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What does the good-through date mean on a payoff statement?
The good-through date is the day a payoff quote is accurate as of. What Reg Z says, how long quotes last, and what a late payoff costs, worked.
The good-through date on a payoff statement is the date the quoted payoff figure is accurate as of. Funds that reach the servicer by then should clear the loan at that figure. It is not a penalty deadline: money arriving later usually falls short by the interest that has built up since, and an updated quote is the fix.
This is an evergreen explainer built on standing rules, not news. This desk read every source named here on 23 September 2026, the two regulations on Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
What does the good-through date mean on a payoff statement under Reg Z?
For a mortgage or other consumer credit secured by a home, Regulation Z at 12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3) requires the creditor, assignee or servicer to provide an accurate statement of the balance needed to pay the loan in full “as of a specified date”. That specified date is what servicers print as the good-through date. The same paragraph sets a send deadline of no more than seven business days after a written request; our piece on how long a lender has to send a payoff statement covers it.
The rule covers dwelling-secured consumer credit only, not car or personal loans, and the text of (c)(3) sets no length for the good-through window. Chase’s payoff-quote page warns that a payoff received after the date “may not pay off your loan in full”.
What a late payoff leaves unpaid
On a conventional loan the gap is daily interest. Fannie Mae’s Servicing Guide F-1-09 says interest on a conventional payoff runs up to, but not including, the day the funds are received, with a partial month worked on a 365-day year. That section governs Fannie Mae loans; other servicers follow their own note.
As an illustration only, with assumed figures: a $200,000 balance at 6.00% accrues $200,000 × 0.06 ÷ 365 = $32.88 a day. Funds landing five days after the good-through date leave about $164.38 unpaid. Our explainer on why a payoff amount is higher than the balance works the per-diem method in full; the opposite case is covered in what happens if you overpay a payoff amount.
FHA loans split on a date under 24 CFR 203.558, as the table below shows. On the older loans, interest to the next installment due date applies only if the lender disclosed it on a form approved by the FHA Commissioner; where it did, missing the date by two days can cost most of a month’s interest.
Before, on or after the good-through date
| Funds arrive | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| On or before the date | The quoted figure is the one required to be accurate as of that date | 12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3) |
| After, conventional Fannie Mae loan | Short by the daily interest for each extra day | Fannie Mae F-1-09 |
| After, FHA closed on or after 21 Jan 2015 | Interest runs to the day funds are received | 24 CFR 203.558(a) |
| After, FHA insured 2 Aug 1985 to closed before 21 Jan 2015 | Lender may charge interest to the next first of the month, if disclosed on the approved form | 24 CFR 203.558(b)(2) |
Common questions
How long is a payoff quote good for?
Until the good-through date printed on it, and the length varies by servicer. Chase, for example, lets borrowers choose a good-through date up to 30 days out. That is its own product term: the text of 12 CFR 1026.36(c)(3) requires accuracy as of a specified date but sets no length for the window. Once the date passes, ask for an updated quote.
Is the payoff date the same as the good-through date?
Not necessarily. The good-through date is the last day the quoted figure covers; the payoff date is the day your funds actually reach the servicer. If the payoff date falls on or before the good-through date, the quote should clear the balance. If it falls after, interest has kept running and the quoted figure may leave a remainder.
What happens if you pay off a loan after the good-through date?
The loan may not be paid in full. On a conventional Fannie Mae loan the shortfall is the daily interest for each extra day, because interest runs up to the day funds arrive. On an FHA loan insured from 2 August 1985 and closed before 21 January 2015, the servicer may charge interest to the next first of the month, if it disclosed that on an approved form.
Nothing here is financial advice. The payoff statement your servicer sends, and the loan agreement behind it, are the documents that set your figure; read both in full, and if the good-through date looks tight, ask for a fresh quote before any money moves.