FHA MIP Refund Chart
Your UFMIP Credit by Month and What It Actually Saves You
When you close on an FHA loan, you pay an upfront mortgage insurance premium at closing.
If you refinance into another FHA loan within three years, part of that premium comes back as a credit.
The FHA MIP refund chart tells you exactly how much you’re owed, month by month.
This is for FHA homeowners weighing a refinance who want to know what they’re actually entitled to before deciding.
By the end, you’ll know how the credit works, who qualifies, and your exact refund amount.
In This Article
What Is the FHA Upfront MIP and Why Does the Refund Exist?
The FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium is a one-time charge paid at closing on every FHA loan. HUD allows a partial credit on that premium when you refinance into a new FHA loan within 36 months — that credit is what the FHA MIP refund chart tracks.
FHA loans come with two types of mortgage insurance. The annual MIP is the monthly charge built into your mortgage payment. For most borrowers on a 30-year loan with a down payment under 10%, HUD currently sets that rate at 0.55% of the loan balance. On a $350,000 loan, that works out to about $161 per month.
The UFMIP is different. It’s a one-time charge of 1.75% of your base loan amount, due at closing. Most borrowers roll it into the loan balance rather than pay out of pocket. On a $350,000 FHA loan, that comes to $6,125 added to your balance on day one. On a $450,000 loan, it’s $7,875. It’s a real cost, and it’s the one the refund chart applies to.
The refund exists because the UFMIP covers an insurance period that ends early when you refinance. HUD guidelines allow a partial credit when you close a new FHA loan within 36 months of the original. The logic is direct: if the original coverage period was cut short, you get credit for the unused portion, applied to the new loan’s premium. The Federal Housing Administration tracks this credit through a fixed schedule tied to how many months have passed since your original closing date. That schedule is what the FHA MIP refund chart captures.
The FHA MIP Refund Chart by Month
The refund percentage starts at 80% in the first month after closing and declines by roughly two percentage points each month. By month 36, it drops to 10%. After month 36, the credit goes to zero. HUD sets these percentages. They don’t vary by loan amount, credit score, or location.
| Month of Refinance | Refund Percentage | Credit on $5,250 UFMIP | Credit on $7,000 UFMIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 80% | $4,200 | $5,600 |
| Month 6 | 70% | $3,675 | $4,900 |
| Month 12 | 58% | $3,045 | $4,060 |
| Month 18 | 46% | $2,415 | $3,220 |
| Month 24 | 34% | $1,785 | $2,380 |
| Month 30 | 22% | $1,155 | $1,540 |
| Month 36 | 10% | $525 | $700 |
| Month 37+ | 0% | $0 | $0 |
Months not listed in the table fall in between at the same two-percent rate of decline. Month 9 sits at approximately 64%, between the month 6 rate of 70% and the month 12 rate of 58%. Month 21 sits at roughly 40%, between month 18 and month 24.
One practical constraint worth knowing upfront: the FHA Streamline Refinance requires a 210-day waiting period between your original closing date and the funding date of the new loan. That puts the earliest possible Streamline refinance around month 7 or 8, which corresponds to a refund of roughly 66% to 68%. On a loan where you paid $7,000 in UFMIP, that’s still a credit of $4,620 to $4,760 applied to the new loan’s upfront premium.
How the Credit Is Applied to Your New Loan
The UFMIP refund credit applies directly to the upfront mortgage insurance premium on the new FHA loan — it does not come to you as cash, and it does not reduce any other closing cost. It won’t appear as a deposit in your bank account. It doesn’t reduce your closing costs as a line-item credit the way a seller concession would.
Per HUD guidelines, your lender calculates the new UFMIP at 1.75% of the new loan amount. The credit from the old loan reduces what you owe on that new premium. Nothing more.
Here’s what that looks like in practice. Say your new loan amount is $340,000. The new UFMIP is $5,950. If your refund credit is $3,045 — representing 58% of a $5,250 original UFMIP at month 12 — the net UFMIP drops to $2,905. That amount is then either paid out of pocket or rolled into the new loan balance, just as it was on the original loan. The savings reduce your balance, not your closing day cash requirement for other fees.
In our experience working with Colorado and Florida borrowers, the most common confusion is expecting the refund credit to cover appraisal fees or prepaid costs. That’s not how it works. Knowing this before you’re in escrow shapes your cash-to-close expectations and keeps the refinance from becoming a surprise at the closing table. Understanding exactly where the credit applies and where it doesn’t is the kind of detail that separates a smooth refinance from a frustrating one.
“Most borrowers hear ‘refund’ and think cash. What actually happens is the credit goes directly toward the new loan’s upfront MIP. That’s still real savings because it reduces what you finance. But it won’t change what you bring to the closing table.”
Reed Letson, Owner, Elevation Mortgage
How to Calculate Your FHA MIP Refund Amount
The calculation has two steps. First, find the credit from the original loan. Then apply that credit to the new loan’s UFMIP to get the net cost.
Step 1 — Find your refund credit:
Multiply your original UFMIP paid by the refund percentage for your current month from the chart above.
Original UFMIP x Refund % = Refund Credit
Step 2 — Find the net UFMIP on the new loan:
Multiply the new loan amount by 1.75% to get the new UFMIP. Then subtract your refund credit.
(New Loan Amount x 0.0175) – Refund Credit = Net UFMIP Owed
The table below shows how the numbers play out across loan amounts realistic for Colorado borrowers, from the Colorado Springs and Fountain area through Castle Rock and the Denver suburbs:
| Original UFMIP Paid | Month of Refinance | Refund % | Credit Applied | Net New UFMIP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6,125 ($350K loan) | Month 8 | ~66% | $4,043 | $2,082 |
| $6,125 ($350K loan) | Month 12 | 58% | $3,553 | $2,572 |
| $6,125 ($350K loan) | Month 24 | 34% | $2,083 | $4,043 |
| $7,875 ($450K loan) | Month 8 | ~66% | $5,198 | $2,678 |
| $7,875 ($450K loan) | Month 18 | 46% | $3,623 | $4,253 |
| $7,875 ($450K loan) | Month 37+ | 0% | $0 | $7,875 |
*Net new UFMIP assumes the same loan amount on the refinance. Your actual new loan amount may differ.
Once you know the net UFMIP and whether you’re rolling it into the new loan balance, you can use a mortgage payment calculator to see the full monthly payment on the new loan and run the break-even math.
FHA Streamline Refund Credit: What a Monument Homeowner Actually Got Back
A Monument homeowner closed on an FHA loan 14 months earlier at a rate that made sense at the time. When rates dropped, they reached out to explore an FHA Streamline Refinance. Their original loan was $360,000, putting the UFMIP they paid at closing at $6,300.
The problem: they had planned to use the refund credit to offset their prepaid costs and appraisal fee. At month 14, the refund percentage sits at approximately 54%, which gave them a credit of about $3,402. Per HUD guidelines, that credit reduces the new loan’s UFMIP, not the other closing costs they were counting on. Their cash-to-close requirement didn’t change the way they expected.
Once the lender walked through how the credit actually works, the numbers still held up. The net UFMIP on the new loan dropped from $6,300 to roughly $2,898. The monthly payment fell enough to hit break-even in under 30 months. They closed, but with a clearer picture of where the savings actually showed up.
What This Means for Your Situation
Whether the refund credit makes a refinance worth doing depends on where you are in the 36-month window. Early in the window with a meaningful rate drop, the credit substantially reduces the cost of the new loan. Later in the window with a smaller credit and the same closing costs to recover, the break-even timeline gets longer. Your loan amount and how long you plan to stay in the home both shift the math considerably.
Who Qualifies for the FHA MIP Refund
The eligibility rules are firm. Per HUD guidelines, only borrowers who refinance an existing FHA-insured loan into a new FHA-insured loan within 36 months of the original closing date can claim the UFMIP refund credit. Four conditions must be true:
- Your current loan must be FHA-insured.
- Your new loan must also be FHA-insured. Refinancing from FHA into a conventional loan forfeits the credit entirely, even if you’re only a few months into your FHA loan.
- The new loan must close within 36 months of the original FHA closing date. Day one of month 37 means zero credit. There’s no grace period.
- Your loan must be current at the time of refinance. Loans in default or active forbearance typically don’t qualify.
Your lender handles the mechanics. You don’t submit a separate request for the refund. The lender calculates the credit during underwriting and applies it at closing automatically.
The FHA-to-Conventional Trade-Off
One trade-off worth understanding directly: refinancing from FHA into a conventional loan forfeits the UFMIP credit, but it also removes the life-of-loan annual MIP that most FHA borrowers with less than 10% down carry. On a $400,000 FHA loan, that annual MIP runs about $183 per month. Over the remaining 25 years of a 30-year term, that’s roughly $55,000 in mortgage insurance costs that a conventional refinance eliminates. On a $450,000 loan at month 18, you’d give up about $3,600 in refund credit to exit FHA and stop the life-of-loan MIP. That trade-off may or may not favor the refund, depending on your equity, your new rate, and how long you plan to stay.
Working with a lender who models both paths gives you the actual numbers for your situation rather than a general rule. The right answer isn’t the same for a borrower at month 10 with limited equity and one at month 30 with 25% equity and a competitive conventional rate available.
Does Timing Your Refinance Actually Matter?
Yes, though not as the only factor. Each month you wait reduces the refund credit by roughly two percentage points of the original UFMIP. On a loan where you paid $7,000 at closing, waiting six extra months means forfeiting about $840 in credit. That’s real money, but interest rate savings, total closing costs, and how long you plan to stay in the home typically carry more weight.
The MIP refund credit reduces the cost of the new loan’s UFMIP. That’s a genuine benefit. But it’s one input in a broader break-even calculation. Borrowers who rush into a refinance to capture a larger credit sometimes overlook that, per CFPB guidance, closing costs on a new loan typically run 2% to 3% of the loan amount, and the credit only offsets one of those costs. Running the full break-even math matters more than maximizing the refund percentage.
Where timing actually changes the outcome is around the 36-month cutoff. We’ve seen borrowers lose the credit entirely because they assumed “close to three years” still fell within the window. Day one of month 37 means zero credit. If your original FHA closing was more than 30 months ago, verify the exact date before deciding to wait another month or two. That assumption has cost Colorado and Florida borrowers thousands in credit that simply expired.
The CFPB’s resources on owning a home cover the fundamentals of refinance timing and cost analysis for homeowners who want a broader framework. Our own mortgage refinance guide walks through the specific scenarios where refinancing makes financial sense, including FHA-to-FHA versus FHA-to-conventional, with break-even examples built for Colorado and Florida borrowers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Assuming the Refund Covers Closing Costs
The UFMIP refund credit applies to the new loan’s upfront premium, not to appraisal fees, prepaid interest, or other closing costs. Borrowers who budget for the credit to reduce their cash-to-close often find themselves short at the table. The credit reduces what you finance, not what you pay out of pocket for other fees.
Missing the 36-Month Cutoff by a Few Weeks
The deadline is firm. Borrowers at month 34 or 35 sometimes delay a few weeks expecting flexibility that doesn’t exist. Verify your original closing date and count forward before making any timing decision near the three-year mark. The credit drops to zero with no exceptions on day one of month 37.
Refinancing Just to Capture the Credit
The refund credit reduces the cost of the new loan’s UFMIP, but a refinance also adds closing costs and often resets the loan term. Chasing the credit without running a full break-even analysis can result in spending more overall than you recover. The credit is one piece of the math, not a reason to refinance on its own.
Questions to Ask Your Lender
- How many months have passed since my original FHA closing? What is my current refund percentage?
- What is my refund credit in dollars, and how does it reduce the net UFMIP on the new loan?
- Does the refund credit change my cash-to-close amount, or only the loan balance?
- Given my current equity and credit profile, does a conventional refinance save more over the long term than staying in FHA?
- What is the break-even point on this refinance after factoring in closing costs, the refund credit, and my monthly savings?
- Have I passed the 210-day waiting period required for an FHA Streamline Refinance?
Find Out If a Refinance Actually Pencils Out
Our refinance tools let you compare your current rate against today's options, calculate your break-even timeline, and model a cash-out scenario — so you know whether it makes sense before you apply.
Open the Refinance ToolsFrequently Asked Questions
No. The refund is not a cash payment and will not be deposited into your bank account. Per HUD guidelines, the UFMIP refund credit applies directly to the upfront mortgage insurance premium on the new FHA loan at closing. It reduces the amount you owe on that new premium, which in turn reduces your loan balance if you roll the premium in. It does not offset appraisal fees, prepaid interest, or other closing costs.
No. The UFMIP refund credit only applies when refinancing from one FHA-insured loan into another FHA-insured loan. If you refinance from FHA into a conventional loan, no credit applies, even if you’re only a few months into your original FHA loan. Exiting FHA forfeits the credit, but it also removes the life-of-loan annual MIP requirement that applies to most FHA borrowers with less than 10% down. Whether that trade-off favors the refund depends on your equity, rate, and how long you plan to stay in the home.
No. The refund chart applies only to the upfront mortgage insurance premium paid at closing. The annual MIP built into your monthly mortgage payment is not refunded when you refinance. Those payments covered the period your loan was active. Your new FHA loan will carry its own annual MIP calculated on the new loan amount and term.
Your original UFMIP amount appears on the Closing Disclosure from when you closed the FHA loan. If you don’t have that document, multiply your original loan amount by 1.75% to calculate it. Your loan servicer can confirm the original loan amount if you need it. During a refinance consultation, a lender can also look up your original loan details and calculate the current refund credit based on how many months have passed.
If the refund credit exceeds the new loan’s UFMIP, the new upfront premium drops to zero. Per HUD guidelines, any amount above the new UFMIP does not come back to you as cash. HUD absorbs the excess rather than returning it. This situation is most common when the new loan amount is smaller than the original, or when the refinance happens very early in the original loan’s life.
