Bank of America Mortgage Recast: $5,000 Minimum, No Fee (2026)
Last updated 6 min read By the Mortgage Recast Calculators team
Bank of America publishes one of the clearest recast policies of any major servicer, and it is a generous one: a $5,000 minimum that can be met with multiple payments over six months, and no fee. There are also rules that trip borrowers up, including a 30-day funding window, a once-per-12-months limit, an effective-date rule keyed to the 15th of the month, and the fact that BofA will not quote your new payment before the recast is processed. It does not publish a total processing time either. Here is the complete picture, drawn from Bank of America's official mortgage FAQ.
Bank of America recast at a glance
| Item | Bank of America policy |
|---|---|
| Minimum lump sum | $5,000 in principal curtailment payments over the last six months. Cumulative payments count; a single lump sum is not required. |
| Fee | $0. "There is no fee for a recast of your loan." |
| How to request | Call 800-669-6607. After requesting, you have 30 days to submit the minimum curtailment or the recast is canceled. |
| Processing time | Not published. Bank of America states the recast department determines eligibility, then mails a recast agreement for execution; the payment is updated within 2 business days once the signed agreement is received. |
| When the new payment starts | If the request and the curtailment funds are received on or before the 15th of the month, the new principal and interest payment starts the following month. On or after the 16th, it starts two months later. |
| Restrictions | First 6 months of payments must be made; loan must be current; one recast per rolling 12-month period; investor guidelines apply; government-backed loans not eligible per third-party guides; new payment cannot be quoted in advance. |
The $5,000 minimum is cumulative, and that is unusual
Most servicers that publish a minimum require a lump sum: $10,000 at Mr. Cooper, $10,000 on Wells Fargo's official page, $10,000 in cumulative payments at Rocket Mortgage. Bank of America's rule is that "you must have made at least $5,000 in principal curtailment payments over the last six months," and those payments can be cumulative. If you have been adding $1,000 of extra principal to each monthly payment, five months of that habit already qualifies you; no separate windfall needed.
A principal curtailment is simply an extra payment applied directly to your loan balance rather than to future scheduled payments. When BofA recasts, it re-amortizes that lower balance over your remaining term at your existing rate, which reduces the monthly principal and interest payment without touching the rate or the payoff date. The mechanics are the same everywhere; our guide to how mortgage recasting works walks through them step by step.
Watch the 30-day window
Timing matters at BofA in a way it does not at most servicers. Once you request a recast, you have 30 days to submit the minimum curtailment, or the recast is canceled. If you are counting on funds that have not arrived yet, such as proceeds from a home sale or a bonus, either wait to make the request or make the qualifying principal payments first and request the recast afterward. Since the $5,000 threshold looks back over the prior six months, paying first and requesting second is often the safer order.
No fee, and no published timeline
Bank of America's FAQ is unambiguous on cost: "There is no fee for a recast of your loan." That puts BofA in the free tier with Wells Fargo, which is equally explicit, and with Chase, which publishes no fee but also disclaims that fees may apply. Compare that with the $250 flat fee common elsewhere; our mortgage recast fees page has the full comparison.
On timing, Bank of America publishes no end-to-end processing figure, and we will not invent one. What the FAQ does describe is the sequence: you call, "the recast department will determine if the loan is eligible," and if it is, "a recast agreement will be mailed to your mailing address on file for execution." Once the signed agreement is back, the payment is updated within 2 business days. Third-party guides commonly report 45 to 60 days from request to new payment, which is a reasonable planning assumption but is not Bank of America's own number. Ask for a timeline on the call at 800-669-6607 and get it in writing on the agreement.
The one date rule BofA does publish is worth planning around: if the request and the curtailment funds arrive on or before the 15th of the month, the new principal and interest payment starts the following month on the loan's regularly scheduled due date. If they arrive on or after the 16th, the new payment starts two months later. Missing the 15th by a day costs you a full extra month at the old payment.
You will not know the new payment until the agreement arrives
One BofA quirk surprises borrowers: the bank cannot quote your new payment before the recast completes. Instead, the process ends with a recast agreement that shows the new principal and interest amount, and you decide at that point whether to sign or decline. You are not locked in before seeing the number.
You do not have to go in blind, though. A recast is deterministic math: new balance, same rate, same remaining term. Our free mortgage recast calculator will estimate the new payment to within pennies of what the agreement shows, so you can decide whether the recast is worth doing before you ever call.
How to recast with Bank of America, step by step
- Confirm eligibility. You must have made the first 6 months of payments, the loan must be current, and you can recast at most once in any rolling 12-month period. Investor guidelines on your loan also apply. Government-backed loans, meaning FHA, VA, and USDA, are not eligible per third-party guides, consistent with industry practice; see our FHA and VA pages for alternatives.
- Make at least $5,000 in principal curtailment payments, in one payment or several, within a six-month span. Mark each one as principal-only.
- Call 800-669-6607 to request the recast. If you have not yet hit the $5,000 minimum, remember the 30-day clock starts at the request. Ask on this call how long the review usually takes, since BofA does not publish a figure.
- Wait for the eligibility decision. Bank of America says the recast department determines whether the loan is eligible, and if it is, a recast agreement is mailed to your mailing address on file for execution.
- Review and sign the recast agreement. It shows your new principal and interest payment. Sign to proceed or decline at no cost.
- See the new payment take effect. Your payment updates within 2 business days of the signed agreement being received. The new amount is first due the following month if the request and funds landed on or before the 15th, two months later if on or after the 16th. Escrow for taxes and insurance continues unchanged on top of the new P&I.
Is a BofA recast the right move?
With no fee and a low, cumulative minimum, Bank of America removes most of the friction. The remaining question is strategic: a recast lowers your required payment but does not shorten the loan, while making extra principal payments without recasting keeps the payment level and pays the loan off early. If you want flexibility, you can recast and then keep paying the old amount voluntarily, capturing both effects. We compare the approaches in recast vs extra payments, and is recasting worth it covers when the answer is no. For how BofA stacks up against other servicers, see which lenders allow recasting.
Policy details verified from Bank of America's official mortgage FAQ, August 2026. Servicer policies can change; confirm current terms at 800-669-6607 before sending funds.