{
  "slug": "down-payment",
  "title": "Down Payment Calculator",
  "heading": "Down Payment Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/down-payment",
  "summary": "See how much cash you need down and what it does to your payment.",
  "description": "Enter a home price and a down payment percent to get the cash required, the loan amount, and the monthly principal and interest. Anything under 20% down normally triggers PMI, which this tool adds at a typical 0.6% annual rate.",
  "formula": "Down payment = Price × Percent. Loan = Price − Down payment. PMI applies below 20% equity.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=down-payment",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Home price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 420000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pct",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Interest rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6.5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Term",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 30,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Cash needed at closing",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "loan",
      "label": "Loan amount",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pi",
      "label": "Principal + interest",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pmi",
      "label": "Estimated PMI",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": "Applies below 20% down",
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "Monthly total",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Home price: 420000 $",
      "Down payment: 10 %",
      "Interest rate: 6.5 %",
      "Term: 30 years"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cash needed at closing: $42,000.00",
      "Loan amount: $378,000.00",
      "Principal + interest: $2,389.22",
      "Estimated PMI: $189.00",
      "Monthly total: $2,578.22"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter home price ($).",
      "Enter down payment (%).",
      "Enter interest rate (%).",
      "Enter term (years).",
      "Read your cash needed at closing on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 252000,
        "pct": 6,
        "rate": 6.5,
        "years": 18
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 420000,
        "pct": 10,
        "rate": 6.5,
        "years": 30
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 672000,
        "pct": 16,
        "rate": 6.5,
        "years": 48
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the down payment calculator work?",
      "a": "Enter a home price and a down payment percent to get the cash required, the loan amount, and the monthly principal and interest. Anything under 20% down normally triggers PMI, which this tool adds at a typical 0.6% annual rate. The underlying maths is: Down payment = Price × Percent. Loan = Price − Down payment. PMI applies below 20% equity."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: home price, down payment, interest rate, and term. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the cash needed at closing result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/mortgage",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/closing-costs",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/house-affordability"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Down Payment Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/down-payment)"
}