Reverse Mortgage Calculator

This reverse mortgage calculator estimates how much a homeowner aged 62 or older could receive from a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), the FHA-insured reverse mortgage that makes up most of the US market. It starts from the lower of your home value and the FHA lending limit, applies HUD’s official principal limit factor for the youngest borrower’s age and the expected interest rate, then subtracts the 2% upfront mortgage insurance premium, the capped origination fee, other closing costs and any existing mortgage that must be paid off.

Use it to get a realistic first number before talking to a HUD-approved counselor or lender, to compare taking a reverse mortgage now versus waiting a few years, or to see how quickly the loan balance could grow against your home’s value. The chart projects the balance growing at the interest rate plus the 0.5% annual mortgage insurance premium if you draw the maximum allowed in the first year.

The principal limit factor comes from HUD’s published PLF table for FHA case numbers assigned on or after October 2, 2017 (ages 62–99, expected rates from the 3% floor up to 15%, rounded to the nearest 1/8 point). Your lender uses the same table with the actual expected rate on the day the case number is assigned, and the 2026 FHA lending limit of $1,249,125. Results assume a standard adjustable-rate HECM with no eligible non-borrowing spouse; if a younger non-borrowing spouse is involved, or you have a lender quote, enter the lender’s factor in the override field.

The maximum claim amount is the lower of the appraised value and the FHA lending limit. HUD multiplies it by a principal limit factor (PLF) that rises with the youngest borrower’s age and falls as the expected interest rate rises, because a younger borrower and higher rate let the balance compound for longer. This tool looks the PLF up in HUD’s General PLF table (in effect since October 2, 2017): the youngest borrower’s age is used in whole years (ages above 99 count as 99) and the expected rate is floored at 3% and rounded to the nearest 1/8 point, as in HUD’s HECM calculator. The table here covers expected rates up to 15%.

From the principal limit it subtracts the 2% upfront MIP, the HUD-capped origination fee (the greater of $2,500 or 2% of the first $200,000 plus 1% above that, maximum $6,000), other closing costs and any existing mortgage. The loan balance projection compounds monthly at the interest rate plus 0.5% MIP with no repayments, which is how an unpaid HECM balance grows.