Free tool · Canada · Stress-test and GDS/TDS rules from CMHC and OSFI
Enter your gross household income, your other monthly debts, the down payment you have, and the interest rate you expect, and see the maximum home price you can afford under Canada's mortgage stress test — worked backwards from your income, not forwards from a price. This is an estimate only. Your lender decides what you can actually borrow.
Gross income before tax, for everyone on the application combined. The ratios below are measured against gross income, not take-home pay.
Everything else you pay each month: car loans, student loans, lines of credit, and credit-card minimums. These count toward the total debt service (TDS) ratio, not the gross debt service (GDS) ratio.
Cash you have for the down payment. The minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price plus 10% of the portion above $500,000, up to a $1,500,000 price cap for insured mortgages. At $1,500,000 or more, insurance is not available and the minimum is 20%.
The rate you expect to actually pay. You are qualified at the higher of this rate plus 2 percentage points or the 5.25% floor — the stress-test qualifying rate, shown in the results. The qualifying rate, not the contract rate, drives the ratios.
A 30-year amortization lowers the monthly payment but adds 0.20 percentage points to the mortgage insurance premium rate. On an insured mortgage, the 30-year option is only for first-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes (CMHC Home Start, since December 15, 2024); other insured mortgages are capped at 25 years. The premium surcharge applies.
Property tax as a percentage of the price — 1% is a rough placeholder, not a published rate. Property tax varies widely by municipality; use your target city's actual rate if you know it. It counts toward the GDS ratio.
Monthly heating cost. Lenders use your actual heat records where you provide them, otherwise a reasonable estimate for the property's size, location, and heating system — there is no single fixed figure. It counts toward the GDS ratio. Condo fees are not included here: for a condo, add 50% of the monthly condo fee to this figure.
The maximum price is the highest price at which both ratios pass at the stress-test qualifying rate: GDS at or below 39% and TDS at or below 44% of gross income, with the down payment meeting the minimum for that price and mortgage insurance added to the loan where the down payment is under 20%. The payment you would actually make is worked out at your contract rate, not the qualifying rate.
Qualifying rate: the higher of your contract rate + 2% or the 5.25% floor. Federally regulated lenders must qualify you at that rate under OSFI Guideline B-20. The 5.25% floor has been in place since June 1, 2021, and OSFI reviews it at least once a year; its page, last updated January 29, 2026, still sets the same formula. Since late 2024, switching lenders at renewal can skip the test if you do not raise the amount or the amortization — this calculator assumes a new purchase, where the test applies.
GDS at or below 39%, TDS at or below 44%. For insured mortgages, CMHC caps the gross debt service ratio — (mortgage payment at the qualifying rate + property tax + heating + 50% of condo fees, if any) divided by gross monthly income — at 39%, and the total debt service ratio, which adds all other monthly debt payments, at 44%. This calculator works backwards: it finds the highest price at which both ratios still pass. Whichever ratio binds first sets your maximum.
Minimum down payment and mortgage insurance. The minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price plus 10% of the portion above $500,000, up to $1,500,000; at $1,500,000 or more, insurance is not available and the minimum is 20%. Where the down payment is under 20%, the mortgage insurance premium is added to the loan. The CMHC homeowner premium schedule is 4.00% of the loan at 90.01% to 95% loan-to-value, 3.10% at 85.01% to 90%, 2.80% at 80.01% to 85%, 2.40% at 75.01% to 80%, 1.70% at 65.01% to 75%, and 0.60% up to 65%, with 0.20 percentage points added for a 30-year amortization. Sagen and Canada Guaranty set their own premiums and the lender chooses the insurer. At 20% down or more, no insurance premium is charged in this estimate. Closing costs such as land transfer tax and legal fees are not included.
What this calculator assumes, and what you entered. The property tax rate and the heating cost are your inputs, printed above — no published figure is assumed for either. Payments use the standard Canadian formula with interest compounded semi-annually. Credit score, employment history, and the property itself are not modelled; at least one borrower generally needs a credit score of 600 or higher to qualify for CMHC insurance.
Sources: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Guideline B-20 (the qualifying rate: the greater of the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or the 5.25% floor; page last updated January 29, 2026); Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Calculating GDS/TDS (the 39% GDS and 44% TDS maximums for insured mortgages) and Mortgage loan insurance premiums (the homeowner premium schedule by loan-to-value); Department of Finance Canada (the $1,500,000 insured-mortgage price cap in effect since December 15, 2024, and the tiered minimum down payment); Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Home Start (the 30-year amortization is only for first-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes) — all checked November 10, 2026. No figure on this page comes from anywhere else. Where a figure could not be verified on an opened official page, this page says to check the official page instead of stating it.
Next step: read the full step-by-step guide: How to Get a Mortgage in Canada