What Is an Accelerated Biweekly Mortgage Payment?

An accelerated biweekly mortgage schedule means making a mortgage payment every two weeks that is approximately half of your regular monthly payment.

Because there are 26 biweekly periods in a year, paying half of your monthly payment every two weeks results in approximately 13 monthly payments being made each year instead of 12.

How Much Extra Do You Pay?

For example, if your regular mortgage payment is $3,000 per month, an accelerated biweekly payment would be approximately $1,500 every two weeks.

Over 26 payments, that would equal approximately $39,000 per year, compared with $36,000 from twelve monthly payments.

The additional amount can reduce your mortgage principal faster, which may reduce the total interest paid over the life of the mortgage.

Accelerated Biweekly vs Regular Biweekly

Regular biweekly payments generally divide the annual monthly payment amount across 26 payments.

Accelerated biweekly payments generally use half of the monthly payment for each biweekly payment. This means the borrower pays more over the course of a year and can potentially pay off the mortgage faster.

Before Switching Payment Frequency

Check your mortgage agreement and speak with your lender before changing your payment schedule. Mortgage contracts can have specific payment options and prepayment conditions.