← All tools

Home Equity Calculator

How much equity have you built, and what can you tap?

Enter what your home is worth and what you still owe. We’ll show how much of the home you own outright and roughly how much a lender would let you borrow against it.

  1. Equity is the part you own

    Your is the home’s value minus what you still owe. A $600,000 home with a $320,000 mortgage has $280,000 of equity. It grows as you pay the loan down and as the home gains value.

  2. Lenders keep a cushion

    You can’t borrow against all of it. Lenders cap your total home loans at a share of the value, called the . At 85%, a $600,000 home can carry $510,000 of loans in total, so $190,000 more if you owe $320,000.

  3. Two common ways to tap it

    A or adds a second loan and leaves your mortgage alone. A replaces your mortgage with a bigger one, usually capped lower, at 80%.
For your home’s value, online estimates and recent sales of similar homes nearby are a fair start; a lender will order an appraisal before lending. The refinance guide explains when keeping your current mortgage beats a cash-out refinance.
Your home and mortgage

Use today’s rough market value and the balance from your latest mortgage statement.

$
$
$
Lender limit

How much of your home’s value a lender lets all your home loans add up to. 85% is a common HELOC limit.

%

Your equity

$280,000

$600,000 value − $320,000 owed = 46.7% of the home is yours

With a or home equity loan, you could borrow up to $190,000.

A cash-out refinance could give you up to $160,000, with the new loan capped at 80% of the value.

Total equity

$280,000

46.7% of the home is yours

Loan-to-value (LTV)

53.3%

owed vs. value; PMI may be removable

HELOC or home equity loan max

$190,000

total loans up to 85% of value

Cash-out refinance max

$160,000

new loan up to 80% of value

Change in value

$100,000

+20.0% since you bought

What this means

You own about $280,000 of your $600,000 home (47%) and owe $320,000, a 53% loan-to-value. Lenders keep a cushion: at a 85% limit, all your home loans together could reach $510,000. After what you already owe, that leaves about $190,000 you could borrow with a HELOC or home equity loan. A cash-out refinance is usually capped lower, so it would give about $160,000, and it replaces your whole mortgage at the new loan’s rate.

These are upper limits based on your own value estimate. A lender will use its appraisal and also check your credit score and , so you may be approved for less. Borrowing against your home puts it at risk if you can’t repay. To compare the options side by side, try cash-out vs HELOC.

How your home’s value splits up

OWED
BORROWABLE
CUSHION
$0$320,000 (owed)$510,000 (85% limit)$600,000
What you owe nowEquity you could borrow (up to the limit)Cushion lenders won’t lend against
Lenders won’t let you borrow against 100% of your home value. They want a cushion in case prices drop. Typical caps: cash-out refinance 80%, HELOC 85% (some 90%), home equity loan 85% to 90%.

Results are estimates based on your inputs and the assumptions on this page, not quotes or advice. A lender, servicer, or tax advisor will give you different numbers. Disclaimer

Something look off? Report it

Terms used on this page

What equity is, how lenders measure it, and the loans that let you borrow against it.

Home equity
The part of your home you own outright: its current value minus everything you still owe on it. It grows as you pay down the loan and as the home gains value.
Mortgage balance
What you still owe on your mortgage today, shown on your monthly statement. It shrinks with each payment, so it’s lower than the amount you first borrowed.
LTV (loan-to-value ratio)
What you owe divided by what the home is worth. A $400,000 balance on a $500,000 home is 80% LTV, which means you have 20% equity. More
CLTV (combined loan-to-value)
Like LTV, but it adds up every loan secured by the home, such as a mortgage plus a HELOC. Lenders cap CLTV when you borrow against your home. More
HELOC (home equity line of credit)
A credit line borrowed against your equity that you draw from as needed. Your mortgage stays in place, and the rate is usually variable. More
Home equity loan (HELOAN)
A lump-sum second loan against your equity, repaid at a fixed rate over a set term. Your existing mortgage stays in place. More
Cash-out refinance
Replacing your mortgage with a larger new loan and taking the difference in cash. The whole balance moves to the new rate, and lenders typically cap it at 80% LTV.
Appraisal
A licensed appraiser’s estimate of what the home is worth. Lenders order one before lending against your home, and its value is the one they use.
PMI (private mortgage insurance)
Insurance conventional lenders require when you owe more than 80% of the home’s value. It protects the lender and can usually be removed as your equity grows. More

Keep learning

Next steps

Report a problem

On

What kind of problem?