Mortgage payment going up? Read your escrow statement in plain words

Type in the numbers from your annual escrow statement (no loan number); get what changed, what a shortage or surplus means and the questions to ask your servicer.

What it does

No bot required. If your mortgage payment includes an escrow account (an "impound account" in some places), part of each payment goes toward your property taxes and homeowners insurance, and the CFPB notes those bills can change every year. When they go up, your monthly payment goes up too. The CFPB lists other reasons a payment can change: a temporary buydown ending, an adjustable rate resetting, an interest-only period ending, mortgage insurance changing, new fees, or a plain servicer mistake. Once a year your servicer reviews the account and sends an annual escrow statement within 30 days of the end of the escrow year. Under the federal rule (Regulation X), it has to show your current and last year's monthly payment and the escrow part of each, the total paid in, what was paid out for taxes, insurance and other charges (each listed separately), the ending balance, and how any surplus or shortage is handled. A shortage means the balance is below the target. If it's less than one month's escrow payment, the servicer can leave it alone, ask you to pay it within 30 days, or spread it over at least 12 months. If it's one month's payment or more, the servicer can leave it alone or spread it over at least 12 monthly payments (you can choose to pay it all at once, but the statement can't require it). A surplus of $50 or more has to be refunded within 30 days if you're current on payments. Servicers can also keep a cushion of up to one-sixth of the year's estimated escrow bills. The CFPB says to compare your statement with your actual tax and insurance bills, call your servicer first, and if it's still wrong, send an information request or a notice of error to the servicer's address for those. Type the statement's numbers into any chat AI (leave out your loan number and address) and it explains what changed and drafts your questions. It doesn't decide whether your servicer made a mistake. You check that with the servicer.

Copy-paste prompt

No bot needed: paste this into Grok, ChatGPT, or Claude.

Help me understand my annual mortgage escrow statement. Use the CFPB's "Why did my monthly mortgage payment go up or change?", "What is an escrow or impound account?" and "Problems with my escrow account" pages, plus Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.17) on escrow statements, shortages and surpluses, as background. Explain; don't give legal advice.

From my statement (numbers only, no loan number, name or address):
- Old monthly payment: [ ]; escrow part: [ ]
- New monthly payment: [ ]; escrow part: [ ]
- Paid out last year: property taxes [ ], homeowners insurance [ ], flood or mortgage insurance [ ], other [ ]
- Projected for next year: taxes [ ], insurance [ ], other [ ]
- Shortage / surplus / deficiency shown: [amount and how they want it paid]
- Cushion or "required low balance": [ ]
My actual bills (if I have them): latest property tax bill [ ]; insurance renewal premium [ ].

1. In plain words, tell me why my payment changed: taxes, insurance, a shortage being repaid, or something else (a buydown ending, a rate change, mortgage insurance, fees). Show the math.
2. Check the statement's tax and insurance numbers against my actual bills and flag anything that doesn't match as "ask your servicer."
3. Explain whether I have a shortage, surplus or deficiency, and what Regulation X lets the servicer do. Less than one month's escrow payment short: leave it, ask for it within 30 days, or spread it over 12+ months. One month or more short: leave it or spread it over 12+ months, and a lump sum is my choice, not a requirement. A surplus of $50 or more gets refunded within 30 days if I'm current.
4. Check whether the cushion looks like it's more than one-sixth of the year's estimated escrow bills.
5. Draft 3-5 short questions for my servicer, and if something looks wrong, a short information request or notice of error I can send to the address the servicer lists for those (not the payment address).
6. Remind me: if my taxes or insurance went up, ask my county or insurer about it; the servicer only passes those bills along.
7. End with where to get help: the servicer first, then a HUD-approved housing counselor (CFPB "Find a Counselor") or the HOPE Hotline (888-995-4673), and a CFPB complaint (855-411-2372) if it isn't fixed.