- Start with your home's original value and your loan's scheduled payoff timeline, not a current online estimate of what your home is worth.
- A home-value check (an appraisal) costs money — get your mortgage company's written threshold and process before you pay for one.
- PMI rules are different for FHA loans, VA loans, lender-paid insurance, and loans outside the standard conventional setup.
Decision frame
Which cancellation path applies to your exact loan, and do your real savings outweigh the cost and risk of the next step?
Compare
Requesting cancellation at the scheduled 80% mark, the automatic 78% cutoff, and any early-removal option your mortgage company offers.
Verify first
Your loan type, your PMI paperwork, your home's original value, your current loan balance, your payment history, any other loans against the home, and your mortgage company's written instructions.
Do not assume
Do not assume your home simply going up in value cancels PMI on its own, and don't apply conventional-loan rules to FHA or VA mortgage insurance — they work differently.
Start with the built-in cutoff dates
Private mortgage insurance, or PMI, is the monthly fee many homebuyers pay when they put down less than 20% on a conventional loan — it protects the lender, not you, if you stop paying. The good news: it's designed to come off automatically or on request once you've paid down enough of your loan.
The CFPB says that for many covered single-family, primary-residence mortgages closed on or after July 29, 1999, you can ask to cancel PMI once your loan balance is scheduled to reach 80% of your home's original value. "Original value" usually means the lower of what you paid for the home or its appraised value when you bought it; if you refinanced, it's usually the appraised value from that refinance.
Automatic removal is a separate, later event. For covered loans, it generally kicks in once your loan balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value and you're caught up on payments. The halfway point of your original loan term can also trigger removal. Treat these as specific dates to check in your loan paperwork, not as guesses based on a home-value website.
Calculate current-value LTV separately from original-value conventional PMI request and scheduled-termination thresholds.
Typically 0.5-1.5% per year; higher rates for lower credit scores
Generally the lower of purchase price or appraisal at origination; for a refinance, use the refinance appraisal.
Current LTV
80.0%
Use this result as one input in your broader Money Map, not as a one-off number.
What to do
See current mortgage rates
Pre-tax estimates. For illustration only — not financial advice.
Use the calculator to understand the basic math behind loan-to-value (how much you owe compared to what the home was worth), then let your mortgage company's own definition of "original value" and cancellation rules decide the actual outcome.
Ask your mortgage company before paying for a home-value check
- Why it changes the decision
- FHA loans, VA loans, and lender-paid insurance all follow different rules.
- Why it changes the decision
- It might be cheaper to just wait than to pay for a home-value check.
- Why it changes the decision
- Missing a requirement can delay your request.
- Why it changes the decision
- Determines whether paying for an appraisal is likely worth it.
- Why it changes the decision
- Turns this from a rules question into real math: is it worth paying for a check?
Make your request a documented process, step by step
Gather your PMI paperwork, latest mortgage statement, your loan's payoff schedule, and any other proof your mortgage company asks for. Submit a written request if one is required, keep proof it was delivered, and ask for a written explanation if your request gets denied. If a form from your mortgage company seems to conflict with your original paperwork or the actual facts of your loan, ask them to point you to the specific rule in writing.
This guide is educational information, not legal or individualized financial advice. PMI cancellation depends on loan type, date, whether you live in the home, your payment status, investor rules, and your mortgage company's own procedures. Confirm the exact path with your mortgage company before making a payment or ordering a home-value check.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I ask to cancel PMI once I owe 80% of what my home was worth?
Does PMI automatically go away at 78%?
If my home's value has gone up, can that remove PMI early?
What should I do after reading PMI Removal Checklist: Know Which Cancellation Path Applies?
The 5-minute money briefing
One email per week. New rates, fed moves, and what to actually do about them.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Act on this: today's top mortgage
Ranked by SwitchWize's composite score. We may earn a referral fee, and it never changes the ranking order.
Editorial review
What changed since the last update
Was this guide helpful?
Found an inaccurate, outdated, or missing claim? Report a correction. We verify reports against the relevant source before changing a guide or ranking.
Jay Rege is Head of Research at SwitchWize, with more than 20 years of experience in retail banking, including roles at SunTrust Bank and First Republic Bank. He writes on deposit accounts, retail banking products, and what they mean for everyday savers.
Available for on-record interviews, background briefings, and custom data cuts.
research@switchwize.com