Free tool · Canada · 3 minutes

Mortgage renewal calculator: payment at renewal and rate-hold window

Enter the balance you expect at renewal, the rate you are comparing, and the amortization you have left. The calculator works out the monthly payment for the new term and, from the rate-hold length your lender puts in writing, the window in which that rate is held. Nothing you enter leaves your browser, and no rate is stored anywhere on this page.

How the payment is worked out

Canadian fixed-rate mortgages are quoted with interest compounded semi-annually, not in advance. The monthly rate used here converts the quoted annual rate the standard way: divide the annual rate by two, add one, raise the result to the power of one-sixth, and subtract one. The payment then follows the standard amortization formula, which spreads the balance into equal monthly payments that bring it to zero over the amortization period: payment equals the balance times the monthly rate times one plus the monthly rate to the power of the number of payments, divided by one plus the monthly rate to the power of the number of payments, minus one. The amortization period is the full time needed to repay the loan, which FCAC distinguishes from the term, the shorter period your mortgage agreement covers and that has to be renewed. Your lender's own schedule may differ by a few cents because of rounding.

Illustrative example only. With illustrative inputs of a $300,000 balance, a 5.00% annual rate, and a 25-year amortization, the formula gives a monthly payment of $1,744.81. Those inputs are invented for the example; they are not a rate on offer and not a prediction. Type your own numbers below.

Mortgage balance at renewal

$

The balance your renewal statement shows for the renewal date. If you are comparing offers before the statement arrives, use your most recent statement balance and treat the result as approximate.

Annual interest rate you are comparing

%

Type the rate from a written offer. This page stores no rates and quotes none.

Amortization remaining, in years

The years left to repay the loan in full, not the length of the new term. A longer remaining amortization lowers the payment and raises the total interest.

New term length, in years

The term is the period the new agreement covers. At the end of it, the balance shown in the result is what you would still owe, and you would renew again.

Renewal date

The date your current term ends and the new term begins.

Rate-hold length, in days (from your lender's written offer)

Lenders set their own hold lengths, so this page assumes none. FCAC says to start shopping around a few months before the end of your term and not to wait for the renewal letter. If your lender's written offer states how many days it holds the rate, enter that number and the hold window is calculated. If it states no hold length, leave this blank.

Work out my renewal payment

About the rate-hold window: the window shown is the renewal date minus the hold length you entered, through the renewal date itself. A rate hold is only as good as the written offer behind it. Get the rate, the term, and the hold expiry in writing, and confirm with the lender that the hold applies to a renewal on your date, not only to a new purchase. FCAC also requires a federally regulated lender to give you a renewal statement at least 21 days before the end of your term, with the balance, rate, payment frequency, term, and any charges or fees, and stating that the offered rate will not increase until the renewal date. That statement is the floor for your planning, not the start of it. Read the full process in our guide to getting a lower rate on your mortgage in Canada.