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Mortgage Down Payment Calculator Canada

Updated

How much you have to put down in Canada depends on the price of the home, and anything under 20% adds a mortgage insurance premium to the loan. Enter a price and a down payment below to see the premium, the total mortgage and the income a lender would look for. The rest of the site’s mortgage tools are in the mortgage calculator directory.

Income Needed to Afford Home

Subtract:

Add:

Equals:

Home Price
Down Payment
Interest Rate
Loan Term
Property Taxes (Monthly)
Other Expenses (Monthly)
Debt to Income Ratio

How the calculator works

  • Home price and down payment. The difference is the loan. If the down payment is under 20% of the price, the calculator adds the insurance premium for that loan-to-value band and shows the total mortgage. It does not check that your down payment meets the legal minimum, so use the rules below (or the table) to pick a down payment that does.
  • Interest rate and loan term. These give the monthly payment. The term field is the amortization in years.
  • Stress-test rate. The calculator tests the payment at your rate plus 2 percentage points. Lenders use the greater of that and 5.25%, so at a rate low enough that the floor applies, the income it shows will be too low.
  • Debt to income ratio. The income needed is your housing costs (the stress-tested payment plus any property tax and other monthly costs you enter) divided by this ratio. It starts at 32%; CMHC’s limit for an insured mortgage is 39%, which is what income needed to buy a home and the mortgage affordability calculator use.

The minimum down payment

  • 5% of the first $500,000 of the price.
  • 10% of the part of the price above $500,000, for homes under $1.5 million.
  • 20% of the price for homes of $1.5 million or more.
  • With less than 20% down you need mortgage loan insurance.
  • The minimum down payment normally has to come from your own funds, and a lender may ask for more if you're self-employed or have a poor credit history.
Example: a home at Ontario’s benchmark price. Ontario’s MLS benchmark was $745,400 in August 2026. The first $500,000 needs 5%, or $25,000. The rest of the price, $245,400, needs 10%, or $24,540. Together that is a minimum down payment of $49,540, about 6.6% of the price.

Minimum down payment and premium by price

Home priceMinimum down paymentShare of priceInsurance premiumTotal mortgage
$300,000$15,0005%$11,400$296,400
$400,000$20,0005%$15,200$395,200
$500,000$25,0005%$19,000$494,000
$600,000$35,0005.8%$22,600$587,600
$750,000$50,0006.7%$28,000$728,000
$1,000,000$75,0007.5%$37,000$962,000
$1,500,000$300,00020%$0$1,200,000

Premiums use the standard 25-year bands; the bands themselves, the surcharge for a 30-year amortization and the rest of the insurance rules are on the CMHC insurance calculator. The loan as a share of the price is your loan-to-value ratio, which is what sets the premium band.

What a bigger down payment changes

On a $500,000 home, the minimum down payment of $25,000 leaves a mortgage of $494,000 with the premium, and a payment of $2,612 a month at 4.05% over 25 years. Putting down 20% ($100,000) removes the premium: the mortgage is $400,000 and the payment $2,212 at 4.49%. The income needed to qualify falls from about $115,100 to $99,800.

The two rates are the Bank of Canada’s averages for new insured and uninsured 5-year fixed mortgages; lenders price the two kinds of mortgage separately, which is why the examples use different rates. The mortgage payment calculator runs this comparison for any price and down payment.

Where the down payment can come from

  • Your own savings, including a TFSA. Lenders usually ask for recent statements showing where the money came from.
  • An FHSA. Contributions are deductible and a qualifying withdrawal for a first home is tax-free; the FHSA guide covers the limits and rules.
  • An RRSP, through the Home Buyers’ Plan, which lets first-time buyers withdraw RRSP savings tax-free and repay them over time; the HBP guide has the limits and repayment schedule.
  • A gift from family. Lenders generally accept it with a signed gift letter confirming it doesn’t have to be repaid, and proof of the transfer into your account. Canada has no gift tax.
  • Borrowed money. Some lenders and insurers accept a borrowed down payment in limited cases, and the loan’s payments count against your debt ratios; borrowing for a down payment explains the trade-offs.

Ways to build the savings are on how to save for a down payment. New-build buyers may also get part of the GST or HST back: see the GST/HST new housing rebate. The down payment isn’t the only cash you need: closing costs, including land transfer tax, are paid on top.

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Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and September 29, 2026. How we check facts.