Canadian mortgage calculator
What is the payment, what can I afford, and what will my down payment buy. Then see the homes that match.
Short answer ▸
Lenders cap housing costs at about 39% of gross income (GDS) and total debts at 44% (TDS), and you must qualify at the stress-test rate: the greater of your contract rate plus two points or 5.25%. Minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000, 10% of the portion up to $1.5 million, and 20% above that. Under 20% down, CMHC insurance is added to the loan at 2.80% to 4.00% depending on the ratio, plus 0.20% for a 30-year amortization. Alberta charges no land transfer tax and no sales tax on the CMHC premium, so Calgary closing costs run well below Ontario or BC.
Fine tune (rate, amortization, taxes, debts)
Go deeper
The four questions a mortgage broker asks that a payment figure cannot answer.
At renewal: what happens when the term ends
A Canadian mortgage is a 25-year amortization sliced into short terms. This is the balance you carry into renewal and the payment at a new rate.
Fixed against variable, over one term
Prepayment: what paying extra actually buys
Break penalty: the number nobody asks about until it is too late
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What this calculator does that most do not
- Semi-annual compounding. Canadian mortgages compound twice a year, not monthly. US-convention math understates what you can carry.
- The CMHC premium is added to your loan, so you pay interest on it for the whole amortization. Calculators that treat it as a closing cost understate the payment.
- Tiered minimum down payment. 5% of the first $500,000, 10% to $1.5 million, 20% above. Not a flat percentage at any price.
- Both rates, separately. You qualify at the stress-test rate and pay at your contract rate. Conflating them is how people end up house-poor.
- Alberta rules. No land transfer tax and no provincial sales tax on the CMHC premium. National calculators bake in Ontario assumptions and overstate Calgary closing costs by thousands.
- Real inventory. 9,029 active listings behind every answer, so the number ends at actual homes.
Keep going
Today's rates and what actually moves them.
Get introduced to a broker for a real quote.
GST rebate on a new build.
Search every Calgary listing on the CREA feed.
Find the right neighbourhood for your budget.
Every calculator on this site.
Last updated 2026-08-19 · Written by Mohammad Emon, REALTOR® (SRES®) & Licensed Property Manager, KO Realty · RECA licence LIC-00666633