Mortgage Payment Calculator

Semi-annual compounding (the Canadian difference)

Canadian fixed mortgage rates compound twice a year. The per-payment rate is (1 + rate/2)^(2/f) − 1 where f is payments per year, and the payment is P × r ÷ (1 − (1+r)^−n). A US-style monthly-compounding calculator overstates your payment slightly at the same quoted rate.

Fixed vs variable: which compounding is in use

The Rate type control changes one thing, how often the quoted rate compounds, and the page states the convention in use next to that control and above both comparison tables. Fixed uses the Canadian semi-annual convention above, (1 + rate/2)^(2/f) − 1, because a fixed rate must be disclosed as "calculated semi-annually, not in advance" (Interest Act s. 6). Variable and adjustable-rate mortgages are priced off the lender's prime rate and compound monthly, so the per-payment rate is (1 + rate/12)^(12/f) − 1 and the payment at the same quoted rate is slightly higher. Applying the fixed convention to a variable mortgage understates the payment. Fixed is the default, and the stress-test payment uses whichever convention you pick. Everything else, CMHC, the caps, the schedule, is identical between the two.

Renewal payment shock (a scenario, not a forecast)

At the end of your term the remaining balance is re-amortized over what is left of the amortization: the years you entered minus the term you just finished. The table reruns that payment at your current rate plus or minus each rate move in the Renewal scenarios set, and shows the change against your current required payment in dollars, in percent, and over a year. These are illustrative rate moves you chose. They are not predictions, not a forecast, and not an estimate of the rate you will be offered, nobody can know that. Prepayments are not carried past renewal, and if your term runs to the end of the amortization there is nothing to renew and the panel says so.

CMHC insurance

Below 20% down, default insurance is mandatory (and unavailable at all for homes $1.5M+). The premium, 0.60% to 4.00% of the loan by loan-to-value, +0.20% for an insured 30-year amortization (first-time buyers and new builds only), is added to your mortgage. Its provincial sales tax in ON (8%), QC (9%), SK (6%) and MB (7%) must be paid in cash at closing. If you pick a 30-year amortization with less than 20% down but aren't a first-time buyer or buying new construction, the loan is automatically calculated at 25 years (that rule came into force December 15, 2024), toggle First-time buyer or new build if it applies to you.

Minimum down payment

5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest; 20% for homes of $1.5M or more (OSFI/FCAC rules, confirmed July 2026).

Entering the down payment as a percent

The $ / % switch beside the down payment only changes how you type it. The dollar amount is always the figure the calculation and the shareable link carry, so switching modes never moves the result; in percent mode the dollars are derived as price × percent ÷ 100 and re-derived if you change the price. Whichever mode you are in, the hint under the label shows the other representation.

Premium tier cliffs

CMHC premiums are a step function of loan-to-value, not a smooth curve: the rate changes at 85%, 90% and 95% LTV, and disappears entirely at 80% (20% down). Sitting a few hundred dollars the wrong side of an edge means paying the higher rate on the whole loan. When the next edge down is within 10% of the down payment you already have, the tool prices the jump: how many more dollars are needed and how much premium (and premium PST, where a province charges it) that removes. The 10% cut-off is a judgement call, not a rule, and it keeps the nudge to top-ups you could plausibly find rather than another year of saving.

Down payment scenarios

The optional 5 / 10 / 15 / 20% comparison reruns the same math four times at your price, rate, amortization, term and payment frequency, with no prepayments. A scenario that isn't legal is shown as unavailable with the reason instead of a payment: 5% is below the blended minimum on any home over $500,000, nothing under 20% is available at $1.5M or more, and an insured 30-year amortization drops back to 25 years unless you're a first-time buyer or buying new. Your own down payment, not the scenarios, drives every figure above.

The stress test

Lenders must qualify you at the greater of your contract rate + 2% or 5.25% (OSFI B-20). The qualifying payment shown is what your budget is tested against, not what you pay.

Payment frequencies

Six frequencies, all built from the same monthly payment. The plain ones spread the identical annual total across more dates: semi-monthly is the monthly payment halved and taken 24 times, bi-weekly is the annual total over 26, weekly the annual total over 52. They cost about the same as monthly, they only change your cash-flow rhythm. The accelerated ones pay a straight fraction of the monthly payment instead: accelerated bi-weekly is exactly half the monthly payment 26 times, accelerated weekly is exactly a quarter of it 52 times. Both add up to 13 months of payments a year rather than 12, and that extra month is the entire advantage, it goes straight to principal and takes years off the amortization. The Every payment frequency table runs all six on your own numbers at once so the gap is visible without switching the control.

Matching your bank, and a BA II Plus, to the penny

The engine computes the exact annuity payment; lenders round it up to the next cent and shrink the final payment to clear the balance, so a bank schedule can differ from the exact figure by less than a cent per payment. The classic check value: $100,000 at 6% over 25 years is $639.81 a month, via the effective monthly rate (1 + 0.06/2)^(2/12) − 1 = 0.49386%, and our automated test suite pins this engine to that published figure. To reproduce any payment on a BA II Plus: set P/Y to your payments per year and C/Y = 2 (semi-annual compounding; use C/Y = 12 for a variable rate), then N = years × P/Y, I/Y = the quoted rate, PV = the principal including any CMHC premium, FV = 0, CPT PMT. For the accelerated frequencies compute the monthly payment first, then pay exactly half of it 26 times (accelerated bi-weekly) or a quarter of it 52 times (accelerated weekly).

Prepayment privilege

The interest saving from prepayments above assumes every dollar is penalty-free. Real mortgage contracts cap that: you may prepay up to a set share of the original principal each year without a charge, commonly 10% to 20%, but the exact figure is your lender's and is written in your contract, not set by any regulator. Enter it in Privilege limit (0 leaves it out of the picture) and the tool compares your prepayments against original principal × privilege ÷ 100 and flags anything above it. It does not calculate a penalty: prepayment charges are contract-specific, so no charge is ever netted off the saving shown. Note that lenders usually treat an increase to your regular payment as a separate privilege from lump sums, so check both limits.

What this doesn't model

Actual future rates (the renewal table is a set of what-if scenarios, not a forecast), rate resets during a variable term or a trigger rate being hit, the size of any prepayment charge (the tool flags when you exceed the privilege you entered, but the charge itself is contract-specific), property taxes, or closing costs. Try the affordability calculator and land transfer tax calculator for the full purchase picture.