About this calculator
Mortgage default insurance protects the lender, not you — but you pay for it. Federal rules make it mandatory whenever the down payment is under 20% of the price and the home costs less than $1.5 million (the cap the December 15, 2024 reforms raised from $1 million). Three insurers offer it — CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty — at essentially identical prices, and your lender, not you, picks which one. The premium is a one-time percentage of the loan amount, set by your loan-to-value ratio from the schedule below, and it is almost always added to the mortgage and paid off over the amortization.
CMHC premium schedule (premium as % of the loan): up to 65% LTV 0.60%; 65.01–75% 1.70%; 75.01–80% 2.40%; 80.01–85% 2.80%; 85.01–90% 3.10%; 90.01–95% 4.00%. Insurance is only required in the top three bands, but the lower bands matter when a lender chooses to insure a conventional loan. Two surcharges catch people out: an amortization over 25 years — available on insured loans since December 2024 only to first-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes — adds 0.20 points, and a non-traditional down-payment source (borrowed funds or a lender cash-back) costs 4.50% in the top band.
The trap is the tax. Ontario charges 8% sales tax on the premium, Quebec 9% and Saskatchewan 6% — and that tax must be paid in cash at closing; it can never be added to the mortgage, even when the premium itself is. (Manitoba used to charge 7% RST but scrapped it on default insurance premiums in 2020; BC and Alberta charge nothing.) On a $22,600 premium — the charge at the minimum down payment on a $600,000 home — the Ontario buyer needs $1,808 in cash on closing day purely for tax on insurance.
How to use it
- Enter the price and your down payment; the calculator enforces the federal minimum down payment (5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest).
- Set the amortization — pick 30 years only if you are a first-time buyer or buying a new build, the two groups allowed 30-year insured loans.
- Pick your province: it sets the sales tax charged on the premium, shown separately because it is cash at closing.
- Read the premium, the tax, and the all-in mortgage; the table below compares the premium at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% down so you can see what crossing a band is worth.
The formula
The premium is charged on the whole loan amount, not just the slice above 80% LTV — jumping from 90.01% to 95% LTV re-prices the entire mortgage at 4.00%. That cliff is why an extra few thousand of down payment that crosses a band boundary can save far more in premium than it costs. When the premium is financed, you also pay interest on it for the full amortization; the results show that lifetime interest cost separately.
Worked example
A $600,000 home with 10% down ($60,000): the $540,000 mortgage is at 90% LTV, so the premium is 3.10% = $16,740 and the insured mortgage becomes $556,740, costing $3,081.41 a month at 4.50% over 25 years. In Ontario the buyer also owes 8% tax on the premium — $1,339.20 in cash at closing. Drop to the minimum down payment ($35,000 on this price) and the premium jumps to 4.00% of $565,000 = $22,600; reach 20% down and it disappears entirely.
Sources: CMHC homeowner premium schedule (cmhc-schl.gc.ca), current October 2026, including the December 15, 2024 rules ($1.5M insured price cap; 30-year insured amortization for first-time and new-build buyers) and provincial premium taxes (ON 8%, QC 9%, SK 6%). Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the CMHC premium on a $600,000 home?
It depends on the down payment: the minimum down payment ($35,000) → $22,600 (4.00% of the $565,000 loan); 10% down → $16,740 (3.10%); 15% down → $14,280 (2.80% of $510,000); 20% down → $0, because insurance is not required. Add 0.20 points to the rate for a 30-year amortization, and remember Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan tax the premium (8%, 9%, 6%) in cash at closing.
Can the CMHC premium be added to the mortgage?
Yes — the premium itself is almost always capitalized into the loan and repaid over the amortization, which is why this calculator shows the interest it accrues. The exception is the provincial sales tax on the premium (Ontario 8%, Quebec 9%, Saskatchewan 6%): that portion is always due in cash at closing and cannot be financed.
Who is eligible for an insured mortgage?
The basics: the home must be in Canada and owner-occupied (1–4 units), priced under $1.5 million, with at least the minimum down payment from traditional sources for the minimum-down portion. At least one borrower needs a credit score of 600 or more, and your debt-service ratios must fit inside GDS 39% / TDS 44% at the stress-test qualifying rate. Amortization is capped at 25 years except for first-time buyers and buyers of new builds, who may take 30 (since December 15, 2024).
Is it CMHC or one of the private insurers?
Your lender chooses between CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty; you do not get to pick, and their consumer premium schedules are effectively identical, so the figure here is the price regardless of which insurer your lender uses. Where they differ is underwriting appetite — a file declined by one is sometimes approved by another.
Can I get a refund of the premium if I pay the mortgage off early?
Generally no — the premium is earned in full when the insurance is issued, and it is not refunded when you sell, refinance or pay off early. Two partial exceptions: a top-up on a subsequent insured loan may credit the existing premium, and porting an insured mortgage to a new property can carry it across. Treat the premium as a sunk cost of buying with less than 20% down.
What formula does this cmhc insurance calculator use?
Premium = (price − down payment) × schedule rate for your LTV band (+0.20 pts if amortization > 25 years). Premium tax = premium × provincial rate (ON 8%, QC 9%, SK 6%). The premium is charged on the whole loan amount, not just the slice above 80% LTV — jumping from 90.01% to 95% LTV re-prices the entire mortgage at 4.00%. That cliff is why an extra few thousand of down payment that crosses a band boundary can save far more in premium than it costs. When the premium is financed, you also pay interest on it for the full amortization; the results show that lifetime interest cost separately. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.