Conventional loan in Mississippi: what it costs on the median home, and when PMI ends

Mississippi buyers using a conventional loan face the same three questions everywhere — how much down, what it costs each month, when mortgage insurance ends — with answers that depend on the state’s $180,000 median and 0.75% effective property tax. This page works them out, then covers the Mississippi rules that touch the loan.

The Mississippi conforming limit and where jumbo starts

Two numbers decide the question in Mississippi: the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and the price you pay. Keep the loan at or under the limit — by price, by down payment, or with a conforming first plus a second lien — and you get Fannie/Freddie pricing and flexibility (3% down programs, automated underwriting, appraisal waivers). At the state median of $180,000, every scenario below is conforming. Every Mississippi county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

2026 conforming loan limits by county in Mississippi

FHFA’s 2026 county list gives every Mississippi county the same one-unit limit, $832,750, and the same multi-unit limits ($1,066,250 / $1,288,800 / $1,601,750). Nothing in the state is designated high-cost, so a loan above $832,750 is jumbo anywhere in Mississippi.

Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.

The numbers: 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down in Mississippi

Illustrative 6.5% 30-year fixed rate, principal and interest only; mortgage insurance at typical market rates for each down payment (it varies with credit score); property tax at the state’s approximate 0.75% effective rate. Homeowners insurance and any HOA come on top. None of it is an offer.

For other loan amounts and rates, the payment tables show principal and interest, total interest and the PMI break points.

Cancelling mortgage insurance: the dates

Federal rules, identical in Mississippi: you may request cancellation at 80% of the original value and the servicer must cancel at 78%. On the scheduled amortization alone, the 5% down loan above reaches 80% after about 10 years and 4 months and 78% after about 11 years and 3 months; the 10% down loan, 80% after about 7 years and 11 months; the 3% down loan, 80% after about 11 years and 1 months. At roughly $107 a month on the 5% scenario, that is about $13,268 of PMI over the period — the strongest argument for extra principal payments or a value-based cancellation request once prices rise.

Recording taxes, transfer taxes and closing practice

Mississippi closings are customarily conducted by attorneys, who examine title, prepare the deed of trust and closing documents and disburse the funds, often through a title agency they own or work with. The state bar treats title examination and closing as legal work, so a non-attorney title company will have a Mississippi lawyer behind the file. Funding is wet and buyer closing costs are moderate, partly because the state levies no transfer or mortgage tax.

Mississippi levies no tax on the deed of trust or the note and no real estate transfer tax on the deed; the chancery clerk charges a recording fee by page. Every instrument must show the name and address of the preparer and the grantor and grantee indexing information or it will be rejected. A Mississippi refinance costs only the clerk’s fees to record and to cancel the old deed of trust. Mississippi has no real estate transfer tax and no mortgage tax; only recording fees apply.

Mississippi buyer closing costs are among the lowest in the country — typically 2% to 3% of a low price — with attorneys or title companies handling closings; homeowners insurance in the Gulf Coast counties is a significant prepaid.

State law a conventional borrower should know

Prepayment. Mississippi has no general statute prohibiting prepayment penalties on first-lien residential mortgages, so the note governs within the federal QM limits. Federal QM rules ban prepayment penalties on most conventional loans anyway; the Loan Estimate says yes or no on page one.

Spouses and title. Mississippi is a separate-property state, yet a deed of trust on the homestead signed by only one spouse is void: Mississippi Code 89-1-29 requires the signature of both spouses to convey or encumber the homestead of a married person who is living with that spouse.

Homestead. Mississippi exempts up to $75,000 of homestead value and 160 acres from execution by general creditors under Mississippi Code 85-3-21, with owners 60 and older able to keep the exemption after moving under certain conditions.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Mississippi.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Mississippi for 2026?

For 2026, $832,750 (one unit) in all 82 Mississippi counties — the national baseline, with no county above it. The county table on this page lists the two-, three- and four-unit figures. Above the limit, the loan is jumbo and follows lender rules.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Mississippi?

The request point is 80% of the original value, the automatic point 78% — federal rules, identical in Mississippi. With 5% down on the state’s $180,000 median at 6.5%, the amortization schedule alone gets you to 80% in roughly 10 years and 4 months; with 10% down, in about 7 years and 11 months. Paying extra principal shortens both.

Does Mississippi add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Mississippi levies no tax on the deed of trust or the note and no real estate transfer tax on the deed; the chancery clerk charges a recording fee by page. Mississippi has no real estate transfer tax and no mortgage tax; only recording fees apply. Mississippi buyer closing costs are among the lowest in the country — typically 2% to 3% of a low price — with attorneys or title companies handling closings; homeowners insurance in the Gulf Coast counties is a significant prepaid.

Related: Cash-out refinance: limits, costs and when it is the wrong tool, Rate-and-term refinance: when it pays, how to compute the break-even, DSCR loans vs conventional for investment property: qualify on rent or on income, Seller concessions limits: how much a seller can pay toward your closing costs. First home in Mississippi: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.