Before paying a mortgage off early, do the comparison. Do not go by feel

Paying the mortgage off early is the same as steadily earning your mortgage rate. So ask only one thing: is the after-tax return you can get steadily over the long run higher than the mortgage rate? If it is higher, do not rush to pay it off. If it is not, or you cannot say, pay it off. In the early years of equal monthly payments of principal and interest, interest is a large share of what you pay, so the earlier you repay, the more you save. The bank app's "early repayment estimate" can show the figure directly.

Cost

No money. Half an hour to run one set of figures. You have to estimate honestly the steady return you can get after tax.

Benefit

The method is this. First set the mortgage's annual rate as r, from your contract. On 20 August 2026 (2026-8-20) the LPR for terms over 5 years was 3.5%. The rate actually charged is that LPR plus some points or minus some points. Then set g as the after-tax annualized return of the other investment you could choose: the share this money would earn on average each year if you put it somewhere else. The certain return from early repayment is r. Each sum you pay off is the same as steadily earning r. If g is steadily greater than r, leaving the money in the investment is the better deal. If g is less than r, or g cannot be pinned down at all, early repayment locks in a risk-free r. In the early years of equal monthly payments, interest is a large share of the money you pay in, so the earlier you repay, the more interest you save. See that figure directly in the bank app's "early repayment estimate" (China, 2026 rates).

Notes

This only gives the method. It does not give a conclusion. Cases where an investment return can steadily beat the mortgage rate are the minority. Whichever side you pick, keep enough emergency cash first. Also look at whether the contract has an early-repayment penalty. Before you repay, you can ask the bank to cut the rate. See item 15 of section 15 (negotiate a lower rate). This is not investment advice.

Sources · 1

1. 全国银行间同业拆借中心受中国人民银行授权 (2026). 2026 年 8 月 20 日贷款市场报价利率（LPR）公告. chinamoney.com.cn/chinese/rdgz/20260820/33998…