A 15-year mortgage isn’t for everyone, however. Your monthly payment will likely rise because you’re compressing the repayment schedule over a shorter period. (To come out with a similar payment, you’d generally need to be in the last 10 or 12 years of a 30-year mortgage and refinance to a similar rate.)

As a result, you’ll have less cushion in your monthly budget, particularly if you’re on a fixed income or in retirement. That extra money you’ll be spending could earn a greater rate of return invested elsewhere. You’ll also have less to deduct in mortgage interest on your taxes.

Yet if you have sufficient cash flow, this strategy can be advantageous, despite the higher monthly payment.

When is it a good idea to refinance to a 15-year mortgage?

Good candidates for a 15-year refinance include homeowners who have lived in their home for several years, with a monthly budget and income that allow for the higher payment and wiggle room for other expenses, including repairs, maintenance and emergencies.

In general, it is a good idea to refinance to a 15-year loan if:

• You can get a lower rate than your current mortgage rate, ideally by at least a half to three quarters of a percentage point.
• You’ll be in your home long-term.
• You can afford the higher monthly payment.
• Your credit score or income has increased since you were first approved for your loan.
• You have 15 (or more) years remaining on your mortgage.

Pros and cons of refinancing to a 15-year mortgage

Pros of refinancing to a 15-year mortgage

• Interest rates for 15-year mortgages are often lower than those on 30-year mortgages. That lower rate, plus a shorter repayment period, can save you tens of thousands (or more) in interest.
• Paying off your mortgage at a faster pace allows you to build equity more quickly. You can tap that equity in the future via a home equity loan, home equity line of credit (HELOC) or cash-out refinance.
• You might even reduce your monthly payments if the new rate is significantly lower than the existing rate.

Cons of refinancing to a 15-year mortgage

• You’ll need to pay for closing costs. If you can’t afford the closing costs of a 15-year refi upfront, you won’t save as much as you hope to.
• Tying all your money up in your home can be risky, especially if you don’t have an adequate emergency fund.
• A higher payment can squeeze you monthly budget. If you refi to a 15-year loan and your payments go up, you’ll need to be able to afford that increase on top of other obligations month to month.
• A higher payment can make it harder for you to make more valuable investments. If more of your monthly budget is going to your mortgage, you might have less to contribute to a retirement plan, other investments and emergency savings, or paying down debt. Along with that, it can make it harder to qualify for other forms of credit like a car loan, since your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio would be higher.
• Refinancing takes time. The process to refinance involves lots of paperwork and waiting, which can be inconvenient. In addition, applying for a refinance is the same as applying for new credit, which temporarily lowers your credit score.

15-year vs. 30-year mortgage payment schedule

Before converting to a 15-year mortgage, carefully consider the impact on your finances. Evaluate your ability to pay monthly expenses and how the higher payment will affect your capacity to pay down debts and invest, versus staying pat with the remaining term on your existing 30-year mortgage.

If your goal is merely to pay down your mortgage faster, you can accomplish this by simply making periodic extra payments on your existing mortgage loan. If you make enough extra payments over your loan term, you can easily shave time off your loan — even 15 years if you prepay aggressively.

The catch with this strategy is that you might pay a higher interest rate on your current 30-year mortgage compared with a new 15-year loan. You’ll also have the hassle of managing, specifying and sending in extra payments that will need to be applied to your loan principal.

Let’s examine how a lower interest rate and shorter loan term affect the principal amount of a mortgage. In the following scenario, a homeowner with a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage can pay it off in 15 years by adding $468 to each monthly payment.

Important considerations before you refinance into a 15-year mortgage

1. Can you afford the higher monthly payment?
2. Is the money you ultimately save worth the higher payment every month, keeping in mind other goals you may have for the money?
3. Does the refinance still make sense when accounting for the closing costs on the new loan?
4. Is the hassle of the refinance worth the monetary benefit?
5. Will refinancing and paying more each month deplete your savings and emergency funds?
6. Instead of making higher monthly payments, could you invest the extra money and earn a higher rate of return than the mortgage interest rate you’ll pay?
7. Do you have other outstanding higher-interest debt (including credit card debt) that you should pay down first?
8. Do you plan to remain in your home for several years after refinancing so that you can at least recoup what you paid in refinance closing costs?
9. How many years remain on your current home loan? If it’s less than 18 years, is refinancing to a new 15-year loan worth it?
10. How secure is your job? What would happen if you became unemployed or earned less in the future?
11. Is it smarter and easier to simply make accelerated payments on your current mortgage?
12. How much longer will you be eligible to deduct your mortgage interest paid if you refinance to a 15-year loan?

Next steps on refinancing into a 15-year mortgage

If you’re ready to refinance to a 15-year mortgage, shop around carefully and compare current mortgage refinance rates from different lenders.