1%Mortgage Points Calculator: Buydown Break-Even

Compare mortgage quotes with and without discount points and estimate the break-even month.

Loan amount$Loan termyears

Rate without points%Rate with points%

Discount pointspointsExpected time in loanyears

Estimated points break-even

61 months

Upfront point cost: $3,500
Payment without points: $2,270.09
Payment with points: $2,212.24
Net payment savings over planned time: $2,054

One point is calculated as 1% of the loan amount. Use two real same-day lender quotes; the rate reduction per point is not fixed.

Using this tool

Trade cash today for a lower payment

Enter the loan amount, term, same-day rate quote without points, rate quote with points, points charged and expected time in the loan. PointCheck compares the upfront cost with the monthly principal-and-interest saving.

Reading the output

Time in the loan determines the payoff

Worked example

One point on a 350,000 loan

One point on a $350,000 loan costs $3,500. If the lower rate saves $60 per month, the simple payment break-even is about 59 months.

Calculation

Point cost divided by payment savings

Point cost = loan amount times points divided by 100. Break-even months = point cost divided by monthly payment savings.

Limitations

Compare same-day lender quotes

Use paired quotes from the same lender on the same day.
Do not assume one point always lowers the rate by the same amount.
Moving, selling or refinancing ends the time available to recover the upfront cost.

Before relying on the result

Point cost, rates and tax treatment

How much does one mortgage point cost?

One discount point is calculated as 1% of the loan amount, although lenders can quote fractional points.

Does the calculator include tax treatment?

No. It compares upfront point cost with payment savings and does not determine whether points are deductible.