What Is a Biweekly Mortgage Payment?

A biweekly mortgage payment means making a payment every two weeks instead of once a month. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, this results in approximately 26 payments each year.

Regular Biweekly vs. Accelerated Biweekly

With a regular biweekly schedule, the monthly mortgage payment is converted into a biweekly amount. Over a year, the total amount paid is generally similar to making 12 monthly payments.

An accelerated biweekly schedule generally involves paying half of the monthly payment every two weeks. Because there are 26 biweekly payments in a year, you effectively make the equivalent of one additional monthly payment each year.

Why Can Accelerated Biweekly Payments Save Money?

The additional payments reduce your mortgage principal faster. Because interest is calculated using the outstanding mortgage balance, reducing the balance sooner can reduce the total interest paid over the life of the mortgage.

Example

Suppose your monthly mortgage payment is $3,000. A regular biweekly payment would be approximately $1,385, while an accelerated biweekly payment would be approximately $1,500.

The accelerated option results in more money being paid toward the mortgage each year, which can shorten the amortization period and reduce total interest.