A reverse mortgage lets homeowners 62 and older turn part of their home equity into cash. There’s no monthly payment required. How much you get depends on your age, your home’s value, and today’s interest rates. Try the calculator below for an estimate in under a minute. It doesn’t ask for your name, email, or phone number.
See How Much You Could Get
Enter your age, your home’s value, and any mortgage balance below. You’ll get an estimate in seconds, with no personal information required.
This tool models a standard HECM, the loan type used by nearly all reverse mortgage borrowers. It won’t match a lender’s exact quote. It gives you a realistic starting point before you talk to anyone.
A reverse mortgage changes your monthly cash flow, your loan balance, and what’s left for your heirs. The Boldin Planner shows how it fits alongside Social Security, savings, and taxes.
How Is a Reverse Mortgage Calculated?
Your reverse mortgage amount comes from your home’s value, a HUD factor tied to your age and interest rates, and your upfront costs. The math runs in three steps.
First, your lender caps your home’s value at the FHA lending limit. That’s $1,249,125 for 2026, per HUD’s schedule of maximum claim amounts. If your home is worth more, only the limit counts. If it’s worth less, your actual value counts.
Second, that capped value gets multiplied by your principal limit factor. HUD sets this factor from your age and the expected interest rate on your loan.
Third, your lender subtracts closing costs and any existing mortgage balance. What’s left is your net proceeds, the amount you get to use.
Age, Home Value, and Rates Determine Your Number
Older borrowers and lower rates both increase how much you can access. A 62-year-old and an 85-year-old with the same home won’t qualify for the same amount.
Age moves the number. The older you are, the higher your principal limit factor climbs, and the more you can borrow.
Rates move the number too. When interest rates drop, your principal limit factor rises. Your lender expects your balance to grow at a slower pace. When rates climb, the factor falls.
Home value works the way you’d guess. A more valuable home means a larger starting number, up to the FHA cap.
A Few Years or a Percentage Point Can Mean Tens of Thousands of Dollars
A 70-year-old with a $400,000 home and no mortgage could net around $140,800 at today’s typical rates. Here’s how that shifts by age, home value, and mortgage balance.
| Age | Home Value | Existing Mortgage | Estimated Net Proceeds* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | $300,000 | $0 | ~$95,600 |
| 70 | $400,000 | $0 | ~$140,800 |
| 75 | $500,000 | $100,000 | ~$98,400 |
| 80 | $600,000 | $0 | ~$268,600 |
*Estimates assume a 6.25% expected rate and standard closing costs. Your own numbers will vary.
Rates change these numbers fast. Take that same 70-year-old with a $400,000 home. At a 5% rate, net proceeds run closer to $165,700. At 7.5%, they drop to around $119,500. A swing of a couple percentage points can mean tens of thousands of dollars.
Why Your Number Is Lower Than Your Home’s Full Value
You keep ownership and some equity by design. Any existing mortgage gets paid off first, which lowers your net proceeds.
A reverse mortgage won’t lend you your full home value. Your lender holds back equity so you keep an ownership stake. That way, you can still sell, move, or downsize later.
If you still owe money on your home, your reverse mortgage pays that off first. Only what’s left becomes available to you.
Does This Calculator Cover Jumbo or Proprietary Reverse Mortgages?
No. This tool estimates HECM proceeds, capped at the 2026 FHA limit of $1,249,125. Jumbo and proprietary loans use different math and can go higher.
If your home is worth more than that, a jumbo reverse mortgage might get you further. These loans come from private lenders, skip the FHA cap, and don’t carry FHA mortgage insurance. HUD’s first-year draw limit covers HECMs only, so it doesn’t apply to them.
The tradeoff: jumbo loans aren’t federally insured, so terms vary more from lender to lender. Compare a few quotes before choosing between a HECM and a jumbo loan.
What Fees Come Out of Your Total?
Expect an upfront FHA insurance charge of 2% of your home’s value, plus an origination fee capped at $6,000. Most lenders let you finance both.
Three primary costs reduce your proceeds, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Mortgage insurance costs 2% of your home’s value, capped at the FHA limit, paid upfront. Then 0.5% of your balance every year after that. This insurance guarantees you’ll keep receiving payments even if your lender runs into trouble.
Your origination fee covers the lender’s work to process the loan. HUD caps this fee at $6,000. It’s calculated as 2% of your home’s first $200,000 in value, plus 1% of anything above that.
Closing costs cover the appraisal, title search, and similar paperwork. Expect a few thousand dollars, depending on where you live.
Most lenders let you roll all three costs into your loan balance, so you don’t need cash upfront. Financed costs still add to what you owe, and reverse mortgage interest builds on them over time.
How Much Can You Access in the First Year?
HUD caps your first-year draw at 60% of your principal limit in most cases. The rest becomes available after that.
Say you’re paying off an existing mortgage larger than 60% of your principal limit. You can access more in year one to cover that payoff.
If you take a line of credit, whatever you don’t draw in year one stays available, and the unused amount grows over time.
How Does a Reverse Mortgage Work?
A reverse mortgage is a home loan for owners 62 and older with no monthly payment. Interest and fees get added to the balance, so what you owe grows over time, the CFPB explains.
You can take the money as a lump sum, monthly payments, a line of credit, or a mix of those. The loan comes due when the last borrower dies, sells the home, or stops living there. A spouse who isn’t on the loan can stay if they qualify as an eligible non-borrowing spouse.
There are three types of reverse mortgages, according to the Federal Trade Commission:
- HECM: The federally insured loan most borrowers use, and the one this calculator models. You can spend the money on anything.
- Proprietary: Private loans, including jumbo reverse mortgages, that can go above the FHA limit. They may carry a higher interest rate.
- Single-purpose: Loans from some state and local agencies and nonprofits. Each covers one need, such as home repairs or property taxes. They cost the least, but they aren’t offered everywhere.
Who Qualifies for a Reverse Mortgage?
To qualify for a HECM, you must be 62 or older and live in the home. The CFPB’s eligibility rules list the rest:
- The home is your principal residence, where you live most of the year.
- You own the home outright or have a low mortgage balance.
- You don’t owe any federal debt, such as federal income taxes or federal student loans.
- You pass a financial assessment of your credit, income, and property charges. If it falls short, part of the loan gets set aside at closing for taxes and insurance.
- The home is in good shape.
- You complete a counseling session with a HUD-approved agency.
Falling behind on property taxes, insurance, or home repairs after closing can make the loan come due sooner.
Do You Still Own Your Home With a Reverse Mortgage?
Yes. You keep the title to your home with a reverse mortgage, the IRS confirms. The lender holds a lien against the home, the way a regular mortgage lender does.
Any rise in your home’s value belongs to you. When the loan comes due, the balance gets paid first, and any equity left goes to you or your estate. You can still paint, renovate, or have family live with you, as long as the home stays your main residence.
Your heirs keep rights to the home too. If they want to keep it after you pass away, they can repay or refinance the balance. If they’d rather sell, they keep whatever equity remains once the loan is paid. When the balance tops the home’s value, a sale at 95% of the appraised value settles the loan, the CFPB says. The mortgage insurance you paid covers the rest.
Is Reverse Mortgage Money Taxable?
No. The IRS treats reverse mortgage payments as loan proceeds, so you don’t owe income tax on them. In most cases, the money won’t affect your Social Security or Medicare benefits either, the FTC notes.
The interest isn’t a write-off as it builds up. IRS Publication 936 treats it as interest on home equity debt, which in most cases isn’t deductible. Even when some of it qualifies, you can deduct it only once you pay it. That’s often when the loan is paid off in full.
Means-tested benefits follow their own rules. For Supplemental Security Income, the payments aren’t income. Cash you still hold at the start of the next month counts as a resource, though, under SSA rules. Medicaid rules vary by state, so check with your state’s Medicaid office before you take a large draw.
Can You Refinance a Reverse Mortgage?
Yes. You can move into a new HECM, pay off the loan with a traditional mortgage, or sell the home.
A new HECM can raise how much you can borrow. A higher home value or lower rates both lift your principal limit, and so does being older. Run the calculator above with today’s numbers to see how far your estimate has moved.
Refinancing can also add a spouse to the loan. The youngest borrower has to be 62 at closing, under 24 CFR 206.33, so a younger spouse can’t be a borrower on the first loan. Once they turn 62, a new HECM can include them.
A refinance comes with new closing costs. Federal rules require your lender to show you the total cost next to how much more you could borrow, under 24 CFR 206.53. If the gain is small, the new loan may not pay for itself. The reverse mortgage industry’s ethics code treats a refinance within six months of closing as unlikely to pass its benefit standard.
You can skip counseling on the new loan only in narrow cases. Your principal limit increase has to exceed the refinance cost by an amount equal to five times that cost, and you must apply within five years of your first HECM, under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2009-21.
Moving to a traditional mortgage or home equity loan clears the reverse mortgage balance. It also brings back a monthly payment, so make sure your income can carry it.
How Do You Get a More Exact Number?
A HUD-approved counselor or lender can give you a more exact number based on your details and today’s rates.
Your final number depends on your lender’s specific rate, your home’s appraised value, and underwriting details this tool can’t see.
Every HECM borrower needs HUD-approved counseling before applying. A counselor walks through your numbers, your options, and whether a reverse mortgage fits your bigger financial picture.
Some retirees draw on a reverse mortgage so they can delay Social Security and lock in a bigger check. A CFPB analysis found the loan’s costs exceeded the extra lifetime benefit in most cases. Test that tradeoff with your own numbers first.
A reverse mortgage also changes your monthly cash flow, your loan balance, and what’s left for your heirs over time. Want to see how it fits alongside Social Security, savings, and taxes? You can model it inside the Boldin Planner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money can I get from a reverse mortgage?
How much you can borrow depends on your age, home value, and interest rates. At a 6.25% expected rate, HUD’s principal limit factors equal about 35% of the home’s value at 62, 41% at 72, and 50% at 82, before costs. Lower rates raise those shares. Use the calculator above, then confirm with a HUD-approved lender.
What is the formula for calculating a reverse mortgage?
Lenders multiply your home’s value, up to the FHA limit, by HUD’s principal limit factor, then subtract upfront costs and any mortgage payoff. Take a 67-year-old with a $300,000 home, no mortgage, and a 6.25% expected rate. A factor of about 37.5% gives $112,500. About $13,500 in insurance, origination, and closing costs leaves roughly $99,000.
Is there a reverse mortgage calculator that doesn’t require personal information?
The reverse mortgage calculator on this page doesn’t ask for your name, email, phone number, or address. Enter your age, home value, mortgage balance, and an interest rate to get an estimate in seconds. Many lender websites require contact information before showing a number. This one doesn’t.
Can I get a reverse mortgage if my home is worth more than the FHA limit?
Homeowners whose home is worth more than the FHA limit can still get a reverse mortgage, through a jumbo or proprietary loan. These loans come from private lenders instead of HUD, so they skip the federal cap. They don’t carry FHA mortgage insurance either, though fees and terms vary more by lender than they do with a standard HECM.
Can I end up owing more than my home is worth?
No. HECMs are non-recourse loans, so neither you nor your heirs will owe more than the home is worth when the loan comes due. If the balance outgrows the home’s value, the FHA mortgage insurance paid through your upfront and annual premiums absorbs the gap.
What’s the difference between a reverse mortgage and a reverse annuity mortgage?
Reverse mortgage and reverse annuity mortgage describe the same basic loan. Reverse annuity mortgage was a common term in the 1980s and 1990s. Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, or HECMs, later became the federally insured standard. Today, “reverse mortgage” and “HECM” refer to the same loan.
