If you own a home, there could be times when you may want to withdraw equity from your home to put it to use elsewhere. A cash-out refinance (also called a “cash-out mortgage refinance” or a “cash-out refi”) is one way to do just that.
What is cash-out refinancing?
Cash-out refinancing allows a homeowner to pull money out of their home by refinancing their current mortgage for an amount that is greater than the existing loan.
Most of the new loan is typically used to pay off the original mortgage, and the owner can put whatever’s left over in the bank.
You can typically cash out a good portion, but not all, of the equity you’ve built up in your home. As with a traditional mortgage refinance, a cash-out refinance may have a different interest rate and term than your existing mortgage.
How a cash-out mortgage refinance works
For example, let’s start with a homeowner with a house worth $350,000 and an existing mortgage of $225,000. This means that they have built up $125,000 equity in their home. If they wanted to access some of that equity as cash—say, $50,000 of it—they could gain access through a cash-out refinance. By doing so, the existing mortgage would be paid off and the homeowner would enter into a new loan agreement for a loan worth $275,000.
The homeowner would then receive about $50,000 in cash, minus closing costs and fees imposed by their lender. These fees can include (but aren’t limited to) an application fee, appraisal fees, title search, loan origination fee, and more, all of which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
How much does a cash-out refinance cost?
It is important to keep in mind that the cash that the homeowner receives is not free money: They will be responsible for paying interest for that cash, as they would for any other kind of loan.
If you have a mortgage that you took out when interest rates were near historic lows, you may find that you’d have to pay a higher rate if you refinance. So not only will you be paying interest on the cash you take out of your home — the portion of the mortgage that represents new debt — you’ll also be paying a higher interest rate on the debt you already had.
In many cases, homeowners can get a lower interest rate when they refinance, particularly if they’re refinancing into a mortgage with a shorter repayment term. Most home buyers take out a 30-year mortgage when they purchase their home because it makes their monthly payments affordable. If you’re refinancing, you may have already been paying your mortgage for a number of years. Many borrowers choose a loan with a 15-year term when refinancing.
Make sure to compare rates and terms from several lenders. The points and fees charged by a particular lender can be just as important as the interest rate. The “loan estimate” disclosure that lenders are required to provide when you apply for a mortgage makes it easier to compare the offers you receive.
Common reasons for pursuing
Though there may be some restrictions to what you can use the cash you receive from your cash-out refinance if you want to be able to deduct the interest you pay on it from your yearly income taxes (more on that below), there is really nothing that you can’t spend the money on.
Some common reasons homeowners pursue a cash-out refinance include:
It is important to keep in mind, though, that taking equity out of your home by using a cash-out refinance for any reason involves risk. If you find yourself unable to pay your new mortgage, you could potentially face foreclosure and the loss of your home, since it is the collateral for your loan.
Requirements and restrictions
If you are interested in pursuing a cash-out refinance, be aware that there are typically a number of requirements and restrictions that lenders place on homeowners before agreeing to new terms.
Exact requirements for eligibility will depend on the lender supplying the cash-out refinance but typically aim to ensure your creditworthiness as a borrower. The factors considered often include:
Tax Implications
You will not have to pay income taxes on the money you receive through a cash-out refinance, because the money does not count as “income.”
You can claim the mortgage interest deduction for the “home acquisition” portion of your new loan — the amount that you owed on your old loan, plus any proceeds that you use to make improvements to your home — but the rules have changed.
The mortgage interest deduction allows you to deduct the interest you pay on qualified mortgage debt from your taxable income. It used to be that you could claim the mortgage interest deduction on up to $1.1 million in total mortgage debt, including up to $100,000 in home equity debt used for any purpose.
But starting with 2018 tax returns filed in 2019, interest paid on a cash-out refinance or home equity loan is only deductible if used to buy or make “substantial improvements” to your home. Plus, the total limit for newly originated loans is $750,000. So if you’re refinancing more than that, there could be tax implications (always consult with a tax advisor if you have questions).
Alternatives
Cash-out refinancing is not the only tool that homeowners have to access the equity that they have built up in their home. The alternatives below may also achieve that goal, though each carries its own advantages, disadvantages, risks, and tax implications.
Limited cash-out refinancing
A limited cash-out refinance is similar to a cash-out refinance described above in that it grants the homeowner access to some of the equity they have built in their home. Where it differs is in what that money can be used for.
Whereas money received from a cash-out refinance can generally be used for anything, money received from a limited cash-out refinance is typically limited to being used to:
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a line of credit that allows homeowners to access the equity in their home. It works similarly to a credit card in that the funds are accessed as needed, instead of as a lump sum (though there is often a minimum draw requirement).
The interest rate charged by a HELOC is typically variable, meaning it will ebb and flow along with an index like the prime rate or LIBOR. Like a cash-out refinance, a HELOC involves using your home as collateral.
Home equity loan
A home equity loan typically allows a homeowner to access the equity they have built in their home by taking out a second mortgage. Instead of having a line of credit, you’ll get a one-time, lump-sum payment from a lender.
These loans typically come with a fixed interest rate, allowing you to lock in a set payment amount for the life of the loan. Because a home equity loan is a second mortgage, interest rates may be slightly higher than for a new first mortgage.
The bottom line: choose carefully
Before tapping into their home equity in any way—whether through the use of a cash-out refinance, HELOC, or home equity loan—homeowners must carefully weigh the pros and cons of each option to determine which, if any, is in their best interest.
Though a cash-out refinance may supply homeowners with capital that can be used for home improvements, to pay down other debts, or to pursue other goals, it carries risk, specifically the risk of foreclosure in the event that they can no longer afford to repay the loan.