A reverse mortgage on a home worth exactly $1,249,125
The ceiling of the FHA program in 2026: where the figure comes from, the largest principal limit any borrower can reach at each age, and the highest upfront insurance bill.
Principal limit factor, age 81 at 6.625 %
0.473
$1,249,125 × 0.473 = $590,836 of principal limit, before any cost.
| Expected rate entered | 6.65 % |
| Rate row of the table | 6.625 % |
| Age row of the table | 81 |
| Maximum claim amount | $1,249,125 |
| Principal limit | $590,836 |
| Age | 6.125 % | 6.375 % | 6.625 % | 6.875 % | 7.125 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 0.351 | 0.339 | 0.328 | 0.317 | 0.307 |
| 65 | 0.372 | 0.361 | 0.349 | 0.338 | 0.328 |
| 70 | 0.409 | 0.397 | 0.386 | 0.375 | 0.365 |
| 75 | 0.438 | 0.426 | 0.415 | 0.405 | 0.394 |
| 80 | 0.482 | 0.472 | 0.461 | 0.451 | 0.441 |
| 85 | 0.544 | 0.535 | 0.525 | 0.516 | 0.507 |
| 90 | 0.614 | 0.606 | 0.598 | 0.590 | 0.582 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · factors read on hud.gov · not a loan offer
A home appraised at $1,249,125 gets the largest HECM the FHA insures in 2026, because that figure is the national maximum claim amount set by Mortgagee Letter 2025-22: 150 % of the $832,750 conforming loan limit, the same in every county. At an expected rate of 6.65 % (10-year Treasury plus an example margin of 1.5 %), the principal limit is $409,713 at 62, $518,387 at 75 and $746,977 at 90, the highest amounts any borrower of those ages can reach this year. The upfront mortgage insurance is also at its peak: $24,982.50, 2 % of the limit. The origination fee stays at $6,000, only 0.48 % of the value. An 81-year-old with no mortgage can use $323,519 in the first 12 months and $236,334 more later.
Where the 2026 ceiling comes from
The figure is not a round number because it is a multiple of another limit. Mortgagee Letter 2025-22, dated December 11, 2025, sets the HECM maximum claim amount (MCA) for 2026 at $1,249,125, which it describes as 150 % of Freddie Mac's national conforming limit of $832,750. It applies to FHA case numbers assigned from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026, in every county, including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands. In 2025 it was $1,209,750, so the ceiling rose by $39,375.
The MCA is the lesser of the appraised value and this limit (and of the price, for a purchase). A home appraised at exactly $1,249,125 therefore counts in full: it is the most valuable home that loses nothing to the cap. The 2027 limit is not published yet; it is expected in December 2026, under the same rule of 150 % of the next conforming limit. The lending limit page follows its history.
The largest principal limit anyone can get, by age
With the MCA at the ceiling, the only things left to move the amount are the age of the youngest borrower and the expected rate, through HUD's principal limit factor (PLF) table. The middle column uses 6.625 %, the table cell for today's example rate of 6.65 %; the side columns show one point lower and one point higher. No 2026 HECM can lend more than the figure in its row and column.
| Age | At 5.625 % | At 6.625 % | At 7.625 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | $469,671 | $409,713 | $358,499 |
| 65 | $495,903 | $435,945 | $384,731 |
| 70 | $540,871 | $482,162 | $430,948 |
| 75 | $575,847 | $518,387 | $468,422 |
| 80 | $630,808 | $575,847 | $527,131 |
| 85 | $704,506 | $655,791 | $610,822 |
| 90 | $788,198 | $746,977 | $707,005 |
| 95 | $886,879 | $855,651 | $825,672 |
A point of expected rate is worth tens of thousands of dollars at this size: at 70, from $540,871 to $430,948. The expected rate is the 10-year Treasury rate plus the lender's margin, so at this size a quarter point of margin is worth $13,740 of principal limit at 70.
Your row of the table at the limit
Principal limit factor, age 77 at 6.875 %
0.422
| Expected rate entered | 6.9 % |
| Rate row of the table | 6.875 % |
| Age row of the table | 77 |
| Maximum claim amount | $1,249,125 |
The highest upfront insurance bill
The upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) is 2 % of the MCA, the rate set by Mortgagee Letter 2017-12. At the ceiling that is $24,982.50, the largest premium any HECM pays in 2026. A home worth $2,498,250 pays the same amount, because its MCA is capped too. After closing, the annual premium of 0.5 % is charged on the balance, not on the MCA, so it depends on how much you draw.
The origination fee reached its $6,000 cap long before this value, at $400,000 (24 CFR 206.31). Here it is 0.48 % of the home. Insurance and fee together come to $30,983, 5.2 % of the principal limit at 81.
Annual MIP on a balance at the limit
Upfront mortgage insurance
$24,983
| Maximum claim amount | $1,249,125 |
| Upfront rate | 2 % |
| Annual rate on the balance | 0.5 % |
| Annual MIP, first year | $1,545 |
Our worked case: 81 years old, home worth $1,249,125, no mortgage
At 81 and 6.625 %, HUD's factor is 0.473, so the principal limit is $590,836. The obligations at closing are the $24,982.50 premium and the $6,000 fee. With no debt, the first-year limit is 60 % of the principal limit, $354,502, which leaves $323,519 to use after the charges. The remaining $236,334 opens after month 12 on an adjustable loan, and grows while unused.
On a fixed-rate HECM the picture changes sharply at this size. The fixed loan pays a single lump sum at closing, limited to the first-year amount: $323,519 here. The other $236,334 of principal limit can never be drawn. At this rate, no fixed-rate borrower of 81 can leave more on the table in 2026, and the lump sum page looks at that trade.
When a younger spouse sets the row
The ceiling caps the value, not the age effect. If the 81-year-old is married to a spouse of 66, and the spouse is either a co-borrower or an eligible non-borrowing spouse, HUD's table is read at 66. On the same home the principal limit drops from $590,836 to $445,938, a difference of $144,899, and the first-year cash from $323,519 to $236,580. The loan is sized for the younger spouse's longer horizon, and that costs principal limit. The non-borrowing spouse page sets out the conditions.
Ten years of an unused line at the ceiling
Because the principal limit is the largest possible, so is the growth of an untouched line of credit. If the 81-year-old takes nothing beyond the financed charges, the unused line grows each month at the note rate plus 0.5 %. At a note rate of 5.99 % held for ten years, the room to borrow would reach about $1,069,479 at 91, while the balance, only the charges and their interest, would be near $59,185. Rates move, so read this as a size, not a forecast.
The calculator above reads the factor at the age and margin you enter, with the home value preset to the limit. Raising the value above $1,249,125 changes nothing in the result; the page on homes above the limit explains what happens to the part of the value the FHA does not count.