Canadian mortgage payment with semi-annual compounding, accelerated bi-weekly or weekly options, the CMHC insurance premium and the balance at renewal.
In Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, provincial sales tax on the premium is due in cash at closing; enter the rate under More options.
The rate is fixed only for the 5-year term; the balance of C$488,797.61 is renewed at whatever rate is offered then.
You borrow C$556,740.00, including a C$16,740.00 insurance premium, and pay C$3,081.41 per month. By renewal after 5 years you will have paid C$116,941.93 of interest and still owe C$488,797.61. The mortgage is repaid after 25 years with C$367,681.60 of interest in all.
Mortgage balance
Total interest by payment frequency
Where the money goes
Loan58.4%Insurance premium1.8%Interest39.8%
Year-by-year schedule, monthly payments Rows: 25
Year
Payments
Principal
Interest
Balance at year end
1
C$36,976.86
C$12,406.75
C$24,570.12
C$544,333.25
2
C$36,976.86
C$12,971.33
C$24,005.53
C$531,361.92
3
C$36,976.86
C$13,561.61
C$23,415.26
C$517,800.32
4
C$36,976.86
C$14,178.74
C$22,798.12
C$503,621.57
5
C$36,976.86
C$14,823.97
C$22,152.90
C$488,797.61
6
C$36,976.86
C$15,498.55
C$21,478.32
C$473,299.06
7
C$36,976.86
C$16,203.83
C$20,773.03
C$457,095.23
8
C$36,976.86
C$16,941.21
C$20,035.66
C$440,154.03
9
C$36,976.86
C$17,712.14
C$19,264.73
C$422,441.89
10
C$36,976.86
C$18,518.15
C$18,458.72
C$403,923.74
How it's calculated S
Minimum down payment
5%×500,000+10%×(600,000.00−500,000)=35,000.00
Your down payment of C$60,000.00 is 10% of the price.
Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound interest twice a year. The Interest Act (section 6) requires a blended-payment mortgage to state its rate "calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance", so 5% means 2.5% every six months, or 5.0625% a year effective. Each payment uses the matching rate per period, for example (1.025)^(1/6) − 1 per month.
With the defaults, a 600,000 home with 10% down needs a CMHC premium of 3.10%, or 16,740, added to the 540,000 loan; at 4.5% over 25 years the 556,740 mortgage costs 3,081.41 a month. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's table gives 1,744.81 a month for 300,000 at 5% over 25 years, which this calculator reproduces.
Accelerated bi-weekly payments, half the monthly payment every two weeks, add the equivalent of one monthly payment a year. On that 300,000 mortgage they end the loan in 21.5 years and save 36,261.51 of interest.
How are Canadian mortgage payments calculated?
Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound twice a year, so a quoted 5% means 2.5% every six months, or 5.0625% a year effective. The monthly rate is 1.025^(1/6) − 1, and $300,000 at 5% over 25 years costs $1,744.81 a month, the figure in the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's payment table.
On a $600,000 home with 10% down, a 3.10% CMHC premium of $16,740 is added to the $540,000 loan. At 4.5% over 25 years, the $556,740 mortgage costs $3,081.41 a month.
Why Canadian mortgages compound semi-annually
Section 6 of the Interest Act requires a blended-payment mortgage to state its rate "calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance", and fixed rates are quoted with half-yearly compounding. The rate per payment is (1 + rate ÷ 2)^(2 ÷ payments a year) − 1.
Compounded monthly instead, 5% would be 5.1162% effective, and the same $300,000 mortgage would cost $1,753.77 a month. Use monthly compounding only if your contract says interest compounds monthly.
$500,000 to under $1.5 million: 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest.
$1.5 million or more: 20%, because mortgage default insurance is not available.
A $600,000 home needs at least 25,000 + 10,000 = $35,000, more than 5% of the whole price ($30,000).
CMHC mortgage insurance premiums
With less than 20% down you typically need mortgage default insurance. CMHC charges a one-time premium on the loan, usually added to the mortgage (CMHC premiums):
80.01% to 85% loan-to-value: 2.80%.
85.01% to 90%: 3.10%.
90.01% to 95%: 4.00%, or 4.50% with a borrowed (non-traditional) down payment.
Amortization over 25 years: add 0.20 percentage points.
At the $35,000 minimum, the $600,000 home has a loan-to-value of 94.17%, so the premium is 4.00% × $565,000 = $22,600.
Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan charge provincial sales tax on the premium, payable in cash at closing; it cannot be added to the mortgage. Ontario's 8% on a $17,100 premium is $1,368.
Can you get a 30-year mortgage in Canada?
Yes. Since December 15, 2024, an insured mortgage can be amortized over 30 years if a borrower is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built; other insured mortgages stay at 25 years (Department of Finance).
On a $500,000 home with 5% down at 4.5%, 30 years costs $2,495.61 a month against $2,734.16 over 25 years. It also costs $77,224.44 more interest, and the premium rises to 4.20% under CMHC Home Start.
Accelerated bi-weekly vs bi-weekly payments
Accelerated bi-weekly pays half the monthly payment every two weeks. That is 26 half-payments, or the equivalent of 13 monthly payments a year. Regular bi-weekly is sized to finish on the original schedule, so it saves very little.
These rows use the $556,740 mortgage at 4.5% over 25 years, paid monthly in the first row and every two weeks in the others:
Scenario
Payment amount
Payoff years
Total modeled interest
Default
3081.41
25.00
367681.60
Regular biweekly
1420.77
25.00
366758.68
Accelerated biweekly
1540.70
21.69
311920.55
Accelerated bi-weekly saves $55,761.05 of interest and ends the mortgage 3.31 years early; regular bi-weekly saves $922.92. Almost all of the saving comes from the extra payment each year; paying more often adds little.
Term vs amortization: what happens at renewal?
The amortization (25 years) sizes the payment; the term (5 years) is how long the rate is fixed. After 5 years of monthly payments on the $556,740 mortgage, $488,797.61 is still owed, and it renews at whatever rate is offered then.
Interest in that first term comes to $116,941.93. Total interest over 25 years assumes the rate stays the same at every renewal.
Common mistakes
Compounding a fixed rate monthly. It overstates the payment: $1,753.77 instead of $1,744.81 on $300,000 at 5%.
Confusing the term with the amortization. A 5-year term does not mean the mortgage is paid off in 5 years.
Forgetting sales tax on the premium. In Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan it is extra cash at closing.
Treating bi-weekly as accelerated. Only the accelerated version adds the 13th payment.
Taking 5% of a price above $500,000. The minimum is 10% on the part above $500,000.
Checked against: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Interest on mortgages: 2.50% row — 1,343.90 a month, 34,547.72 over 5 years, 103,169.61 over 25 years
Checked against: CMHC Home Start premium schedule (90.01–95% LTV: 4.20%); from the annuity formula at (1.0225)^(1/6) − 1 over 360 months
Questions
Why are Canadian mortgages compounded semi-annually?
Section 6 of the Interest Act requires a mortgage with blended payments to state its rate calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance, and fixed rates are quoted with half-yearly compounding. A 5% rate is then 5.0625% effective a year instead of 5.1162% with monthly compounding. On 300,000 over 25 years the payment is 1,744.81 a month rather than 1,753.77.
What is the minimum down payment in Canada?
5% of the price up to 500,000; 5% of the first 500,000 plus 10% of the rest up to 1.5 million; and 20% at 1.5 million or more, where mortgage insurance is not available (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada). A 600,000 home needs at least 25,000 + 10,000 = 35,000. With less than 20% down you typically need mortgage default insurance.
How much is CMHC mortgage insurance?
CMHC charges a one-time premium on the loan: 2.80% at 80.01% to 85% loan-to-value, 3.10% up to 90% and 4.00% up to 95% (4.50% with a borrowed down payment). Amortizations over 25 years add 0.20 points. The premium is usually added to the mortgage; Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan charge sales tax on it, payable in cash. At 94.17% LTV on 565,000 the premium is 22,600.
Can you get a 30-year mortgage in Canada?
Yes. Since December 15, 2024, an insured mortgage (under 20% down) can be amortized over 30 years if a borrower is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built (Department of Finance); others are capped at 25 years. With 5% down on 500,000 at 4.5%, 30 years costs 2,495.61 a month against 2,734.16 over 25 years, but 77,224.44 more interest.
How much do accelerated bi-weekly payments save?
Paying half the monthly payment every two weeks makes 26 half-payments, or 13 monthly payments, a year. On 300,000 at 5% over 25 years, accelerated bi-weekly payments of 872.41 end the mortgage in 21.5 years and save 36,261.51 of interest; accelerated weekly payments of 436.20 save 36,673.39. Regular bi-weekly payments, set to last 25 years, save only 579.95.
For planning only. Lenders, tax authorities and markets apply their own rounding, fees and rules; confirm figures with them before you commit.
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