Down Payment Calculator
A down payment is cash at closing, and what is left is what you borrow. Ten percent on a $400,000 home is $40,000 down and $360,000 borrowed, which is a 90% loan-to-value. Below 20% a conventional loan adds mortgage insurance until the balance reaches 78% of the price.
This estimate does not include property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance or HOA dues. Your actual payment obligation will be greater.
These figures are the arithmetic of the assumptions you entered. BEDRWay is not a lender, does not quote rates, and this is not a loan offer, a pre-qualification or a commitment to lend. A licensed loan officer runs your actual numbers.
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How the maths works
There are only two lines, and the second one is the first one subtracted from the price:
cash down = price × down payment percentage
amount borrowed = price − cash down
The loan-to-value that comes out of it is the amount borrowed divided by the price, and it is the number a lender prices from. Ten percent down is a 90% loan-to-value; twenty percent down is 80%. Those two figures are the same fact stated from opposite ends, and lenders use the second one.
Twenty percent is a threshold, not a requirement
The belief that a mortgage needs 20% down is the single most expensive piece of folklore in the market. Conventional loans go to 3% down. FHA goes to 3.5%. A VA loan takes nothing at all from an eligible borrower, and a USDA loan takes nothing in an eligible area.
What 20% actually buys is the end of mortgage insurance. Below it, a conventional lender adds a premium until the balance falls to 78% of the original price. That premium is real money and it is worth planning around, but it is a cost, not a gate. People who waited to save it have spent years paying somebody else's mortgage instead of their own.
What a larger down payment actually changes
- The balance, and therefore the payment, in direct proportion.
- Mortgage insurance, which stops entirely at 20% on a conventional loan.
- The rate, a little. Pricing tends to step at 80%, 75% and 60% loan-to-value, and the improvement at each step is far smaller than the saving from dropping the insurance.
- Your reserves, downward. This is the one no calculator shows.
A lender will happily take everything in your account. It will not ask what is left for the water heater. Buying with a slightly larger balance and a few months of expenses untouched is a worse spreadsheet and a better decision more often than the arithmetic suggests.
The other cash you need on the day
Closing costs are separate and sit on top: commonly 2% to 6% of the loan, plus whatever the lender collects up front into escrow for taxes and insurance. The figure above is only the down payment. Budgeting for it alone is the most common reason a purchase stalls in the last week, and it is entirely avoidable.
What each down payment costs at three prices
| Down payment | On a $300,000 | On a $400,000 | On a $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $9,000 | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| 5% | $15,000 | $20,000 | $25,000 |
| 10% | $30,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $60,000 | $80,000 | $100,000 |
| 25% | $75,000 | $100,000 | $125,000 |
This estimate does not include property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance or HOA dues. Your actual payment obligation will be greater.
These figures are the arithmetic of the assumptions you entered. BEDRWay is not a lender, does not quote rates, and this is not a loan offer, a pre-qualification or a commitment to lend. A licensed loan officer runs your actual numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is 20% down actually required?
No. Conventional loans go to 3% down and FHA loans to 3.5%, and VA loans take nothing down at all for eligible borrowers. What 20% buys is the end of mortgage insurance, not the right to a mortgage. The common belief that it is a minimum costs people years of renting.
Does a bigger down payment get a better rate?
Usually a little, because a lower loan-to-value is less risk to the lender, and the pricing tiers tend to step at 80%, 75% and 60%. The effect is far smaller than the effect of removing mortgage insurance, which is why 20% is the threshold everybody talks about.
What else do I need at closing besides this?
Closing costs, which commonly run 2% to 6% of the loan and are on top of the figure above, plus any prepaid taxes and insurance the lender collects into escrow. Budgeting only the down payment is the single most common way a purchase gets stuck a week before closing.
Should I put down everything I have?
A lender will not stop you, and the payment above falls as the cash rises. What it does not show is the reserve you are left with. Emptying an account for a slightly smaller payment is how a broken furnace turns into a missed one.
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Last updated: August 25, 2026