You've decided to send the final payment on your mortgage, and the number on last month's statement is not the number your servicer will actually accept.
Key Takeaways
- A payoff quote is a servicer-issued statement of the exact amount that will close your loan, valid only through a stated "good through" date.
- Federal law requires your servicer to send an accurate payoff statement within 7 business days of a written request (Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3)).
- Interest keeps accruing daily after the quote is issued — on the site's standard $320,000 loan at 6.5%, that works out to roughly $57 a day, more on a larger balance.
- Your current balance and your true payoff amount are rarely the same number; the gap is usually a few hundred dollars in unpaid interest and fees.
- On that same $320,000 loan at 6.5%, an extra $200 a month cuts the term by about 6 years 7 months — worth checking before you assume you're further from payoff than you actually are.
- After the servicer processes your payoff, expect a lien release and any escrow refund within 20 to 30 days.
What Is a Mortgage Payoff Quote?
A mortgage payoff quote is a servicer-issued statement showing the exact dollar amount required to fully satisfy your loan through a specific date, including unpaid principal, interest accrued to that date, and any outstanding fees. It is not the same document as your monthly statement, and it is not the same number as your current balance.
Servicers call it different things — payoff statement, payoff letter, demand statement — but the content is standardized. You request it when you plan to sell the home, refinance, or send a lump sum that closes out the loan for good.
How Do You Request One From Your Servicer?
Most servicers accept the request three ways: a form in your online account portal, a phone call to the payoff department, or a written request mailed or faxed to the address in your servicing disclosure. A written request is the one federal law actually protects.
- Log into your servicer's portal and look for "Request a Payoff Statement," or call the number on your statement and ask for the payoff department, not general customer service.
- Give the date you intend to pay off the loan — the quote is calculated against that exact date, not "as soon as possible."
- Ask for the quote in writing, by mail, fax, or secure message, so you have the wire instructions and good-through date in front of you.
- Confirm the accepted payment method — wire, cashier's check, or ACH — because each servicer accepts a different set.
- Note the good-through date and the per diem interest rate printed on the statement.
Under Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3)), your servicer must send an accurate payoff statement within seven business days of a written request. Verbal requests are common and usually faster, but only a written request carries that legal deadline.
What's the Difference Between Your Balance and Your Payoff Amount?
Your monthly statement shows your outstanding principal balance as of your last payment date. Your payoff amount adds everything that accrues between that date and the day the servicer actually receives your funds: daily interest, any fees already assessed, and sometimes a small buffer the servicer refunds later if it overshoots.
This is also where extra payments cause confusion. If a payment you sent got applied as a prepaid future installment instead of straight to principal, your payoff amount will not reflect the reduction you expected. Why Didn't My Extra Payment Go to Principal? walks through how to check your amortization history for exactly that mistake before you request a payoff quote, so the number you receive isn't inflated by a servicer error you could have caught first.
Why Does a Payoff Quote Expire?
A payoff quote expires because interest is calculated daily on a mortgage, and the servicer has to lock in a single number for you to act on. The statement states a per diem rate — the dollar amount of interest that accrues for each additional day the loan stays open past the good-through date.
On a $320,000 loan at 6.5%, daily interest runs roughly $57 a day on the full balance, less as the balance is paid down. Miss the good-through date by even a week and the servicer either rejects your payment as short or applies it and bills you separately for the shortfall — either way it delays your closing.
What Does a Payoff Statement Actually Include?
A payoff statement is a fixed-format document, and comparing it to your regular monthly statement makes clear why the two numbers rarely match.
| Field | Monthly statement | Payoff statement |
|---|---|---|
| Balance shown | As of last payment date | As of a stated future "good through" date |
| Interest included | Interest already charged | Interest accrued through the good-through date |
| Per diem rate | Not shown | Shown, so you can adjust if you pay later |
| Fees and recording costs | Not itemized | Itemized separately |
| Wire or payment instructions | Standard payment coupon | Dedicated payoff wire instructions |
Read every line before you send funds. A payoff statement that includes a fee you don't recognize is worth a phone call before you wire the money, not after.
How Do You Send the Final Payment Without Delays?
Once you have the quote, the mechanics are simple, but the timing is not forgiving. Wire transfers typically settle same-day if sent before your servicer's cutoff; cashier's checks can take several business days to post and clear.
- Confirm the exact payoff amount and good-through date one more time by phone the morning you send funds.
- Use the wire or payment instructions printed on the payoff statement, not the routing number on your monthly coupon — payoff funds often route to a different account.
- Send on or before the good-through date; sending even one day late means the servicer applies a short payment and re-runs the payoff math.
- Keep the wire confirmation or certified mail receipt until you have written confirmation the loan is closed.
If you're not paying off the full balance yet but you're getting close, it's worth running the math on how much sooner a lump sum gets you there before you commit funds to it. Lump-Sum Payoff Strategy covers how a partial lump sum compares to holding cash back for the eventual full payoff, including when the smaller move makes more sense than waiting to pay off the whole balance at once.
What Mistakes Push a Payoff Past the Deadline?
The most common failure is sending the exact balance from a monthly statement instead of the payoff amount — that shortfall, even a few hundred dollars, means the loan stays open and interest keeps accruing on the difference.
A close second is waiting past the good-through date without requesting an updated quote. The servicer isn't required to accept a stale number, and most won't; they'll reject the payment or process it short and bill you for the gap.
Some homeowners hesitate to request a payoff quote at all, worried a servicer will pad the number or drag out the process to collect more interest. In practice, servicers have no financial incentive to delay a payoff that's already funded — they profit from being paid, not from stalling — and the seven-business-day disclosure deadline exists specifically so you can check the math yourself against your own amortization schedule before you send a dollar.
What Happens After the Servicer Receives Your Payoff?
Once the servicer confirms receipt, they close the loan internally and issue two things you should track: proof the lien is released and, if you had one, an escrow refund for whatever was left in the account. How Do You Get a Lien Release After Paying Off Your Mortgage? covers the recording timeline and what to do if the release doesn't show up at your county recorder's office within a few weeks.
Before you request your own quote, run your current numbers through the lump-sum payoff calculator — it shows how much interest a lump payment saves versus continuing on schedule, using your actual balance and rate rather than the site's standard example. That's the number to compare against whatever the servicer's payoff statement comes back showing. Talk to a CPA if a payoff or a large curtailment changes your tax picture for the year, particularly around the mortgage interest deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a mortgage payoff quote good for?
Most payoff quotes are valid through a single stated date, often 10 to 15 days out, sometimes just 24 hours if requested by phone. After that date, interest keeps accruing at the per diem rate printed on the statement, so the total you owe increases each day past the deadline. Always confirm the good-through date before scheduling your payment.
Does a mortgage payoff quote cost anything?
Most servicers provide the first payoff quote in a 12-month period free of charge. Some charge a small fee, often $20 to $30, for additional requests, expedited statements, or fax delivery. The fee, if any, is disclosed in your loan's servicing agreement, so check that before assuming it's free.
Can I pay off my mortgage using my regular online payment portal?
No. Regular payment portals are built for scheduled monthly payments and usually cap the amount you can submit, or they apply extra funds as a future prepaid installment instead of closing the loan. A full payoff requires the dedicated wire or certified-funds instructions on your payoff statement, sent by the good-through date.
What if my payoff quote seems too high?
Compare it line by line against your last statement's balance plus the per diem interest for the days between your last payment and the good-through date. If the gap is larger than that math explains, call the servicer's payoff department and ask them to itemize every fee before you send funds — servicers are required to provide an accurate statement, and errors do get corrected on request.
Do I need a payoff quote if I'm just making a large extra payment, not paying off the whole loan?
No. A payoff quote is only for closing the loan entirely. For a large payment that isn't the full balance, tell your servicer in writing to apply it directly to principal, then confirm on your next statement that the balance dropped by the full amount — that's a principal-curtailment request, not a payoff.