Down Payment Calculator and Savings Planner
A down payment calculator that sets your goal to the cent, counts whole saving months, and keeps full deposits, final-month cash and loan approval apart.
What This Calculator Does
Give the planner a fixed price and the share you plan to put down, and it returns a cash goal in dollars and cents, rounded up to the cent instead of down to a whole dollar. It measures that goal against what you've already set aside, then adds a steady deposit at each month's end until the goal is met. Already funded, still saving and zero monthly deposits each get their own result. It plans the down payment only. Your full cash to close and any loan approval sit outside it.
Who Is This For
Buyers and realtors can plan toward a down payment goal in U.S. dollars, and hypothetical 0% or 100% targets work too. Verify program eligibility, the mortgage terms, purchase costs and price movements on your own.
How It Works
Start with the price, your target percentage and the cash you're holding for this today. Then add what you can put away each month on top of that, unless today's cash already reaches the goal. In that case, leave the monthly field blank; the planner reads it as not needed, not as $0. The math covers the down payment alone. Read all eight results, especially the whole-month count, the projected balance at full monthly deposits, any surplus, and the smaller amount the final month needs. Change any figure and run it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the planner calculate?
Your down payment in cash at the percentage you enter, and how much you still need to reach it. It counts the whole months of saving ahead, tells you whether today's cash already covers the goal, and labels your funding status. Assuming every monthly deposit goes in at full size, it projects your balance and surplus, plus the minimum the last month requires. The price stays fixed. No interest is added. It doesn't total all the cash a purchase takes, and it doesn't approve a loan.
Why does the planner round the goal up to the cent?
That way the money you set aside, counted to the cent, never falls below the share you typed in. For instance, 3.5% of $750,001 comes to $26,250.035, so the goal becomes $26,250.04. With $26,250 saved, you're still short. Rounding up is a prudent planning habit, not a rule every lender follows. A balance shown in whole dollars should never decide whether you're funded.
Can the goal be 0% or 100%?
Yes, the planner accepts either as a target. A 0% goal means no cash goes toward the down payment, but it doesn't show that you qualify for a zero-down loan or can close without bringing money. A 100% goal equals the full purchase price. Even then, closing costs, moving and reserves are left out. Programs with little or nothing down set their own rules for the borrower, the property and the lender, and the percentage you pick doesn't test any of them.
Why can I leave monthly savings blank if I already have enough?
Because when today's cash covers the goal, there's no future month to save for. The planner then shows 0 months, your current cash measured against the goal, and any surplus you have right now, without inventing a deposit. A blank monthly field is marked as not needed instead of being saved as $0. Should you enter a monthly amount anyway, it must still be valid. When the goal isn't funded, the planner needs a known monthly amount, and a blank won't quietly turn into 0.
What if I save $0 a month and the goal isn't funded?
The cash gap still shows; nothing else does. You won't see a funding month, a projected balance, a surplus or a final-month amount, because these figures never reach the goal. That doesn't mean 0 months, a wait with no end or a denied loan. Increase the monthly savings or choose a different target, and the plan updates. Any gifts, future proceeds, interest or price changes left out of your inputs are never assumed to fill the gap.
Why does the plan count whole months when the last deposit can be smaller?
Deposits count in whole months, and the last full one can run past the goal. Your current cash counts from the start; each deposit lands at month's end. Suppose the gap is $26,250 and you save $1,000 a month, which takes 27 months. Full deposits bring you to $27,000, which is $750 over the goal, so the last month requires just $250. Save just that and you land on the goal exactly. The projected balance assumes every full budget goes in; the last transfer isn't trimmed down to the amount the goal requires.
What cash should I enter, and what's left out?
Cash earmarked for the down payment, once your other needs have their own money set aside. For the monthly figure, use the net extra amount you'll actually move into savings, not your gross income. Don't count help or future withdrawals that nobody has confirmed as available or accepted. Taxes and moving costs stay out. So do closing costs, financing costs and an emergency fund. A surplus over the goal doesn't prove those other needs are covered.
What do the official sources confirm?
Program context only, last read September 30, 2026. They describe Fannie Mae options at 97% LTV for buyers who qualify, VA conditions for zero down, mortgage costs charged separately, and PMI on conventional loans. Your eligibility, your funds, the price and current terms go unchecked. Hitting an entered 20% doesn't prove, in every case, that you can drop mortgage insurance. Your lender settles what the real loan and cash requirements are. Month counts are math. They aren't closing dates.