Canada Mortgage Calculator (CMHC Insurance & Stress Test)
Payments, CMHC insurance and the stress test, the way Canadian lenders work them out.
Down payment and insurance
Stress test
| Measure | Yours | Limit | Result |
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Every payment frequency
| Frequency | Payment | Paid off in |
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Year by year
| Year | Interest | Principal | Balance |
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Rules used and official sources
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: how much you need for a down payment
- CMHC: mortgage loan insurance premiums
- CMHC Home Start: 30-year insured mortgages for first-time buyers and newly built homes (premiums)
- CMHC: general requirements for homeowner mortgage loan insurance
- CMHC: homeowner purchase insurance (minimum equity for 1–2 and 3–4 unit homes)
- Department of Finance Canada: insured mortgage price cap and 30-year amortizations
- FCAC: mortgage terms and amortization
- FCAC: choosing a mortgage (payment frequency)
- OSFI: minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages
- FCAC: preparing to get a mortgage (stress test, GDS and TDS)
- Interest Act, s. 6 (rate calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance)
- Ontario: Retail Sales Tax on insurance and benefits plans
- The Provincial Sales Tax Act (Saskatchewan), s. 5.9 tax on insurance premiums
- Revenu Québec: tax on insurance premiums
- Finances Québec: Budget 2025-2026 additional information, section 3.1 (tax on insurance premiums at the QST rate)
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the Canada Mortgage Calculator (CMHC Insurance & Stress Test)
A Canadian mortgage is worked out differently from many others. Fixed rates are usually quoted compounded half-yearly, payments can be monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly or weekly — or “accelerated”, which pays the loan off years sooner — and with less than 20% down the loan needs mortgage loan insurance, with a premium usually added to the mortgage and, in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, a sales tax on that premium paid at closing. A federally regulated lender also makes you pass the stress test at a higher qualifying rate.
This calculator does all of it: the minimum down payment for the price, the CMHC premium for your loan-to-value, the payment for every frequency with the interest saved, the balance at the end of your term, a year-by-year schedule, and your gross and total debt service ratios at the qualifying rate — with the largest mortgage those limits allow. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to use it
- Enter the purchase price and your down payment (in dollars or as a percentage). The minimum down payment for the price is shown as you type.
- Enter the interest rate, how it is compounded (half-yearly for most fixed rates), the amortization and the payment frequency. Tick first-time buyer or new build if that applies: it allows a 30-year insured amortization.
- Choose the province: in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan the sales tax on an insurance premium is added to your closing costs.
- For the stress test, enter your gross household income, property tax, heating, condo fees and other monthly debt payments. The GDS and TDS limits can be changed to your lender’s.
- Read the payment, the insurance premium, the interest over the loan and over your term, and whether you pass the stress test; copy the summary or download the schedule as CSV.
Examples
Monthly payments, compounded half-yearly
$1,578.06 a month · $173,418 of interest over 25 years
The same loan over 10, 15 and 20 years costs $3,033, $2,214 and $1,813 a month.
Minimum down payment $35,000 · $60,000 down · loan $540,000 (90% loan-to-value)
CMHC premium 3.10% = $16,740, added to the loan ($556,740) · Ontario’s 8% on the premium, $1,339.20, paid at closing
$2,656.67 a month, or $1,328.34 every two weeks: paid off in 21 years 8 months, with $48,077 less interest
Qualifying rate 6.5% · household income $150,000 · property tax $4,800 a year · heating $150 a month · other debts $500 a month
Payment at 6.5%: $3,729.18 · GDS 34.2% (limit 39%) · TDS 38.2% (limit 44%) — both within the limits
Common uses
- See what a home price means in monthly or bi-weekly payments before you make an offer.
- Check the CMHC premium and the cash you need at closing with less than 20% down.
- Compare monthly and accelerated payments, and see the balance left when your term ends.
- Find out whether you pass the stress test, and how much you could borrow.
How the payment is worked out
For a rate j compounded m times a year and n payments a year, the rate per payment is i = (1 + j/m)^(m/n) − 1, and the monthly payment on a loan L over N months is M = L × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)^−N). Each payment pays the interest on the balance first; the rest repays the loan.
Canada’s Interest Act (section 6) requires a mortgage with blended payments to state its rate “calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance”. Fixed-rate mortgages are usually quoted compounded half-yearly, which is why the same rate costs a little less here than with monthly compounding; a variable rate may compound monthly, so the calculator offers monthly and yearly compounding too. The figures match the FCAC’s example in mortgage terms and amortization.
Down payment and mortgage loan insurance
The minimum down payment is 5% of a price up to $500,000; 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest up to $1.5 million; and 20% at $1.5 million or more (FCAC). With less than 20% down you need mortgage loan insurance, available on homes under $1,500,000 (CMHC), and the amortization can be at most 25 years — 30 for first-time buyers and buyers of a newly built home (FCAC, Finance Canada).
CMHC’s premium is a percentage of the loan: 0.60% up to 65% loan-to-value, 1.70% to 75%, 2.40% to 80%, 2.80% to 85%, 3.10% to 90% and 4.00% to 95% (4.50% with a non-traditional down payment) (CMHC). An insured amortization over 25 years is priced under CMHC Home Start, 0.20 points higher: 3.00% to 85%, 3.30% to 90% and 4.20% to 95% (4.70% non-traditional) (CMHC Home Start). The premium is usually added to the loan. Premiums in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan are subject to provincial sales tax, which cannot be added to the loan: Ontario’s 8% (Ontario), Saskatchewan’s 6% (PST Act s. 5.9) and Quebec’s tax on insurance premiums (Revenu Québec): 9% on premiums paid up to the end of 2026 and 9.975%, the QST rate, on premiums paid after that (Quebec budget). The calculator applies the rate of the day you use it and shows the later rate when one is coming.
Payment frequencies
As the FCAC describes them: semi-monthly is half the monthly payment twice a month; bi-weekly and weekly spread twelve monthly payments over 26 or 52 payments a year; accelerated bi-weekly pays half the monthly payment every two weeks and accelerated weekly a quarter of it every week. The accelerated options add up to one extra monthly payment a year, which is why they pay the loan off years sooner and save interest. Each payment is charged interest at the rate for its own period.
The stress test, GDS and TDS
To qualify you must show you could make the payments at the minimum qualifying rate: the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25% (OSFI). Federally regulated lenders apply it to insured and uninsured mortgages alike (FCAC).
- Gross debt service (GDS) = (mortgage payment + property tax + heating + half of any condo fees) ÷ gross household income: generally at most 39%.
- Total debt service (TDS) = the same plus all other debt payments ÷ gross income: generally at most 44%.
The calculator works out both with the payment at the qualifying rate, and the largest mortgage that keeps both within your limits (CMHC).
Limitations
- Lenders round payments and charge interest in their own ways, so their figures can differ by a few cents or dollars.
- Prepayments, rate changes at renewal and variable-rate payment changes are not modelled: the rate stays the same for the whole amortization.
- Other insurers (Sagen, Canada Guaranty) set their own premiums; CMHC’s refunds for energy-efficient homes, portability and premium on an increase are not modelled.
- The down payment rules are those for a home with one or two units; CMHC asks for at least 10% down on an owner-occupied home with three or four units (CMHC).
- Closing costs such as land transfer tax, legal fees and inspections are not included — the land transfer tax calculator covers the tax.
- Lenders may count income, debts and heating differently and can set stricter limits than the guidelines; the stress test here uses the amortization you enter.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum down payment in Canada?
5% of a price up to $500,000. Between $500,000 and $1.5 million it is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest — $35,000 on a $600,000 home. At $1.5 million or more it is 20%.
How much is CMHC insurance?
A percentage of the loan that depends on your down payment: 4.00% with 5% down, 3.10% with 10%, 2.80% with 15% (CMHC’s table). On a $540,000 loan with 10% down that is $16,740, usually added to the mortgage. A first-time buyer who takes a 30-year amortization pays CMHC’s Home Start rate instead: 3.30% with 10% down, or $17,820. In Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan you also pay sales tax on the premium at closing.
Why is my Canadian mortgage payment lower than other calculators show?
Probably because of compounding. Canadian fixed rates are usually compounded half-yearly, while most other calculators compound monthly; the same 4% costs slightly less compounded half-yearly. Choose the compounding your lender quotes.
Does accelerated bi-weekly really save money?
Yes. Paying half your monthly payment every two weeks makes 26 half-payments — 13 monthly payments — a year instead of 12, so the extra goes straight to the principal. On $480,000 at 4.5% over 25 years it saves about $48,000 of interest and pays the loan off in 21 years 8 months.
What is the mortgage stress test rate?
The greater of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25%. With a 4.5% rate you must qualify at 6.5%; with 3% you qualify at 5.25%.
Is my information sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.