For U.S. homeowners looking at a home equity line
HELOC calculator
A home equity line of credit is borrowed against your home, and its rate can change over the life of the plan. Enter your home value, what you owe and the terms you have or want to test. The calculator shows the line, both payment phases and what a higher rate would do.
Calculate for free- No account
- No credit pull
- No lender contact
Cindrus is a calculation tool, not a financial adviser. We give no personal advice and arrange no loans.
Line under your limit: -
The result is a calculation on your figures. It is not a guaranteed saving or an offer.
Home value times your limit, minus everything already owed on the home. A plan's actual line also depends on its own valuation, your credit and its terms, which the calculator does not check.
At this CLTV, the balance you owe already reaches the limit, so no line is left. A different CLTV or a lower balance changes that.
Index plus margin, within any floor and cap you entered. This is not the APR, and it does not include fees.
With interest-only payments, the whole balance is still owed when the draw period ends, so the payment rises once principal is added.
The table repeats both payments with the rate 1, 2 and 3 percentage points higher, capped at your lifetime cap if you entered one.
The rate on a HELOC is variable and can increase.
The line is secured by your home. If payments are not made, the lender can foreclose.
Every result on this site comes from the numbers you enter and the assumptions shown.
Data used: the figures and terms you entered. The rate and costs you can actually obtain may differ.
A HELOC is a loan against your home. The figures here are not an offer of credit and do not show any plan's fees or APR.
This is not a credit offer or a personal recommendation to borrow against your home.
For illustrative purposes only. Not a loan offer or commitment to lend. Cindrus is not a lender, mortgage broker or loan originator, we pass no information to lenders, and no lender pays us.
Create a free Cindrus account and add your home, your first mortgage and your HELOC balance in US dollars. Your net worth takes all three into account, and you can change any figure when it moves.
For the HELOC itself, a paid plan emails you before the draw period ends and, if your HELOC follows the prime rate, when the published prime rate changes, with the source and date of the prime rate.
- The whole planned draw is taken on the first day and nothing more is drawn.
- The rate stays where you set it for both periods.
- Each month's interest is the balance times the yearly rate divided by twelve.
- In repayment, the balance is paid off in equal monthly amounts over the repayment period.
- Fees, annual charges and minimum draw rules are not included.
Your next step.
Take the result with you.
Free. No account.
- Write down the figures you used: you find them under «Understand the number».
- Ask what it costs in total, not only what the payment will be.
- Ask whether the rate is fixed and what can change it.
- Ask for the offer in writing, so you can compare it calmly.
- Ask what is not included in the figure.
Ready to talk to the bank?
Your figures and the right questions, on one page.
- Costs and rate
- Fees and remaining balance
- The assumptions behind the figure
Follow your loan.
Your loan and your calculations, in one place.
- Your calculations saved in one place
- Your financial overview
The account is free.
The calculator is free without an account. Not personal advice.
Your bank conversation
Ask the bank about these six things.
Based on your calculation. Not personal advice.
Three inputs decide the size of the line
Value minus what you owe
Your equity is the home's value less the balance on every loan secured by it.
Your CLTV ceiling
Combined loan-to-value counts the first mortgage and the new line together. You pick the percentage, up to 100 percent of the value.
Your draw and your rate
A planned draw turns the line into two payments: one for the years you can borrow, one for the years you pay it back.
Two periods, two payments
A HELOC is an open-end line of credit against your home equity. During the draw period you can borrow up to the limit and pay as you go. When that period ends, borrowing stops and a repayment schedule begins.
While you can draw
Many plans set a minimum payment based on the balance. With an interest-only minimum, the balance does not go down.
Once repayment begins
The lender sets a schedule for paying off what is left. Monthly payments can be significantly higher than in the draw period, and some plans require the whole balance at once.
A rate that moves
According to the federal consumer bureau, HELOCs usually carry a variable rate, so the payment can change from month to month. The calculator keeps your rate flat and shows separately what one step up would do.
Your rights when the line is secured by your home
Regulation Z gives you a right to rescind a credit plan secured by your principal dwelling, both when the plan opens and when the limit is raised. The right runs until midnight of the third business day after the plan opens, the notice is delivered or all material disclosures are given, whichever is last.
Read the guide to your HELOC rights →What sets the size and cost of a home equity line?
The size comes from the value of the home, what you already owe against it and the combined loan-to-value the lender allows. The cost comes from the rate, how much you actually draw, and how long each period lasts.
Because interest is charged only on what you draw, two people with the same line can pay very different amounts. That is why the calculator asks for a planned draw separately from the limit.
Can the lender reduce the line?
Yes, in situations the regulation lists. One of them is a significant fall in the home's value below the appraisal used for the plan. Another is a material change in your finances that leads the lender to believe you can't make the payments.
Other names for the same question
HELOC calculator · home equity line of credit calculator · HELOC payment calculator · how much can I borrow against my house. Each asks what a line on your home would be and cost.
A calculator that shows both halves of the plan
Blank fields
No value, rate or CLTV is filled in for you.
Nobody calls you
Your figures stay on this page. There is no lead form and no lender behind it.
Rules with sources
Each rule names the section of Regulation Z it comes from and when we read it.
What we hold ourselves to
- Your data is never sold.
- No assumption is tucked away: each one sits beside the result.
- A figure we can't explain doesn't go on the page.
- No artificial deadlines.
- Download or delete your data whenever you like.
HELOC questions
How much could a HELOC on my home be?
The calculator shows the room under the limit you enter: your home value times that limit, minus what you already owe on the home. The line a lender would actually set depends on its valuation, your credit and its terms, and the calculator checks none of them.
Why does the payment jump after the draw period?
On interest-only terms you pay no principal while you can still draw. When repayment starts, the same balance has to be paid off over fewer years, and principal is added to every payment. The result shows the size of that change.
What happens if the prime rate goes up?
On a plan tied to prime, the rate follows it, and so does the payment. The stress table shows both phases at higher rates, up to any lifetime cap you entered. The calculator does not predict where prime will go.
What about taxes on HELOC interest?
The calculator includes no tax effect. Consult a tax advisor regarding the deductibility of interest.
What are the risks of a HELOC?
The line is secured by your home, and if payments are not made, the lender can foreclose. The rate is variable and can increase. Some plans let the lender freeze or reduce the line, for example if the home's value falls significantly.
Is this a rate quote?
No. It is arithmetic on the terms you entered. A plan's disclosures show its APR, its fees and the highest rate it allows.
The HELOC calculator is free.
Signing up for free gives you one overview holding your home, mortgage and other debts. Plans and where each feature works are on the pricing page.
View plans →See the whole line before you open it.
Running scenarios costs nothing. Afterward, a free account can hold the home value and every loan against it, without a card.