How Long Do You Pay Mortgage Insurance on an FHA Loan?

On an FHA loan, how long you pay mortgage insurance depends on one thing: your down payment. Put down less than 10%, and you pay annual mortgage insurance premiums for the full loan term, up to 30 years. Put down 10% or more, and MIP drops off automatically after 11 years. These durations apply to any FHA loan with a case number assigned on or after June 3, 2013, and no amount of equity you build later will change them.¹

The 10% Down Payment Cutoff

The dividing line is a 90% loan-to-value ratio at origination. LTV is the loan amount divided by the home’s appraised value. Buy a $300,000 home with $15,000 down (5%), and your LTV is 95%. Put $30,000 down (10%), and your LTV is 90%.

That single number sets the clock:

LTV above 90%, meaning less than 10% down: annual MIP runs for the full loan term or 30 years, whichever is shorter.
LTV at or below 90%, meaning 10% or more down: annual MIP runs for 11 years, then stops automatically.

Because FHA allows down payments as low as 3.5%, most FHA borrowers begin with an LTV well above 90% and end up on the lifetime schedule.² There’s no way to move yourself into the 11-year bucket after closing. The LTV that counts is the one on the day your case number was assigned.

How a 15-Year Loan Changes the Answer

The same 90% cutoff applies to 15-year FHA loans, so the duration rule is identical: 11 years if you put down 10% or more, the full term otherwise. What changes is how much you pay along the way. A 15-year loan with an LTV at or below 90% carries an annual MIP rate of just 0.15%, and a 15-year loan above 90% pays 0.40%.³ Both are well below the 0.50% to 0.55% typical for 30-year loans.

One thing to know if you’re comparing older guidance: before June 2013, a 15-year FHA loan with an LTV below 78% carried no annual MIP at all. That exemption was eliminated by Mortgagee Letter 2013-04. Every current FHA loan carries some annual MIP, though the 15-year rate at low LTVs is small.²

Building Equity Won’t Cancel FHA MIP

If you’ve heard about mortgage insurance dropping off automatically at 78% LTV, that’s a conventional-loan rule, and it does not apply to FHA. The Homeowners Protection Act requires cancellation of private mortgage insurance on conventional loans once the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of original value, and borrowers can request cancellation at 80%.⁴

FHA mortgage insurance is explicitly carved out of that law. The Homeowners Protection Act defines “private mortgage insurance” as mortgage insurance other than insurance provided under the National Housing Act, which is the statute FHA lending operates under.⁵ Extra principal payments, a jump in your home’s value, or an appraisal showing 40% equity all leave your MIP schedule untouched. The only ways to stop paying are to reach the end of the required period or to leave the FHA program by refinancing.

Refinancing Is the Only Early Exit

For borrowers on the lifetime schedule, refinancing is the only path out. There are two versions, and the difference matters.

Refinance to a Conventional Loan

Moving from an FHA loan to a conventional mortgage is the clean break. If your home has appreciated enough to give you 20% equity, a conventional lender won’t require PMI at all. Even below 20%, conventional PMI can be canceled once you cross that threshold, which FHA MIP can’t.⁴

Run the math before assuming this saves you money. You’ll pay closing costs on the new loan, and if rates have climbed since you took out your FHA mortgage, a higher interest rate can eat the MIP savings. Compare your current monthly payment (principal, interest, and MIP together) against the projected payment on the new loan, then figure out how many months of savings recover the closing costs. If you might sell before you break even, staying put makes more sense.

FHA Streamline Refinance

If a conventional loan is out of reach or the rates don’t work, an FHA Streamline Refinance replaces your current FHA loan with a new one, often with reduced documentation and no appraisal. But the new loan is still an FHA loan, so you keep paying MIP. The duration resets based on the new LTV, meaning you’re usually looking at MIP for the full term of the new loan if your LTV is still above 90%.¹

There is one benefit worth knowing about. If you streamline within three years of your original FHA closing date, HUD applies a credit from the upfront MIP you already paid toward the new loan’s upfront premium. The credit starts at 80% one month in and steps down by roughly 2 percentage points per month, reaching 10% at month 36. After three years, no credit applies.⁶

The short version: on an FHA loan, you’re paying mortgage insurance either for 11 years or for as long as you own the loan, decided at closing by your down payment. If you’re on the lifetime schedule and want out, plan a refinance around the equity and rates that make the numbers work.

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. How Long Is MIP Collected for Case Numbers Assigned on or After June 3, 2013
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgagee Letter 2013-04 – Revision of FHA Policies
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 – Annual MIP Rate Reduction
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When Can I Remove Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) From My Loan
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC Ch. 49 – Homeowners Protection
6
HUD.gov. Upfront Premium Payments and Refunds