Mortgage Qualifier Calculator

This calculator helps you determine just how much house you can afford.

The first step in buying a house is determining your budget. This calculator steps you through the process of finding out how much you can borrow. Fill in the entry fields and click on the payment schedule button to see a complete amortization schedule of your mortgage payments.

Definitions

• Annual income
• Your gross annual income. For married couples this is your total combined gross annual income.
• Purchase price
• The price of the home you wish to purchase. This is the actual price you pay, not including any closing costs.
• Total monthly payment
• Total monthly payment that you can qualify for. This is the total of principal, interest, taxes and heat paid each month.
• Cash on hand
• Cash you have for the down payment and all closing costs.
• Interest rate
• The current interest rate you can receive on your mortgage.
• Amortization in years
• The number of years over which you will repay this mortgage.
• Annual property taxes
• The annual property tax paid on the home you are purchasing.
• Monthly car payment(s)
• Total monthly payment for your car loan(s).
• Credit card payments
• Total monthly minimum payments for your credit cards.
• Other loan payments
• Any other installment loan payments, such as student loans or unsecured loans.
• Condo Fee
• Monthly fee charged for your condominium that you expect to incur with the ownership of this home. Please note that condominiums are referred to as "strata" in the Province of British Columbia. We add 50% of your condominium fee to your Gross Debt Service (GDS) when calculating the maximum mortgage that you can qualify for.
• Total closing costs
• Total up front costs to close your loan. This is the total of your CMHC premium, transfer tax, GST and other closing costs.
• Other closing costs
• Estimate of all other closing costs for this loan. This should include filing fees, appraiser fees and any other misc. fees paid.
• GST
• This calculator calculates GST at % of a new home's purchase price minus a GST rebate. GST rebates are calculated as follows. For homes under $350,000, the rebate amounts to 36% of GST, up to a maximum rebate of $7560. For homes between $350,000 and $450,000, the maximum rebate of $7560 declines to zero on a proportional basis. All homes selling for more than $450,000 receive no GST rebate.
• Many new homes have the purchase price with GST and/or HST/PST included. If this is the case for your home purchase, the checkbox to include GST should be left unchecked since the GST and/or HST/PST will be included in the purchase price.
• It is important to be aware that there may be additional taxes on new home purchases in the form of HST and/or PST, depending on the province where the purchase is made. These additional taxes are not included in this analysis.
• CMHC Premium
• Mortgage insurance is paid to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This includes all loans secured with less than 25% down and depending on your financial institution, with as much as 35% down. This calculator assumes that financial institutions will not charge any CMHC premium if you have more than a 25% downpayment. This calculator assumes that your CMHC premium can be financed by your mortgage, which can greatly reduce the amount of upfront money that is required to purchase a home. The CMHC premium is calculated as:

CMHC Insurance Premium Rates:
Loan Size (% of property value)	Rate (as a % of loan)
Up to and including 65% (over 35% down payment)	0.5%
Up to and including 75% (25% to 34.99% down payment)	0.65%
Up to and including 80% (20% to 24.99% down payment)	1.00%
Up to and including 85% (15% to 19.99% down payment)	1.75%
Up to and including 90% (10% to 14.99% down payment)	2.00%
Up to and including 95% (5% to 9.99% down payment)	2.75%
Up to and including 95% Flex Down* (5% to 9.99% down payment)	2.90%

*Not all Financial Institutions offer the Flex Down option

• GDSR: Gross Debt Service Ratio
• Compares the total cost of your monthly mortgage payment, taxes and heating to your gross monthly (pre-tax) income from all sources. The general rule is that these monthly payments should not exceed 32% of your gross income.
• TDSR: Total Debt Service Ratio
• Examines the relationship between all monthly debts (i.e. mortgage payments, property taxes, cars, credit cards, other loans and obligations, etc.) and your gross monthly income. The general rule is that these total monthly payments should not exceed 40% of your income.
• Qualify amount
• Shown as "Total monthly payment." This is the total amount you qualify for per month. This amount is the total of "Principal, Interest, Tax and Heat" for your home.

Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We can not and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.