Mortgage Calculator (Canada)

How to use the Canadian mortgage calculator

1. Enter the Purchase price of the home.
2. Enter the Down payment, either as a percentage (%) or as a dollar amount ($). The tool checks it against the legal minimum.
3. Type the Interest rate (%) of your fixed-rate offer, for example 4.5.
4. Choose the Amortization period (the time to repay the whole loan, usually 25 years) and the Mortgage term (the length of the current contract, usually 5 years).
5. Pick the Payment frequency: Monthly, Semi-monthly, Bi-weekly, Accelerated bi-weekly, Weekly or Accelerated weekly.
6. Tick First-time buyer or newly built home if it applies: it allows a 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage.

You get the Payment, the Total mortgage (including any insurance premium), the CMHC insurance premium, the Minimum down payment, the Interest paid over the term, the Balance at end of term, the Total interest (full amortization), when the loan is Paid off in, and the Effective annual rate. The Amortization schedule is shown By year or for Every payment, marks the end of the term, and can be saved with Download CSV.

Why Canadian mortgages are different: semi-annual compounding

Under the federal Interest Act, a blended-payment mortgage must state its rate as calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance. In practice, Canadian fixed-rate mortgages are compounded semi-annually, while most US calculators compound monthly. A quoted 4.5% therefore means 2.25% every six months, and the rate for each payment is:

i = (1 + r/2)^(2/n) − 1

where r is the annual rate and n the number of payments per year (12, 24, 26 or 52). The payment then follows the usual annuity formula P = M × i / (1 − (1 + i)^−N), with M the mortgage amount and N the total number of payments over the amortization. The classic check: $100,000 at 6% over 25 years gives $639.81 a month with semi-annual compounding, versus $644.30 with monthly compounding. Variable-rate mortgages are often compounded monthly instead, so this tool is meant for fixed rates.

Accelerated payments

Bi-weekly and Weekly payments are calculated so the loan still ends at the chosen amortization. Accelerated bi-weekly is the monthly payment divided by 2, paid 26 times a year; Accelerated weekly is the monthly payment divided by 4, paid 52 times. You end up paying the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year, which goes straight to principal. With the default example (a $600,000 home, 10% down, 4.5% over 25 years), the monthly payment is about $3,081, and accelerated bi-weekly payments of about $1,541 repay the mortgage in about 21 years 8 months and save more than $55,000 of interest.

Down payment and CMHC mortgage loan insurance

The federal minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price, plus 10% of the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million. At $1.5 million or more, the minimum is 20% and mortgage insurance is not available. For a $600,000 home: 5% × $500,000 + 10% × $100,000 = $35,000.

With less than 20% down, the mortgage must be insured. This tool uses the CMHC homeowner premium schedule, applied to the loan and added to the mortgage:

• loan-to-value 80.01% to 85% (15% to 19.99% down): 2.80%
• 85.01% to 90% (10% to 14.99% down): 3.10%
• 90.01% to 95% (5% to 9.99% down): 4.00%

An amortization over 25 years (up to 30, for first-time buyers and new builds only) adds 0.20% to the premium. Sources: CMHC premium information and CMHC Home Start pages, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, checked in September 2026. In Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, provincial sales tax is charged on the premium and paid at closing; it is not added to the mortgage and not included here. Non-traditional down payment sources carry a higher premium (4.50% at 90.01–95%).

Term versus amortization

The amortization is the total time to pay off the mortgage; the term is how long your current rate and conditions last. At the end of the term you renew, usually at a different rate, for the remaining balance. That is why the Balance at end of term matters: it is what you will refinance or renew.