What is the minimum down payment in Canada?

5% on the first $500,000, 10% between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% on homes above $1.5 million.

What is CMHC insurance?

Mortgage default insurance required when you put down less than 20%. The premium is added to your mortgage and paid off over the amortization.

What is the difference between term and amortization?

Amortization is the full payoff period, usually 25 years. The term is the length of your current contract, typically 5 years, after which you renew.

Does this include the stress test?

No. Lenders qualify you at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. Rerun the calculator at that higher rate to see the qualifying payment.

Canadian Mortgage Calculator

Semi-annual compounding, CMHC insurance and full amortization.

This calculator is specific to Canada and always shows CAD, even while the site is set to United States.

Canadian mortgages are compounded semi-annually rather than monthly, which makes payments slightly lower than an American calculator would suggest at the same posted rate. This calculator uses the Canadian convention, so the payment it produces matches what a lender in Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary will quote.

It also handles mortgage default insurance. Any purchase with less than 20% down requires CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty insurance, priced as a percentage of the loan that scales with your loan-to-value ratio — 4% at 5% down, falling to 2.8% at 15% down. That premium is added to the principal and financed over the life of the mortgage.

Minimum down payment rules apply: 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% above that. An insured mortgage is capped at 25 years of amortization, or 30 years for first-time buyers and newly built homes. Enter your purchase price, down payment, rate, and amortization below to see the payment, the insurance premium, and the total interest cost.

Your numbers

Purchase price

Down payment

Interest rate

Amortization (years)

Annual property tax (optional)

Monthly payment

$2,962.48

🇨🇦 Canada · CAD

Down payment: $130,000.00 (20.0%)
Mortgage before insurance: $520,000.00
Total mortgage principal: $520,000.00
Total interest over amortization: $368,745.04
Total of all payments: $888,745.04
Payment incl. property tax: $3,312.48
Loan-to-value: 80.0%

Estimates only. Results from this calculator are for general informational purposes and are not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice. Rates change and individual circumstances vary — confirm figures with the CRA, the IRS, your state or provincial authority, or a licensed professional before acting on them.

How it's calculated

Insured principal = (Price − Down payment) + CMHC premium
Effective monthly rate = (1 + annual rate ÷ 2)^(2 ÷ 12) − 1 ← semi-annual compounding
Payment = Principal × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−months)

The semi-annual compounding step is what separates a Canadian mortgage from an American one at the same posted rate.

Understand the numbers

Canada mortgage stress test: qualifying rate and examples

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum down payment in Canada?: 5% on the first $500,000, 10% between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20% on homes above $1.5 million.
What is CMHC insurance?: Mortgage default insurance required when you put down less than 20%. The premium is added to your mortgage and paid off over the amortization.
What is the difference between term and amortization?: Amortization is the full payoff period, usually 25 years. The term is the length of your current contract, typically 5 years, after which you renew.
Does this include the stress test?: No. Lenders qualify you at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. Rerun the calculator at that higher rate to see the qualifying payment.

Related calculators

US Mortgage CalculatorPrincipal, interest, taxes, insurance and PMI.Canada Take-Home Pay CalculatorFederal and provincial tax, CPP and EI on your salary.GST/HST CalculatorCombined GST, HST, PST and QST by province.Net Profit CalculatorRevenue minus every cost — the real bottom line.

Sources & methodology

FTT Finance-To-Thrive is an independent publisher of free finance calculators. The links below explain the rules and assumptions relevant to this page. Calculators use simplified models; for example, state and provincial income-tax estimates may omit brackets, credits, or local rules. See the formula and limitations on each calculator. We are not accountants, tax preparers, mortgage brokers or financial advisors, and nothing on this page is advice. Rates change and individual circumstances vary — confirm figures against the primary source before you file, sign or commit money. Read more about how we work and our funding & disclosure.

Primary sources

Source links are provided separately from the original content dates. They do not imply that an authority endorses this site or that every figure has been independently reviewed.