Mortgage payment calculator

The payment estimator shows what your monthly mortgage payment looks like based on a handful of inputs: home price, down payment (minimum 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion above, up to $1.5M), interest rate, and amortization (the total length of time to pay the mortgage off in full). The term — how long your rate is locked in (usually 1–5 years) — doesn't change the monthly math but matters enormously for penalty and portability when you compare lenders.

CMHC insurance (also called default insurance) is required by law any time you put less than 20% down. It protects the lender — not you — if the mortgage goes into default, and the premium (roughly 2.8% to 4.0% of the loan) is added to your mortgage balance rather than paid out of pocket. With 20% or more down, you skip CMHC entirely (a conventional mortgage), but you also lose access to the lowest insured rates — so the math isn't always obvious. Add a second scenario above to test it.

Amortization matters more than most buyers realize. A 25-year amortization is the max on insured mortgages for resale homes — higher monthly payment, far less interest. A 30-year amortization (available on conventional mortgages, new construction, and insured first-time-buyer purchases of new builds) drops the monthly payment by roughly 7–10% and frees up cash flow, but you'll pay tens of thousands more in interest by the end. Stacking the two side-by-side is the fastest way to see the trade. Finally, fixed vs variable, portability, prepayment privileges, and prepayment penalties all matter when comparing real lenders — the rate is just one number. Thinking of breaking your current mortgage to take advantage of a lower rate? Run our IRD calculator first to see what the penalty would actually cost. Want the full closing-cost picture — CMHC, deed transfer tax, legal, cash to close — for any purchase price? Our home buying cost calculator breaks it all down and gives you a client-ready PDF. For a complete written comparison with real lender quotes on your file, book a free call.