Refinance Calculator Widget

Help borrowers judge a refinance offer properly. They compare the loan they have with the new rate and term, add the closing costs as cash or rolled into the loan, and get the new payment, the monthly saving, the months needed to earn back the costs and the interest over each loan's whole life.

Real Estate Calculator Runs in your browser Free · no ads

Customize your widget

Theme
Auto follows the visitor's light/dark setting.
Style
Attribution on your page
Optional and entirely your choice. The exact line is shown in the code below; it links to the tool with rel="nofollow".
More options
Starting values
Leave blank to use the widget's defaults. Visitors can still change every value.

Live preview

Exactly what your visitors will see

Embed code

<iframe src="https://a2z.tools/embed/w/refinance-calculator" title="Refinance Calculator by A2Z Tools" width="100%" height="860" style="border:0;width:100%" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write"></iframe>

A plain iframe. Works everywhere, including site builders that strip scripts. Adjust height if your content needs more room.

Works with

How it works

The current payment is recalculated from the balance, today's rate and the months you have left, so a loan that is part-way through is compared fairly. The new payment uses the new rate and term on the same balance, plus the closing costs when you choose to roll them into the loan. The monthly saving is the difference. Break-even divides the closing costs by that saving and rounds up to whole months - the method in the Federal Reserve's refinancing guide, applied before tax. Finally the widget totals the interest still to come on the old loan and the interest plus costs on the new one. That last comparison catches the common trap: stretching 20 remaining years into a fresh 30-year loan lowers the payment but can add tens of thousands in lifetime interest, and the widget warns when that happens.

Calculation method

  • Payment = P x r / (1 - (1 + r)^-n) with r = annual rate / 12
  • Current payment uses the balance, current rate and months remaining; new payment uses balance (+ closing costs if financed), new rate and new term
  • Monthly saving = current payment - new payment
  • Break-even (months) = closing costs / monthly saving, rounded up
  • Remaining interest, current loan = current payment x months remaining - balance
  • New loan cost = new payment x new months - new principal + closing costs

Worked examples

The Federal Reserve worksheet loan

Inputs: $200,000 at 6% with 360 months left; new 30-year loan at 5%; $2,500 costs paid in cash

Result: Saving $125.46 a month ($1,199.10 to $1,073.64); break-even 20 months; lifetime saving $42,665

The guide's own example rounds the payments to $1,199 and $1,073.

Resetting a short remaining term

Inputs: $100,000 at 6% with 120 months left; new 30-year loan at 5%; $3,000 costs

Result: Saving $573.38 a month and break-even in 6 months, but $63,031 more interest and fees over the loan's life

The widget flags the lifetime cost because the new term is three times longer.

An illustration for comparing offers, not financial advice. Use the lender's Loan Estimate for actual costs.

Limitations

  • Income-tax effects of mortgage interest are ignored, so break-even can differ from worksheets that use an after-tax saving.
  • Escrow, mortgage insurance, cash-out amounts and adjustable-rate resets are not modelled.
  • Assumes both loans run to the end of their terms; the lifetime comparison changes if you sell or prepay.

Where publishers use it

  • A mortgage lender's rate-drop campaign page
  • A loan officer's email newsletter linking to a 'should I refinance?' explainer
  • A housing counselling agency's guide to cash-out and rate-and-term refinancing
  • A personal-finance site comparing a 15-year refinance with keeping a 30-year loan
  • A credit union member portal promoting a no-closing-cost refinance

Questions

How is the break-even point worked out?

Closing costs divided by the monthly saving. With $2,500 of costs and a payment that falls from $1,199.10 to $1,073.64, the saving is $125.46 and break-even is 20 months. The Federal Reserve's guide reaches 27 months for the same loan because it first reduces the saving by a 28% tax rate; this widget stays pre-tax.

Can refinancing lower my payment but cost me more?

Yes. Restarting the clock is the usual cause. A $100,000 balance with 10 years left at 6% costs $1,110.21 a month and $33,225 more interest. Refinancing into 30 years at 5% cuts the payment to $536.82, yet the interest over the new loan is about $93,255 - roughly $60,000 more.

Should closing costs be paid in cash or added to the loan?

Adding them keeps cash in hand but you then pay interest on them for the whole term, and the payment rises slightly: $2,500 on a 5% 30-year loan adds about $13.42 a month. Paying them in cash gives the cheapest lifetime cost.

What counts as closing costs?

Origination and lender fees, discount points, appraisal, title insurance, recording fees and similar charges on the loan estimate. Prepaid interest and new escrow deposits are not true costs of refinancing - they would be paid anyway - so leave them out.

What if I plan to sell before break-even?

Then the refinance loses money: the costs are paid up front but the monthly saving stops when the loan is repaid. If break-even is 30 months and you expect to move in two years, keeping the current loan is usually cheaper.

Does it handle a shorter new term?

Yes. Moving from 25 years left to a new 15-year loan may raise the payment, in which case the saving shows as negative and break-even as never, while the lifetime figure shows how much interest the shorter term avoids.

Sources

  1. A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Refinancings - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System . Break-even worksheet ($1,199 to $1,073, $2,500 costs) and the warning that a longer term increases the total interest paid. Checked 2026-10-01.

Cite or recommend this tool

If you reference this tool in an article, course or documentation, these formats are ready to copy. They are optional - nothing is added to your site unless you paste it.

A2Z Tools Refinance Calculator
https://a2z.tools/embed/refinance-calculator

Related widgets

More Real Estate widgets →

Preview

CustomizeGet code