Canada · CAD · Mortgage & qualification
CMHC Insurance Calculator
Find the modeled minimum down payment, insurance tier, premium and cash premium tax.
Reference scope documented 2026-10-25: standard qualifying rate max(contract + 2 percentage points, 5.25%); purchase insurance cap below CAD 1.5 million; 30-year insured scenarios require confirmed eligibility. Enter current personal quotes; these rules do not establish approval. CMHC source · OSFI source.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice. Disclaimer · Methodology · Corrections.
How this estimate works
Base loan = purchase price − cash down. LTV is calculated before any premium is financed. Premium = base loan × applicable rate. Provincial premium tax is premium × the tax rate you enter.
Assumptions and limits
- Standard owner-occupied 1–2 unit purchase with traditional cash down only. Minimum down is 5% of the first CAD 500,000 plus 10% above it below CAD 1.5 million; at CAD 1.5 million or more the model requires 20%.
- The high-ratio CMHC tiers are 2.8%, 3.1% and 4.0% at base LTV up to 85%, 90% and 95%. Amortization above 25 years adds 0.20 percentage points and requires confirmed first-time-buyer or new-build eligibility, up to 30 years.
- At least 20% cash down gives zero borrower-paid high-ratio premium in this model, which does not mean all lender insurance is absent. Provincial premium tax is entered separately and paid in cash.
References and further reading
Worked Canada example: CMHC Insurance Calculator
This is a hypothetical arithmetic example in CAD, not a current lender quote, market observation or borrower record. The same calculator model produces the figures below. Its input assumptions are shown so that you can reproduce or change the scenario.
| Assumed input | Illustration value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price (CAD) | 700,000 |
| Cash down payment (CAD) | 70,000 |
| Amortization remaining (years) | 25 |
| 30-year insured first-buyer/new-build eligibility confirmed? | No / not confirmed |
| Finance the CMHC premium? | Yes — add to principal |
| Applicable provincial premium tax (%) | 0 |
| Calculated measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash down in modeled purchase | CA$45,000.00 |
| Base loan | CA$630,000.00 |
| Base-loan LTV | 90% |
| CMHC premium rate | 3.1% |
| Insurance premium | CA$19,530.00 |
| Principal after selected premium treatment | CA$649,530.00 |
Amounts use unrounded intermediate arithmetic and are rounded only for display. Selecting different costs, rates, payment dates or terms changes the result; no illustration value is prefilled into your personal financial fields.