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Refinance Break-Even Worksheet
$9.99Works out whether a refinance actually pays for itself: your break-even month, a check on whether you'll still own the home by then, and the lifetime-interest comparison that shows when a lower monthly payment quietly costs more overall.
Format: Excel (.xlsx)
Look inside
Preview only — scroll to read it. The file you download is fully editable.
| Refinance Break-Even Worksheet | ||
| Blue cells are yours to fill in. Everything else calculates automatically. The question this answers: your closing costs buy you a lower monthly payment — how many months of that lower payment does it take to earn the closing costs back, and will you still own the home by then? Verdict thresholds ma… | ||
| Part 1 — Your current loan | ||
| Current loan balance | 280000 | What you still owe today, not the original purchase price. |
| Current interest rate (%) | 7.25 | Enter as a number, e.g. 7.25 — not 0.0725. |
| Years remaining on current loan | 24 | A 30-year loan taken 6 years ago has 24 years remaining. |
| Current monthly principal & interest | ƒx | Calculated from the three cells above. Taxes and insurance are excluded on purpose — a refinance doesn't change them, so they cancel out of this comparison. |
| Part 2 — The new loan you're being offered | ||
| New interest rate (%) | 6.4 | |
| New loan term (years) | 30 | Careful here — resetting a 24-year remaining balance to a fresh 30 years is the single most common way a 'lower payment' costs more overall. Part 5 shows that effect. |
| Closing costs — lender / origination | 2500 | |
| Closing costs — appraisal | 650 | |
| Closing costs — title, escrow & settlement | 1800 | |
| Closing costs — recording & government fees | 450 | |
| Closing costs — other | 300 | |
| Total closing costs | ƒx | |
| Part 3 — How you'll pay those closing costs | ||
| Roll closing costs into the new loan? (Yes/No) | No | Type Yes or No. Rolling them in means no cash at closing, but you finance the costs and pay interest on them. |
| New loan amount | ƒx | Your current balance, plus the closing costs if you rolled them in. |
| Cash due at closing | ƒx | |
| New monthly principal & interest | ƒx | |
| Part 4 — Break-even | ||
| Monthly savings | ƒx | Old payment minus new payment. If this is negative, the new loan costs more per month. |
| Months to break even | ƒx | Total closing costs ÷ monthly savings. Uses the full closing costs even if you rolled them in — you paid them either way. |
| Years to break even | ƒx | |
| Verdict | ƒx | |
| How many more years will you own this home? | 7 | Your honest estimate. This is the number the whole decision actually turns on. |
| Do you break even before you sell? | ƒx | |
| Part 5 — The term-reset trap | ||
| A lower monthly payment is not the same as paying less. If you replace a loan with 24 years left with a fresh 30-year loan, the payment drops partly because you stretched the debt over 6 more years — and you pay interest for all of them. These two figures compare total remaining interest, which is t… | ||
| Interest remaining on your current loan | ƒx | What you'd pay in interest if you kept the loan you have and never refinanced. |
| Total interest on the new loan | ƒx | What you'd pay in interest across the new loan's full term. |
| Lifetime interest difference (new − current) | ƒx | Positive means the refinance costs you MORE in total interest despite the lower monthly payment. That can still be the right call if the monthly relief matters — but decide knowingly. |
| This worksheet is a general planning tool, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Rates, fees, and program limits vary by lender, location, and your individual circumstances — confirm real numbers with a lender before making a decision. For real, sourced state-by-state figures, see calculatorbystate.c… | ||
| Notes | ||
This template is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice.