United States Mortgage Payment Worksheet: Compare Your Loan Documents

Start with the two forms your lender supplied

Use this US worksheet only when your lender has supplied both a Loan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure for the loan you are comparing. Ask which versions are current. Record their dates and check that the borrower, property, loan amount and product refer to the same comparison before copying any payment figures.

The CFPB describes the Loan Estimate as information about expected loan terms and costs, and the Closing Disclosure as final loan details including projected payments. The CFPB directs readers to compare the disclosure with their most recent estimate. This guide follows that document-reading purpose; it does not decide which forms a different loan must use.

Identify the components before comparing the total

Find the principal-and-interest information, any applicable mortgage insurance, the escrow information and the estimated total monthly payment. Which row shows principal and interest? Copy that figure as a component rather than assuming it is the whole payment. Interest is a borrowing charge, so the combined principal-and-interest figure is not all repayment of borrowed principal.

The CFPB payment FAQ identifies the Loan Estimate’s Projected Payments section. Match the labels in your own copies. If you cannot find the corresponding information on both forms, mark the comparison unresolved and ask your lender to identify it.

Make a blank component log in your own notes

Create a row for each component below, with columns for the dated Loan Estimate, the dated Closing Disclosure and an explanation still needed. Leave an unanswered entry marked Not shown or Needs clarification. Do not turn an absent or unclear entry into zero. This is MarkMyProperty’s organizational worksheet, not an official CFPB form.

Principal and interest: record the figure and any period attached to it on each document. Keep the interest charge concept separate from repayment of principal when asking what the component represents.

Mortgage insurance: record what each form shows, including whether the component applies. Keep it distinct from homeowners insurance; if the wording is unclear, ask the lender which expense the line describes.

Escrow contribution: record the escrow information supplied by each document. The Closing Disclosure explainer uses the label Estimated Escrow. Ask your lender to identify the corresponding information in your Loan Estimate rather than assuming that exact label appears there.

Total monthly payment: copy the estimated total shown for the period being compared. Keep any estimate or projected wording. If the document displays multiple periods, preserve them as separate entries and ask what changes between them.

Keep separately payable expenses visible

The CFPB explains that an escrow, or impound, account is used for certain property expenses. Contributions come through the mortgage payment and the servicer pays the relevant bills. Those contributions can change when the underlying bills change. Ask what is included in your actual arrangement and what supports an estimate you do not understand.

Read the Estimated Taxes, Insurance & Assessments information and its escrow indicators. For any expense identified as payable separately by your documents or lender or servicer, note the amount, payer and due date in a separate row. Include any separately payable association charge identified for your property. An expense outside the lender payment remains a question to track, rather than something to assume included.

Follow one difference at a time

Place the component rows beside each other before looking at the two totals. Mark which entries match, which differ and which cannot yet be compared. If principal and interest match but the total differs, use the other rows to locate the difference. The worksheet identifies a question; it does not establish the reason or correctness of a change.

Ask the lender to connect each explanation with the dated documents. For a changed escrow figure, ask which underlying estimate changed. For a newly shown charge, ask what it represents and whether it belongs in the recurring payment or a separate expense row. Keep the original entry until you have an understandable explanation or corrected document.

Keep initial and closing amounts outside the monthly log

The Closing Disclosure’s Initial Escrow Payment at Closing establishes the account’s opening balance. Keep that initial amount distinct from the recurring escrow contribution. Ask how it is reflected in the document instead of adding it to a monthly component.

Copy the closing-cash amounts displayed on the two forms and ask how changed entries, prior payments and credits were reflected. Do not reconstruct a universal formula from this worksheet. Use our existing US closing-cost guide for the wider upfront-budget discussion.

Keep the explanation with the document version

For each open question, record the response date, the responder’s role and the document version discussed. Ask which version to use after a correction. Keep financial documents in your private records rather than public listing text. A filled-in log does not approve a loan or verify that any figure is suitable for your household.

MarkMyProperty publishes this general financial education independently, without CFPB endorsement. It explains document components and questions to take to your lender. It does not recommend a loan, payment level or tax treatment, or determine legal rights, deadlines, eligibility or affordability.