Mortgage Affordability Calculator Canada

Federally regulated lenders in Canada cannot approve most mortgages on the contract payment alone. Under the federal Mortgage Qualification Rate framework overseen by OSFI, you must qualify at the greater of 5.25% or your contract rate plus 2%. That figure is the OSFI minimum qualifying rate, confirmed unchanged in OSFI's 2026 release; as checked October 2026 this calculator applies it exactly that way. The idea is plain: prove the payment still fits if rates are higher at renewal, before the lender relies on your income.

This calculator computes the stress-test payment with Canadian semi-annual compounding at the qualifying rate, because the payment in the ratios should be built the same way a Canadian fixed payment is built. It then adds property tax, heating and half of any condo fees to get monthly housing cost. Two consequences surprise many buyers. First, a low contract rate does not mean a low qualifying payment, since the 5.25% floor or the plus 2% rule lifts the test rate well above the rate on the offer. Second, two homes at the same price can test very differently, because tax, heating and condo fees sit inside the ratios next to the payment.

Qualifying rate rule and limits on this page as checked October 2026.

Insured versus uninsured. The 39% GDS and 44% TDS limits apply to insured mortgages, where the down payment is under 20% and mortgage insurance is required. For uninsured mortgages, lender limits are set by each lender within the stress test framework, and they are not one single published pair of numbers. Say so plainly when you plan: if you are putting 20% or more down, ask your lender which GDS and TDS limits it applies, and do not assume the insured benchmark is the rule that will decide your file. This calculator shows the insured limits because they are the clear public benchmark, and because passing them is a conservative test for most borrowers.

What the ratios leave out. GDS and TDS are lender tests, not a household budget. They use gross income, before tax, and they do not count food, transport beyond car payments, childcare, savings or the rest of real spending. A file can pass both ratios and still feel tight month to month. Read the result the other way as well: the maximum price on this page is the highest price the ratios allow on your income, not a recommendation to spend that much. Many households deliberately buy below the ratio ceiling to leave room for rate rises, repairs and savings.

Why the maximum price moves. The maximum is solved from the same formulas, not from a rule of thumb. Raise other debts and TDS binds sooner, so the maximum falls even though the home itself costs no more to carry. Raise condo fees and only half enters the ratios, yet the maximum still falls. A larger down payment raises the maximum price the ratios allow while lowering the loan. Change one input at a time above and watch the maximum respond. That cause and effect is the most useful planning signal on this page.

If both ratios pass with room to spare, take the same price and rate to the Canada mortgage calculator to choose a payment frequency and see total interest and payoff dates on the loan itself. If either ratio fails, work the levers in order of cost: a modestly lower price or larger down payment cuts the stress payment, clearing a car loan or card balance cuts TDS dollar for dollar, and a longer amortization lowers the tested payment while raising lifetime interest. Re-test after each change so you know which lever actually fixed the file.

Before you act on any result here, confirm the qualifying rate, the GDS and TDS limits, and the condo fee treatment with the lender or broker you will apply through, using written figures for the property you are actually buying. Municipal tax and realistic heating costs vary widely, and small errors in those two inputs move the ratios by more than most buyers expect.