🍁 Canadian Mortgage Calculator
Work out your mortgage payment the Canadian way – with semi-annual compounding, CMHC default insurance, the minimum down payment and every payment frequency, including accelerated bi-weekly.
Quick answer: A $600,000 home with 10% down needs a 3.10% CMHC premium ($16,740), so you borrow $556,740 – at 4.5% over 25 years, compounded semi-annually, that is $3,081.41 a month.
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Canadian Mortgage Calculator inputs
Result
Mortgage payment
C$3,081.41 / month
Monthly (12 a year) payments on a C$556,740 mortgage at 4.5% over 25 years
| Home price | C$600,000 |
| Down payment (10%) | −C$60,000 |
| Loan before insurance | C$540,000.00 |
| CMHC insurance premium (3.1%) | +C$16,740.00 |
| Total mortgage | C$556,740.00 |
- Total interest
- C$367,681
- Total of payments
- C$924,421
- Paid off in
- 25.0 years
Minimum down payment for this price: C$35,000. The premium is added to the mortgage; Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan also charge provincial sales tax on it, payable at closing. Assumes the rate stays the same for the whole amortization (in reality you renew every 1–5 years).
Estimates for educational purposes, not financial advice.
Payment frequency comparison
| Frequency | Payment | Total interest | Paid off in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly (12 a year) | C$3,081.41 | C$367,681 | 25.0 years |
| Semi-monthly (24 a year) | C$1,539.27 | C$366,827 | 25.0 years |
| Bi-weekly (26 a year) | C$1,420.77 | C$366,757 | 25.0 years |
| Accelerated bi-weekly | C$1,540.70 | C$311,921 | 21.7 years |
| Weekly (52 a year) | C$710.08 | C$366,363 | 25.0 years |
| Accelerated weekly | C$770.35 | C$311,296 | 21.7 years |
Accelerated payments are the monthly payment ÷ 2 (bi-weekly) or ÷ 4 (weekly) – the extra equals about one monthly payment a year.
Amortization schedule (yearly summary)
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C$12,407 | C$24,570 | C$544,333 |
| 2 | C$12,971 | C$24,006 | C$531,362 |
| 3 | C$13,562 | C$23,415 | C$517,800 |
| 4 | C$14,179 | C$22,798 | C$503,621 |
| 5 | C$14,824 | C$22,153 | C$488,797 |
| 6 | C$15,499 | C$21,478 | C$473,299 |
| 7 | C$16,204 | C$20,773 | C$457,095 |
| 8 | C$16,941 | C$20,036 | C$440,154 |
| 9 | C$17,712 | C$19,265 | C$422,441 |
| 10 | C$18,518 | C$18,459 | C$403,923 |
| 11 | C$19,361 | C$17,616 | C$384,562 |
| 12 | C$20,242 | C$16,735 | C$364,320 |
| 13 | C$21,163 | C$15,814 | C$343,157 |
| 14 | C$22,126 | C$14,851 | C$321,031 |
| 15 | C$23,133 | C$13,844 | C$297,898 |
| 16 | C$24,186 | C$12,791 | C$273,712 |
| 17 | C$25,286 | C$11,691 | C$248,426 |
| 18 | C$26,437 | C$10,540 | C$221,989 |
| 19 | C$27,640 | C$9,337 | C$194,349 |
| 20 | C$28,898 | C$8,079 | C$165,451 |
| 21 | C$30,213 | C$6,764 | C$135,238 |
| 22 | C$31,588 | C$5,389 | C$103,650 |
| 23 | C$33,025 | C$3,952 | C$70,625 |
| 24 | C$34,528 | C$2,449 | C$36,097 |
| 25 | C$36,097 | C$878 | C$0 |
How to use the Canadian mortgage calculator
Enter the purchase price, your down payment as a percentage, the fixed interest rate your lender quotes, the amortization and how often you want to pay. Tell us if you are a first-time buyer or buying a new build – it decides whether a 30-year amortization is allowed with under 20% down.
The formula
Periodic rate i = (1 + r/2)2/n − 1 · Payment = P × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−N)
r is the annual rate, n the number of payments a year (12, 24, 26 or 52), P the mortgage including any CMHC premium and N the total number of payments. Accelerated bi-weekly and weekly payments are the monthly payment divided by 2 and 4.
CMHC mortgage default insurance (2026)
| Down payment | Premium (% of loan) |
|---|---|
| 5% – 9.99% | 4.00% |
| 10% – 14.99% | 3.10% |
| 15% – 19.99% | 2.80% |
| 20% or more | Not required |
| Amortization over 25 years | +0.20% |
Insured purchases are limited to homes under $1,500,000. Minimum down payment: 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the rest.
Worked example
A $600,000 home with 10% ($60,000) down leaves a $540,000 loan. The 3.10% CMHC premium adds $16,740, for a $556,740 mortgage. At 4.5% over 25 years the monthly rate is 0.3715%, giving a payment of $3,081.41 a month and about $367,700 of interest if the rate never changed. Switching to accelerated bi-weekly ($1,540.70 every two weeks) pays it off in about 21.7 years.
Sources: CMHC mortgage loan insurance, canada.ca – down payment rules.
Frequently asked questions
Why are Canadian mortgage payments different from US ones?
The Interest Act requires fixed-rate mortgages to state the rate compounded semi-annually, not monthly. A 4.5% Canadian rate works out to an effective monthly rate of (1 + 0.045/2)^(1/6) − 1 ≈ 0.3715%, slightly lower than 4.5%/12, so the payment is a little smaller than a US calculator shows.
How much is CMHC insurance?
With less than 20% down, the premium is 4.00% of the loan for 5–9.99% down, 3.10% for 10–14.99% and 2.80% for 15–19.99%. Add 0.20% for an amortization over 25 years. It is normally added to the mortgage.
What is the minimum down payment in Canada?
5% of the first $500,000 of the price plus 10% of the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million. Homes of $1.5 million or more can’t be insured, so they need at least 20% down.
Can I get a 30-year amortization?
Since 15 December 2024, insured mortgages (under 20% down) can be amortized over 30 years if you are a first-time buyer or buying a newly built home. With 20% or more down, lenders can offer 30 years to anyone who qualifies.
Do accelerated bi-weekly payments save money?
Yes. You pay half the monthly payment every two weeks – 26 payments a year, the equivalent of 13 monthly payments – so the extra goes straight to principal. On the example above it shortens the amortization by about 3 years and saves over $55,000 of interest.