Short answer
Before an FHA servicer finalizes a loan modification or similar fix, you make trial payments for three months, four if you're not yet behind but at risk, or six for an heir or other non-borrower who took title. HUD's Mortgagee Letter 2026-08, required by September 21, 2026, lets you pay trial payments early, notes the final payment can change if taxes or insurance rise, and treats a third refusal of a trial plan as a failure.
How does a trial plan work?
After the servicer approves you for a permanent option, it sends a written Trial Payment Plan Agreement before the first payment is due. You make each agreed payment by the last day of the month it's due. Once you finish, you sign the permanent papers. The servicer does an escrow analysis first, so your trial payment includes taxes and insurance.
What changed in 2026?
- You can make trial payments ahead of the month they're due.
- Your permanent payment may differ from the trial payment if escrow for taxes or insurance goes up.
- Turning down a trial plan agreement for the third time in the same default counts as a failed trial.
- HUD limited repeated requests for re-review that would hold off foreclosure.
What counts as failing a trial plan?
Missing a payment by the end of the month it's due, telling the servicer you won't follow the plan, or the third refusal above. If you fail and don't qualify for another way to keep the home, the servicer looks at options such as a sale. If you're struggling to make a trial payment, call before the due date.
Where can I get help?
A HUD-approved housing counselor can help at no or low cost. See options if you can't pay your mortgage and what a NH foreclosure notice means.
Sources
Checked November 2, 2026. Rules and dates change, so confirm current details before you rely on them.
General information only, not tax or legal advice. Program availability, eligibility and terms vary by lender and are subject to change and to underwriting approval. Not a commitment to lend.