1. Your bills for the coming escrow year
The yearly amount is the full year's bill, not one installment: enter a tax paid in two installments as one row per installment, each with its own month. Use your actual tax bill and insurance declarations page where you have them.
2. What the statement says (optional, but this is what gets checked)
Fill in section 1, add what the statement says, then click Check the escrow numbers.
Result
Twelve-month balance schedule
| Month | Opening | Deposit | Bills paid | Closing |
|---|
Deposit is one-twelfth of the yearly bills; it lands before that month's bills. The shaded row is the lowest closing balance. The servicer's own worksheet is authoritative where it differs.
What if one bill changes?
Send it to the address the servicer designates for notices of error and information requests, which is on its website and usually on your statement. Edit it first.
The rules, and what they leave out
- Monthly payment: one-twelfth of the yearly bills that the servicer reasonably expects to pay from the account (12 CFR 1024.17(c)(1)(ii)), plus any amount recovering a shortage.
- Cushion: no greater than one-sixth of the yearly disbursements, which is two months of the payment (12 CFR 1024.17(c)(5)). The servicer may hold less.
- Balance needed at the start of the year: the cushion minus the lowest point of cumulative deposits less bills over the twelve months, using aggregate accounting (12 CFR 1024.17(c)(4)).
- Shortage: your starting balance is below that figure. Repaid over at least twelve months, or within 30 days if it is under one month's payment (12 CFR 1024.17(f)(3)).
- Deficiency: the balance would go negative. May be repaid in two or more payments (12 CFR 1024.17(f)(4)).
- Surplus: $50 or more is refunded within 30 days when the account is current (12 CFR 1024.17(f)(2)).
- Amount in question adds the yearly effect of each flagged item that has one. It is the most that could be affected, not a refund you are owed.
- Not checked: the servicer's own worksheet, disbursement dates other than the month you enter, state law, your loan documents (which may set stricter terms), escrow waivers, whether a tax or insurance bill is itself correct, and anything not typed above.
- Unverified: the rules were read from the published regulation, but the arithmetic has been run only against invented statements and worked by hand, not against a real servicer's worksheet. If a real statement disagrees, that is the priority report.
Common questions
Why did my mortgage escrow payment go up?
Your servicer collects one-twelfth of your yearly property tax and homeowners insurance each month. When either bill rises, or when the account balance falls short of what the servicer projects it needs, the annual escrow analysis raises the payment. There are usually two parts: the higher monthly share of the new bills, and an extra amount that recovers any shortage, often spread over twelve months so it drops off the following year. This tool separates the two and shows what your own bills and starting balance imply.
What is an escrow shortage, and do I have to pay it all at once?
A shortage means the projected balance at the lowest point of the coming year is below the cushion the servicer aims for. Under Regulation X, when the shortage is at least one month's escrow payment the servicer may require it to be repaid in equal monthly payments over at least twelve months. When it is smaller, the servicer may ask for it within 30 days or spread it over at least twelve months. A deficiency, meaning a negative projected balance, may be repaid faster, in two or more payments. You can usually choose to pay a shortage in a lump sum to lower the monthly payment.
How much cushion can my lender keep in escrow?
At most one-sixth of the estimated total annual disbursements from the account, which is two months of the escrow payment. The lender may hold less. If the statement shows a larger cushion, ask which yearly amounts it used, because a difference in inputs can explain it.
How is my escrow payment calculated?
The servicer projects the year's bills and when each is due, sets the monthly deposit at one-twelfth of the total, and projects the balance month by month using aggregate accounting. The balance needed at the start of the year is the cushion minus the lowest point of deposits less bills over the year. If your starting balance is below that, the gap is a shortage. This tool repeats the arithmetic from the numbers you enter and shows the twelve-month schedule.
Do I get a refund if there is an escrow surplus?
If the analysis finds a surplus of $50 or more and you are current on the loan, the servicer must refund it within 30 days of the analysis. A surplus under $50 may be refunded or credited against next year's payments. Check that the refund arrived and that the new payment was not set as if the money were still needed.
Does this prove my servicer made a mistake?
No. The tool works from the numbers you type and cannot see the servicer's worksheet. A difference is a question to put to the servicer, and it can come from a different bill amount, a different payment month or a starting balance the servicer projected differently. The amounts shown are what is in question, not money you are owed.
What do I need from my statement?
The annual escrow account statement lists the projected yearly payments for tax and insurance, the month each is paid, the projected balance at the start of the new year, the new monthly payment and any shortage or surplus. Use your actual tax bill and insurance declarations page for the yearly amounts if you have them, and the statement for the rest.
Is my mortgage information uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything you type stays in this browser tab. There are no accounts, cookies or analytics vendors.