CALCULATION METHODOLOGY
How Mortgagez.ca calculates your estimate
Our formulas, assumptions and external rules are published so the result can be understood and checked.
Canadian fixed-rate conversion
Canadian fixed mortgage rates are quoted as nominal annual rates compounded semi-annually. For a quoted rate j and m payments per year, the periodic rate is:
periodic rate = (1 + j / 2)^(2 / m) − 1For principal P, periodic rate i and n payments:
payment = P × i / (1 − (1 + i)^−n)Payment frequencies
Monthly payment is calculated first. Semi-monthly is half the monthly payment. Standard bi-weekly and weekly spread 12 monthly payments across 26 or 52 periods. Accelerated schedules use half or one quarter of the monthly payment, producing approximately one extra monthly payment each year.
Mortgage default insurance
When down payment is below 20%, the calculator estimates a premium using versioned loan-to-value bands. Mortgage default insurance protects the lender, not the borrower. The premium is added to the base mortgage; provincial sales tax is not included.
Rounding and differences
The calculation keeps full precision internally and rounds displayed money to cents. Lenders may use different payment dates, rounding, insurance products and contractual rules, so their result can differ.
Official references
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Choosing a mortgage Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Down payments CMHC — Mortgage loan insurance costsRules version ca-2026-08 · Reviewed August 17, 2026.