CMHC Mortgage Insurance Calculator — Canada 2026
See your exact CMHC insurance premium at different down payment levels — updated for the December 15, 2024 federal rule changes including the $1.5 million insured ceiling.
On a $700,000 home, CMHC insurance adds $16,000–$27,000 to your mortgage depending on your down payment. See your exact premium below.
If your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price, your mortgage is what's called a high-ratio or insured mortgage, and Canadian law requires it to carry default insurance. The premium isn't a separate bill you pay each month — it's added directly to your loan amount and amortized over the life of the mortgage. So a $42,000 premium on a $610,000 mortgage means your actual loan balance is $652,000, and that's what your monthly payment is calculated on.
The premium rate depends on your loan-to-value ratio (LTV), which is just the loan amount divided by the home price. Less down means higher LTV means a higher premium tier. The premium ranges from 0.6% (at 65% LTV) up to 4.0% (at 95% LTV) of the loan amount. Three insurers — CMHC, Sagen, and Canada Guaranty — offer functionally identical premium schedules, so the rate doesn't change between them. The number this calculator gives you is what you'd pay regardless of which insurer your lender uses.
What CMHC Insurance Actually Does (and Who It Protects)
One of the most common misunderstandings about CMHC insurance: it does not protect you. If you default on your mortgage, CMHC pays your lender for any shortfall after the home is sold at auction. Your liability for the original mortgage debt is unaffected by CMHC insurance. You still owe what you owe.
So why does it exist? CMHC insurance allows lenders to extend mortgages with smaller down payments at competitive rates, because they're protected against catastrophic losses if a borrower defaults during a downturn. Without CMHC (and Sagen, Canada Guaranty), Canadian banks would either require 20% down on every mortgage or charge significantly higher interest rates on small-down-payment loans to price in the default risk themselves. The trade-off, from your perspective: you can buy a home with as little as 5% down at the same advertised rate as a borrower with 20% down — but you pay a one-time premium baked into the loan.
Current CMHC Premium Rates (Full Schedule)
| Down Payment | LTV Ratio | Premium Rate | Premium on $700K Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9.99% | 90.01–95.00% | 4.00% | $26,600 |
| 10–14.99% | 85.01–90.00% | 3.10% | $19,530 |
| 15–19.99% | 80.01–85.00% | 2.80% | $16,660 |
| 20%+ (conventional) | 80.00% or less | None | $0 |
Premium calculated on the loan amount (price minus down payment), not on the purchase price.
There's also a 0.20% surcharge for non-traditional down payment sources (borrowed from an unsecured line of credit, gifted from a non-immediate-family member, or other "borrowed equity" sources) — bringing the top-tier 95% LTV premium to 4.20%. Most CMHC calculators omit this surcharge because most buyers use traditional sources, but it's worth knowing if your down payment came from anywhere unusual.
The December 15, 2024 Rule Changes (Now in Effect)
The federal government made two material changes to insured mortgage rules, both of which took effect on December 15, 2024 and remain in force:
- Maximum insurable home price raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. Homes priced under $1.5M can now use CMHC insurance with the standard tiered minimum down payment (5% on first $500K + 10% on portion above). At or above $1.5M, no insured mortgage is available — you must put 20% or more down.
- 30-year amortization expanded. Previously, the maximum amortization for insured mortgages was 25 years. Now, 30-year amortization on insured mortgages is available to first-time homebuyers OR buyers of newly built homes — either condition qualifies. (Conventional mortgages with 20%+ down have always allowed 30-year amortization regardless.)
Practical impact: a buyer who previously needed at least $200,000 down on a $1,200,000 home (since insurance wasn't available above $1M) can now put down as little as $95,000 (5% on first $500K + 10% on next $700K) on the same home, with CMHC insurance. The premium is significant — about $43,560 added to the mortgage — but the down payment requirement dropped from $200,000 to $95,000, which is the more meaningful constraint for most buyers.
You're buying a $700,000 home. The minimum legal down payment is $45,000 (5% on first $500K + 10% on next $200K = $25K + $20K = $45K, which is 6.43% of the price). That puts you in the 10–14.99% premium tier.
Compare that to putting 20% down on the same home: $140,000 down, $560,000 mortgage, no CMHC premium, monthly payment of $3,038. The difference is $626/month for 25 years (~$188,000 in extra payments) versus saving $95,000 in additional down payment up front. The 5% buyer is paying roughly twice the cost-of-down-payment-savings to get into the home five years earlier — whether that's worth it depends entirely on whether prices rise materially in those five years.
5% vs 10% vs 15% vs 20% Down — Total Cost Comparison
| Down % | Down Amount | Loan Before CMHC | CMHC Premium | Total Mortgage | Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.43% (legal min) | $45,000 | $655,000 | $20,305 | $675,305 | $3,664 |
| 10% | $70,000 | $630,000 | $19,530 | $649,530 | $3,524 |
| 15% | $105,000 | $595,000 | $16,660 | $611,660 | $3,318 |
| 20% | $140,000 | $560,000 | $0 | $560,000 | $3,038 |
Same $700,000 GTA home, 4.29% rate, 25-year amortization, semi-annual compounding. Monthly payment includes the loan amount inflated by CMHC premium.
The lesson buried in the table: going from 5% down to 20% down on a $700K home saves you about $626/month and $20,305 in CMHC premium. But it also requires $95,000 more cash up front, which is a meaningful opportunity cost — that money could otherwise grow in a TFSA or remain as an emergency cushion. There's no universally "right" answer, but most financial planners would tell you: if you have $140K available, it's almost always better to put it all down than to put $45K down and keep $95K liquid earning a few percent. The exception is if you genuinely need the liquidity for a meaningful reason (parental leave, business runway, planned home renovations).
When CMHC Insurance Actually Makes Sense (and When It Doesn't)
The default media narrative is that CMHC insurance is a "tax on poor buyers" — that wealthy buyers put 20% down and avoid it, while everyone else pays through the nose. This is too simple. There are real cases where paying CMHC is the right call, and real cases where it's not.
CMHC makes sense when: You're confident in your job stability and home prices, the home you can afford with 5% down isn't materially worse than the home you'd have to wait years to afford with 20% down, you have a reasonable emergency cushion outside the down payment, and you're not stretching to your absolute affordability ceiling (where any rate increase or income disruption would bury you). In a rising market, 2–3 years of waiting can cost more than the CMHC premium itself.
CMHC makes less sense when: You'd be borrowing the down payment from an unsecured source (triggering the 0.20% surcharge), you'd be stretching to 95% LTV at the very top of your affordability with no margin, the home you're buying is in a flat or declining market where waiting is unlikely to hurt, or you can realistically save the additional 15% in 18 months without major lifestyle compromise.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The 5% down rule only applies to the first $500,000 of the home price. Above that, you need 10% on the portion from $500K to under $1.5M. So a $700,000 home requires 6.43% minimum, an $850,000 home requires 7.06% minimum, and a $1,200,000 home requires 8.33% minimum. There's no 5% down option above $500K. Many first-time buyers budget for 5% across the board and discover they're tens of thousands short at offer time. Use the down payment calculator to see the exact minimum at your target price.
The CMHC premium is rolled into your mortgage and amortized over the term. You don't pay it as a lump sum at closing. This means your monthly payment is calculated on the inflated loan amount, not on price-minus-down-payment. On a $700K home with 5% down, the difference is $20,305 added to your loan — pushing your monthly payment up by about $110/month for 25 years.
You can't. CMHC insurance is "lifetime" insurance on that specific loan — it stays attached for the entire amortization, even as you build equity past 20%. The only way to remove it is to break the mortgage entirely (potentially triggering a penalty) and refinance into a new conventional mortgage with a different lender. Whether that's worth it depends on the penalty and the interest rate of the new loan. Use ClearKey's penalty calculator to model the math.
CMHC default insurance protects the lender if you stop paying. Mortgage life insurance (the kind your bank tries to sell you when you sign) pays off your mortgage if you die — totally separate, optional, and almost always overpriced compared to a private term life policy. Title insurance protects against title fraud and survey errors at closing — also separate, typically a $300–$500 one-time cost. Don't confuse the three.
For new builds, HST handling on the agreement of purchase and sale (APS) varies — the price may be quoted HST-included, net of an assigned rebate (most common in pre-construction, where the builder collects the federal/Ontario new-housing rebate on your behalf), or plus HST. Read your APS carefully and confirm which structure applies before assuming a "price + 13%" rule. Mortgage qualification and CMHC premium calculations follow the lender's accepted purchase/lending value from the APS, not a generic markup. Resale homes don't have this issue. If you're buying pre-construction, our pre-construction condo financing guide walks through the HST rebate mechanics in more detail.
What This Calculator Doesn't Tell You
A CMHC premium number is necessary but not sufficient for a real decision. This calculator deliberately doesn't model:
- Whether you'll qualify for the loan. CMHC insurance availability is one thing; passing the OSFI stress test (greater of 5.25% or contract + 2%) and GDS/TDS ratios is another. Use the GDS/TDS calculator for that.
- Provincial sales tax on the premium. Ontario charges 8% retail sales tax (RST) on mortgage default insurance premiums. Unlike the premium itself — which is added to your mortgage and amortized — the RST cannot be rolled into the loan and must be paid in cash at closing. On a $20,305 CMHC premium, that's an additional ~$1,624 of out-of-pocket cash on closing day. Quebec and Saskatchewan also tax mortgage insurance premiums; other provinces do not. Always factor this into your closing-day cash budget.
- Lender-specific overlays. Some lenders apply additional internal premiums (e.g., 0.10% surcharges) for non-owner-occupied properties, second homes, or specific property types. Your mortgage commitment letter is the authoritative number.
- Refinance with a different insurer. If your loan is currently insured by CMHC and you refinance with a Sagen-only lender, the new lender may require a fresh insurance application. Most refinances stay with the original insurer, but this isn't guaranteed.
How Much Income Do You Need to Buy a House in Canada?
CMHC insurance affects your total mortgage balance, which affects your monthly payment and your qualifying ratios. A higher premium means you need slightly more income to pass the mortgage stress test Canada 2026. See exactly what income is required at every price point in our income needed to buy a house in Canada guide. First-time buyers should also explore the FHSA vs RRSP Home Buyers' Plan to maximize down payment savings while minimizing CMHC premium tier.
See your exact CMHC premium, LTV ratio, and total insured mortgage amount — free, no sign-up required.
Open Full Calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
Is CMHC insurance the same as mortgage life insurance?
No, they're completely different. CMHC insurance is mortgage default insurance — it protects the lender if you stop paying. Mortgage life insurance pays off your remaining mortgage balance if you die or become disabled, and it's an optional product that banks often try to sell at signing. Most financial planners recommend a private term life insurance policy instead of bank-sold mortgage life insurance because it's typically cheaper and the payout goes to your family rather than directly to the bank.
Can I avoid CMHC insurance by putting 19.99% down?
No. The 20% threshold is strict — anything from 5% up to (but not including) 20% requires CMHC or another insurer. At exactly 20% or above, no insurance is required. Lenders typically round in your favour at the boundary, but if you're at 19.95%, you're paying the 15-19.99% tier premium of 2.80%. To avoid CMHC, you need to genuinely hit 20.00% down — including any closing costs, PST, or transaction fees the lender wants to bake into the calculation.
Does CMHC insurance apply to refinancing?
It depends on the type. A standard refinance to access equity (cash-out) cannot be CMHC-insured — refinances are conventional only, requiring 80% or less LTV. A "purchase plus improvements" refinance bundling renovation costs into the purchase mortgage can be insured under specific programs. A straight switch at renewal to a different federally regulated lender retains the original insurance and doesn't trigger a new premium. The rules are detailed and lender-specific; check with a broker for your specific situation.
What's the difference between CMHC, Sagen, and Canada Guaranty?
All three insure mortgages with the same federal-government-backed guarantee and identical premium schedules. CMHC is a federal Crown corporation; Sagen (formerly Genworth Canada) and Canada Guaranty are private companies. The choice of insurer is made by your lender, not you. Some lenders prefer one over another for operational reasons. The premium you pay is the same regardless. The only practical difference borrowers ever notice is occasional underwriting differences on edge cases (specific property types, self-employed borrowers, newcomers) where one insurer may approve while another declines.
Can I pay the CMHC premium upfront instead of adding it to my mortgage?
Almost no Canadian lender allows this anymore. The premium is rolled into the loan and amortized over the term as a matter of standard practice. The math doesn't favour paying it upfront anyway — you'd lose the time-value-of-money on the lump sum, and the premium amortized at your mortgage rate (currently around 4.29%) is generally cheaper than depleting an investment portfolio earning 6%+ to pay it cash.
Does CMHC insurance get cancelled when I hit 20% equity?
No. Unlike US private mortgage insurance (PMI), which automatically cancels at 78% LTV, Canadian CMHC insurance is a one-time premium paid at origination that stays attached to the loan for its entire amortization. There's no cancellation, no refund, and no reduction as you build equity. The only way to "remove" CMHC is to break the mortgage and refinance into a new conventional loan — which may trigger a prepayment penalty (use ClearKey's penalty calculator to model this) and is rarely worthwhile economically.
Are second homes and rental properties CMHC-insurable?
Owner-occupied second homes (e.g., a cottage you live in part-time) can sometimes qualify for CMHC insurance under the Second Home program, but underwriters scrutinize these closely and many lenders restrict it. Rental and investment properties — non-owner-occupied — are generally not CMHC-insurable for residential mortgages and require 20% or more down. There are exceptions for small multi-unit properties (2–4 units) where you live in one unit, which can qualify for insurance under standard owner-occupied rules.
This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, mortgage, or legal advice. CMHC premium rates shown are standard rates as of 2026 and may vary based on lender, property type, down payment source, and individual circumstances. Always consult a licensed mortgage professional. ClearKey is not a licensed mortgage brokerage.