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Bank of America Mortgage Recast: Policy and Options

RD By RecastDesk editors · Updated October 2026 · 6 min read

Bank of America's mortgage FAQ is unusually detailed about recasting, and the details are the useful part: a $5,000 principal-curtailment threshold rather than a single lump sum, no fee, a once-per-year limit, and a cut-off on the 15th of the month that determines whether your new payment starts next month or the month after. It is also the only major servicer we have seen publish the reasons a request gets cancelled. Everything below comes from Bank of America's own mortgage FAQ, checked on 27 October 2026.

The rules in one block

Four requirements, stated by the bank: you must have made the first six months of required payments; the loan must be current when you request; you must have made at least $5,000 in principal curtailment payments over the last six months; and you must not have completed a recast within the previous 12 months.

There is no fee: "There is no fee for a recast of your loan."

The threshold is cumulative rather than a single transfer — "additional payments of at least $5,000 toward your loan's principal balance over the last six months". That is materially friendlier than a $10,000 single lump sum, and it rewards borrowers who have been overpaying quietly.

The 15th-of-the-month rule

This is the most practically useful thing on the page, and almost nobody reports it. The bank states that if the request and/or the curtailment funds are received 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 received on or after the 16th, the new payment starts "two months later".

So a request that lands one day late can delay the new payment by a full month. On a $320,000 balance at 6.5% with a $50,000 reduction, that is roughly $328 of foregone saving — comparable to a recast fee at another servicer.

There is a second timing rule for loans that are paid ahead: the effective date becomes your next scheduled payment due date, rather than the month following receipt.

What actually happens

If the loan is eligible, Bank of America mails an eligibility letter with instructions for remitting funds. If you have already made the qualifying curtailments, the recast is processed and a recast agreement is mailed to your address on file.

The agreement requires wet signatures from all borrowers — "original (wet) signatures" — and must be returned with all pages in the prepaid envelope by the deadline on the cover letter. This is the step where requests die: the bank lists cancellation reasons that include documents arriving late, a copy instead of an original, a missing signature from one borrower, any alteration to the agreement, and funds not received within 30 days of the request.

Worth knowing: Photocopies, digital signatures and a missing co-borrower signature are the three ways a Bank of America recast gets cancelled after approval. Treat the mailed agreement as the real deadline, not the request.

One special case worth knowing

The FAQ addresses adjustable-rate mortgages directly: curtailments must post by the date stated in the ARM notice so that they are included in the automated recalculation. If funds arrive after that date, the payment will not recalculate — and the remedy is to call and request a recast.

For ARM borrowers, that makes the ARM notice date the deadline that matters, not the 15th. It is a good example of why the general recast rules are a starting point rather than the whole answer.

What $5,000 buys

The bank's threshold is a floor, not a target. On a $320,000 balance at 6.5% with 27 years left, $5,000 of curtailment lowers the payment by about $33 a month. $25,000 lowers it by about $164. $50,000 by about $328.

Use the calculator with your own figures, then check whether your cumulative curtailments over the last six months already clear $5,000 — if they do, the recast may be available without sending anything new.

What the page does not settle

It does not say which loan types are excluded, beyond tying eligibility to "investor guidelines", which "can change without notice". It does not give a processing timeline from request to completed agreement. And it does not say whether the fee-free position applies to every investor's loans or only to the bank's own portfolio.

Those are the three questions to put in writing, along with one more: whether your loan is currently with an investor that permits recasting at all.

Frequently asked questions

The questions that come up most often.

Q
Does Bank of America charge a fee to recast?
No. Its mortgage FAQ states plainly: "There is no fee for a recast of your loan." That makes it one of the few large servicers with an explicit, unconditional fee-free position rather than a fee that appears in some schedules and not others. Confirm it for your loan in writing anyway, since investor-level requirements can add costs.
Q
What is the minimum principal payment for a Bank of America recast?
$5,000 in principal curtailment over the last six months — cumulative, not a single transfer. "A principal curtailment amount is any funds applied towards paying the unpaid principal balance of a home loan, in addition to your regularly scheduled monthly payment." If you have been overpaying quietly, you may already qualify without sending anything new.
Q
How many payments must I have made before I can recast?
Six. The FAQ states you must make the first six months of required payments, and answers "Can I do a recast right after origination?" with a direct no. The loan must also be current at the time of the request, and you cannot have completed a recast in the previous 12 months.
Q
When does the new payment take effect?
It depends on the date the request or funds arrive. Received on or before the 15th of the month, the new principal and interest starts the following month on the regular due date; received on or after the 16th, it starts two months later. On a $50,000 reduction at 6.5%, missing the cut-off costs roughly $328 of saving.
Q
Why was my recast request cancelled?
The bank lists the reasons: signed documents not received by the deadline, a copy rather than the original with wet signatures, missing signatures from any borrower on the loan, any alteration to the agreement including crossed-out terms, and funds not received within 30 days of the request. The wet-signature and deadline requirements are the ones that catch people out.
Q
Can I recast more than once?
Once per rolling 12-month period. That is a frequency limit rather than a lifetime cap, so a second lump sum a year later can be recast again, subject to the same $5,000 cumulative threshold and the six-payment seasoning.
Q
What about an adjustable-rate mortgage?
Curtailments must post by the date stated in the ARM notice so they are included in the automated recalculation. If the funds arrive after that date, the payment will not recalculate automatically, and the FAQ says to call customer service and request a recast on the eligible loan.