Reverse Mortgage Limit
A HECM starts with the maximum claim amount, which cannot exceed $1,249,125 for 2026. The most you can receive before any money is paid out is a separate number, the principal limit. Required costs, payoffs and set-asides are then subtracted from it.
Quick answer
Saxton Mortgage does. For 2026, the HECM maximum claim amount limit is $1,249,125, and the same limit applies in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Your maximum claim amount is the lower of the appraised value or that limit, and on a HECM for Purchase it is the lowest of the limit, the appraised value or the purchase price. If FHA requires a second appraisal, the lower of the two values is used.
Three numbers set the amount
Each step below is an FHA rule or a rule of our reverse mortgage program. Together they decide how much money a HECM can provide, and when.
- Maximum claim amount: the lowest of the appraised value, the FHA HECM limit, or, on a purchase only, the sale price.
- FHA HECM limit: $1,249,125 for January 1 through December 31, 2026. The same limit applies in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
- Principal limit: the maximum claim amount multiplied by an FHA principal limit factor, which is based on the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse and the expected rate.
- First 12 months: on both fixed and adjustable rate loans, a first-year limit caps what can be paid out at the start.
- Net principal limit: what remains after costs paid at closing and any funds set aside for servicing fees, repairs after closing, taxes and insurance, or first-year property charges.
- Ceiling: all advances combined can never exceed the principal limit. If proceeds cannot cover what must be paid, you bring funds to closing.
The lowest value counts
One limit for 2026
Age and rate set it
A first-year cap applies
Set-asides reduce your funds
Never more than the limit
How The Limit Is Set
The FHA HECM limit caps the maximum claim amount, not the money you receive. Your principal limit and the first-year rules decide how much is available, and when.
The maximum claim amount is the lesser of the appraised value, the FHA HECM limit, or, on a HECM for Purchase only, the sale price. For a HECM on a home you already own, or a HECM to HECM refinance, it is the lower of the appraised value or the FHA HECM limit. The National Housing Act sets the national limit, and FHA publishes updated limits for each calendar year. If FHA’s review of the appraisal calls for a second appraisal, the lower of the two values is used. Closing costs are not counted in the appraised value.
Your principal limit is the most you can receive before any money is paid out. The lender multiplies the maximum claim amount by a principal limit factor from FHA’s tables. That factor depends on the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse and on the expected rate. Age is rounded up to the next whole year if the next birthday is less than 183 days after closing. The expected rate is the interest rate used to calculate the principal limit at closing. On a fixed rate HECM it is the same as the note rate. On an adjustable rate HECM it is the lender’s margin plus a published Treasury index.
From there, the principal limit is reduced to what you can actually use. Mandatory obligations, the fees and charges required to get the loan, including payoff of existing liens on the home, are paid at closing or during the first 12 months. Funds set aside for servicing fees, repairs, or taxes and insurance are held back too. To compare draw choices on an adjustable rate loan, see our reverse mortgage line of credit page.
Why borrowers ask Saxton
This page is for homeowners 62 and older, and the family helping them, who want to know how much a HECM can provide before they apply.
The Limit Is A Cap
The $1,249,125 limit for 2026 caps the maximum claim amount. Your principal limit is calculated from that amount using age and the expected rate, and costs, payoffs and set-asides come out of the principal limit.
Younger Spouse Sets The Age
If your eligible non-borrowing spouse is younger than you, the principal limit is based on the spouse’s age. If you are 62 and your eligible spouse is 55, age 55 is used. The age of an ineligible non-borrowing spouse is not used; the lender only discloses what would have been available if that spouse were eligible.
FHA Software Runs The Math
Lenders and HECM counselors must use printouts from FHA’s HECM calculator software, or similar software that produces the same information, to calculate your principal limit and compare payment plan options. You must also be given an analysis of the HECM’s costs versus its benefits.
Fixed Rate Is One Advance
A fixed rate HECM pays a single lump sum at closing, within the first-year limit. Even though its principal limit grows each month, no further funds become available after that advance, except from a set-aside created at closing.
Adjustable Rate Stays Open
An adjustable rate HECM offers term, tenure, line of credit, modified term and modified tenure plans. Its principal limit increases each month, and you can change plans later if funds are available. The lender cannot require any draw to exceed a minimum amount.
Not Every Debt Qualifies
Judgments that are not liens on your home, and liens on leased equipment or a leased energy system, cannot be paid off at closing with HECM proceeds. Amounts needed to clear existing liens on the home are mandatory obligations.
Hear From Homeowners Like You
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about how much a reverse mortgage can provide.
Saxton Mortgage does. For 2026, the HECM maximum claim amount limit is $1,249,125, and the same limit applies in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Your maximum claim amount is the lower of the appraised value or that limit, and on a HECM for Purchase it is the lowest of the limit, the appraised value or the purchase price. If FHA requires a second appraisal, the lower of the two values is used.
No. For 2026, $1,249,125 is the most the maximum claim amount can be. The maximum claim amount is the lowest of your appraised value, that limit, or on a purchase, the sale price. The most you can receive before any money is paid out is your principal limit, which is calculated from the maximum claim amount, and costs, payoffs and set-asides come out of it.
Three inputs: the maximum claim amount, the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse, and the expected rate. The lender multiplies the maximum claim amount by an FHA principal limit factor based on that age and rate. Age is rounded up to the next whole year if the next birthday is less than 183 days after closing.
What you can take in the first 12 months is limited. The principal limit may increase monthly, but there are restrictions on paying out funds during the first 12 months. On an adjustable rate HECM, a first-year limit caps what is paid at closing and during the first 12 months. On a fixed rate HECM, it caps the one advance at closing, and nothing more becomes available later except from a set-aside created at closing.
No. On an adjustable rate HECM, you tell the lender how much of the principal limit beyond mandatory obligations you will draw, or leave available, during the first 12 months. You cannot raise or lower that choice after closing. The first 12 months run from the day of closing to the day before the anniversary of closing.
FHA reviews the appraisal, and that review may call for a second one before the HECM is approved or closed. If it does, the lower of the two values is used. You may have to pay for the second appraisal. In our program it should not be ordered from the first appraisal company, and its cost can be financed as part of closing costs.
Mandatory obligations, which include the fees and charges required to get the loan and amounts needed to clear existing liens on the home. Set-asides hold back more: a tax and insurance set-aside may be required based on your financial assessment, and some required repairs can be finished after closing using a repair set-aside. If proceeds fall short, you bring funds to closing to cover the difference.
On a HECM for Purchase, the maximum claim amount is the lowest of the FHA HECM limit, the appraised value, or the purchase price. You must provide the difference between the principal limit and the sale price, plus any HECM fees not financed into the loan, minus your earnest money deposit.
Find out what you qualify for
Tell us about your home and what you want the money to do, and we will walk you through how your principal limit and first-year limit would be calculated.
Get Pre-Qualified- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA and housing resources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA mortgage insurance premiums
Loan amounts, rates, terms, and eligibility are subject to credit approval, asset and income verification, appraisal, and program guidelines. Program availability varies by state. Not all applicants will qualify. Saxton Mortgage, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender.