FHA loans are a popular option for applicants who don’t have much money for a down payment. The FHA fee structure can be a little complex though. When calculating your payment using an FHA mortgage calculator, it’s important to know exactly what’s required.

Currently, people can get FHA loans as high as $729,750 with a minimum down payment of only 3.5 percent of the purchase price. Not all areas qualify for amounts that high, so people will need to check the FHA loan limits for their county before using the calculator.

The next step is to determine which FHA mortgage bracket their loan falls under. Then they can figure the upfront insurance premium and the monthly mortgage insurance next. The upfront insurance premium is typically 1.75% of the amount to be borrowed, and the annual insurance premium is determined by the loan-to-value ratio and the length of the mortgage loan.

Here’s a rundown of current FHA fees:

• FHA Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) –  Equals 1.75% of the total loan amount.  MIP is added to total loan and rolled into monthly payments.  Different rates apply for Streamline Refinance.  Calculate FHA MIP
• FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance (MI) – FHA mortgage insurance is charged monthly and is calculated based on mortgage length, loan amount and loan-to-value.  Calculate FHA Mortgage Insurance
• Homeowners Insurance and Property Taxes – All FHA mortgage loans require annual property taxes and hazard insurance payments to be combined with the mortgage payments and paid monthly.  It’s important to get good estimates of what those will be in order to calculate your FHA loan payment properly.