revisit the scenario when you have better information. A calculator is useful for organizing the question; it cannot supply a servicer’s approval.
Source references: CFPB: When can I remove private mortgage insurance?
Sources checked 2026-09-11. Educational software; no professional review claimed.
Educational information, not personalized advice. See the model assumptions and limitations.