Canadian mortgage calculator
Enter the price, your down payment, the rate and the amortization to see the payment a Canadian lender would quote, with the CMHC premium included.
Results
Monthly payment
0.00
Principal and interest on the mortgage, with the CMHC premium included in it.
- Monthly payment
- 0.00
- Mortgage after the premium
- 0.00
- CMHC premium added
- 0.00
- CMHC premium rate
- -
- Your down payment
- 0.00
- Minimum down payment
- 0.00
- Interest over the amortization
- 0.00
- All payments added up
- 0.00
- Paid off after
- -
- Share of payments that is interest
- 0.00%
- Stress test rate
- 0.00%
- Monthly payment at the stress test rate
- 0.00
| Year | Paid | Principal | Interest | Owed at year end |
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| Payment | Paid | Principal | Interest | Owed after it |
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For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
Last updated . Method checked . Methodology
This calculator follows the way mortgages are priced in Canada. A fixed rate is quoted with half-yearly compounding, so the monthly rate is worked out from the rate over six months rather than one twelfth of the yearly figure. With less than 20% down the loan needs mortgage loan insurance: the tool checks the minimum down payment for the price, picks the CMHC premium for your loan to value band and adds it to the mortgage you repay. First-time buyers and buyers of a newly built home can stretch an insured loan to 30 years under CMHC Home Start, at a premium 0.20 points higher, and the tool applies that table when you tick the box. Pay monthly, biweekly, weekly or accelerated biweekly, and see the payment at the stress test rate a lender checks. Nothing you enter leaves this browser tab.
How to use the Canadian Mortgage Calculator
- Enter the purchase price and your down payment, as a percent of the price or a dollar amount.
- Enter the interest rate and the amortization in years. Tip: For 30 years with less than 20% down, tick first-time buyer or newly built home.
- Choose how often you pay. Tip: Accelerated biweekly is half the monthly payment every two weeks, so one extra monthly payment goes in each year.
- Open the settings to switch to monthly compounding when the offer is quoted that way, or to see the loan without the CMHC premium.
- Read the payment, the premium, the interest over the amortization and the payment at the stress test rate, then download every payment as CSV.
Worked example
A buyer puts 10% down on a 600,000 home with a 4.5% fixed rate over a 25 year amortization, paid monthly with half-yearly compounding and the CMHC premium. All figures are CAD.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | CAD 600,000.00 |
| Down payment | 10% (CAD 60,000.00) |
| Interest rate a year | 4.5% fixed, compounded half-yearly |
| Amortization | 25 years, 300 monthly payments |
Minimum down payment = 5% x 500,000 + 10% x 100,000 = 35,000, so 60,000 is enough Loan = 600,000 - 60,000 = 540,000, which is 90% of the price: CMHC premium 3.10% Premium = 540,000 x 3.10% = 16,740; mortgage = 540,000 + 16,740 = 556,740 Monthly rate i = 1.0225^(1/6) - 1 = 0.0037153 Payment = 556,740 x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-300) = 3,081.41 Stress test rate = greater of 4.5% + 2 = 6.5% and 5.25% = 6.50%; payment at it 3,729.18 Interest, with each payment's interest rounded to the cent: 367,680.55
- Monthly payment
- CAD 3,081.41
- Minimum down payment
- CAD 35,000.00
- CMHC premium added
- CAD 16,740.00
- Mortgage after the premium
- CAD 556,740.00
- Interest over the amortization
- CAD 367,680.55
- Monthly payment at the stress test rate
- CAD 3,729.18
Paid accelerated biweekly instead, the same mortgage costs 1,540.70 every two weeks and is repaid after 21 years 8 months, with 311,921.45 of interest.
How the Canadian mortgage payment is worked out
Loan = price - down payment; mortgage M = loan + loan x CMHC premium %
Period rate i = (1 + r / 2)^(2 / p) - 1 for half-yearly compounding, r / p for monthly
Payment = M x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-n)
Stress test rate = the greater of r + 2 points and 5.25%
r is the yearly rate as a decimal, p the payments a year (12, 26 or 52) and n the number of payments in the amortization. Half-yearly compounding turns the quoted rate into a rate for each six months, r / 2, and spreads it over the payments in those six months. That makes the effective yearly rate a little lower than monthly compounding at the same quoted figure, which is why the payment is a few dollars smaller.
The down payment is checked first. The minimum is 5% of the first 500,000 of the price and 10% of the rest, and 20% of the whole price from 1.5 million, where mortgage loan insurance ends. Below the minimum the tool shows the figure it needs instead of a payment.
With less than 20% down, the loan to value ratio picks the CMHC premium from the 25 year table: 2.80%, 3.10% or 4.00% in the bands above 80%, 85% and 90%. The premium is added to the loan, so the payment repays it with interest. An insured amortization can be 25 years or less, or exactly 30 years when the box for a first-time buyer or a new build is ticked; the premium then comes from the Home Start table, which adds 0.20 points to each band. CMHC publishes Home Start for 30 years only, so 26 to 29 years with less than 20% down is refused. With 20% down or more no premium is charged and any amortization up to 30 years is accepted.
Accelerated biweekly takes the monthly payment for the same loan, halves it and charges it 26 times a year on the two week rate, (1 + r / 2)^(1 / 13) - 1 when compounded half-yearly. Twenty six halves make thirteen monthly payments a year, so the balance falls faster. Plain biweekly and weekly payments are instead worked out to end on the last day of the amortization.
Each payment's interest is the balance times i, rounded to the cent, and the last payment takes whatever is left so the balance ends at zero. The stress test payment uses the same mortgage and amortization at the test rate.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a fixed rate in Canada compound half-yearly?
Half-yearly compounding is the market convention for fixed rates under section 6 of the Interest Act, which says a blended payment mortgage must show its rate calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance. The Act does not order half-yearly compounding; lenders follow it. At 4.5% a month costs 1.0225 to the power of one sixth, less 1, or 0.37153%. On a 556,740 mortgage over 25 years that gives 3,081.41 a month, 13.13 less than with monthly compounding.
What is the minimum down payment in Canada?
It is 5% of the first 500,000 of the price and 10% of the part above 500,000. From a price of 1.5 million the minimum is 20% of the whole price, and no insured mortgage is possible. A 600,000 home needs at least 35,000 down and an 800,000 home 55,000. The calculator refuses a smaller down payment and shows the minimum for the price you enter.
How much is the CMHC premium and how is it paid?
The premium is a percent of the loan set by the loan to value ratio: 2.80% above 80% up to 85%, 3.10% up to 90% and 4.00% up to 95%. It is usually added to the mortgage and repaid with interest. With 10% down on 600,000 the loan of 540,000 carries a premium of 16,740, so the mortgage becomes 556,740. Sales tax on the premium in some provinces cannot be added to the loan and is not shown.
Who can take a 30 year amortization with less than 20% down?
Under CMHC Home Start, a high ratio loan can run 30 years when at least one borrower is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built, and the price is below 1.5 million. The premiums are 3.00%, 3.30% and 4.20% in the three bands. The 600,000 example over 30 years pays 17,820 of premium and 2,812.62 a month, but 454,719.53 of interest instead of 367,680.55.
What is the stress test rate on the results?
Lenders check that you could still pay at a higher rate: the greater of your contract rate plus 2 points and 5.25%. OSFI sets this floor for uninsured loans and CMHC uses the same test for insured ones. At 4.5% the test rate is 6.50%, and the 556,740 mortgage would cost 3,729.18 a month at it. The figure is a check, not the payment you make.
Guides for this tool
Sources
- CMHC, mortgage loan insurance cost: the premium by loan to value for a 25 year amortization (read from an Internet Archive capture of 19 October 2026) checked 3 November 2026
- CMHC Home Start: 30 year amortization for first-time buyers and new builds, its premiums and the 1.5 million price limit (read from an Internet Archive capture of 12 July 2026) checked 3 November 2026
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, down payment: the minimum by purchase price checked 3 November 2026
- Interest Act, section 6: the rate of a blended payment mortgage stated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance checked 3 November 2026
- OSFI, minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages: the contract rate plus 2 points or 5.25% checked 3 November 2026
- CMHC, calculating GDS and TDS: the qualifying rate for insured loans (read from an Internet Archive capture of 19 October 2026) checked 3 November 2026