When does FHA mortgage insurance end?

Two premiums, two clocks

FHA collects a one-time upfront premium and an annual premium paid in monthly installments. The upfront premium is paid in cash or financed into the loan and is not refundable, except when the borrower refinances into a new FHA-insured mortgage, in which case a partial refund can apply. Only the annual premium has a duration. The Handbook says the annual MIP rate and the duration of the assessment period vary by mortgage term, base loan amount and loan-to-value ratio as shown in its MIP chart, and the chart is Appendix 1.0.

The duration column

The duration column in Appendix 1.0 reads simply. For a mortgage with a term of more than 15 years, a loan-to-value ratio of 90.00 percent or less carries annual MIP for 11 years; between 90.00 and 95.00 percent, for the mortgage term; above 95.00 percent, for the mortgage term. For a term of 15 years or less, 90.00 percent or less gives 11 years and above 90.00 percent gives the mortgage term. The same pattern holds for both the lower and higher base loan amount bands. So the only question that decides duration in this chart is whether the loan-to-value at origination was above 90.00 percent. The Handbook lists the appendix with the 03/20/2023 date, and the rates in the columns beside durations are not reproduced here because they change.

A worked example

A 30-year loan at 96.5 percent loan-to-value has annual MIP for the mortgage term, which means 360 months, unless the loan is paid off or refinanced earlier. A 30-year loan with a 10 percent down payment is at 90.00 percent, so it pays for 11 years, or 132 months. A 15-year loan at 85 percent is also 11 years. And a 15-year loan at 92 percent runs for the whole 15 years. One percentage point of down payment can therefore change how many years you pay, which is why borrowers sometimes ask whether to put down 10 percent instead of 3.5. The checker above shows the months for your own numbers.

What the chart does not say

Three limits deserve plain words. First, the chart does not state when the 11 years start or how the lender counts months; confirm that with your servicer. Second, the Handbook text read for this page does not address loans with older case numbers, for which earlier premium schedules applied; the FHA MIP calculator on this site works from HUD's rate table by case-number date and also shows duration. Third, the chart has exceptions: streamline and simple refinances of a mortgage endorsed on or before May 31, 2009 are listed separately (their duration is also 11 years at 90.00 percent or less and the term above), Hawaiian Home Lands (Section 247) loans pay no annual MIP, and Indian Lands (Section 248) loans pay no upfront premium.

If the premium lasts the whole term

When MIP runs for the mortgage term, the usual ways to stop paying it are to pay the loan off, sell, or refinance into a loan that does not carry FHA insurance. A conventional loan generally needs enough equity and credit to qualify, and conventional private mortgage insurance has its own removal rules, which the PMI removal planner covers. Whether a refinance makes sense depends on rates and closing costs; test it with the refinance break-even calculator.

Using the number well

Eleven years is a long time on a 30-year loan, and the premium is built into the monthly payment, so the total cost over 11 years is easy to underestimate. The right comparison is the monthly premium multiplied by the months of duration, set against what it would cost to reach a larger down payment. This page gives the duration; the rates and amounts come from the chart in effect for your loan.

Sources

• HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, Update 18 PDF: Appendix 1.0 - Mortgage Insurance Premiums (03/20/2023), Handbook pp. 1749-1750; Mortgage Insurance Premiums (09/14/2015), p. 183. Read November 2, 2026.
• HUD, Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 information page. Read November 2, 2026.

Text read: HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, the clean Update 18 PDF that HUD links from its Handbook 4000.1 information page (HUD lists it as the August 12, 2026 update). Section headings carry their own effective dates, given above for this page. A heading with two dates, such as (11/10/2026)(06/27/2025), shows a revised date written over the prior one. Confirm current dollar limits and premium rates with an FHA-approved lender. This page paraphrases the Handbook and does not replace it. Page numbers cited are the Handbook's own and may be approximate; use the section headings to locate the text.