CMHC premium calculator
Buying with less than 20% down means mortgage default insurance. See the exact premium for your down payment tier, the sales tax due at closing in four provinces, and what the premium adds to your monthly payment: all with the real Canadian mortgage formula.
Purchase & financing
Insured mortgages are unavailable at $1.5M and up
Minimum here: $30,000 (5.5%)
30 yrs insured adds 0.20 points; first-time buyers and new builds only
ON, QC and SK charge sales tax on the premium
CMHC insurance premium
$15,345
3.10% of the loan at 90.0% LTV, added to your mortgage
LTV
90.0%
Premium rate
3.10%
Cash at closing
$55,000
Cash at closing here is the down payment plus premium tax only; add legal fees, inspection, and land transfer tax.
The premium tables
Default insurance protects the lender, not you, but it is what makes 5% to 10% down payments possible. The premium is a percentage of the loan amount, set by loan-to-value tier, and identical across all three insurers (CMHC, Sagen, Canada Guaranty):
| Loan-to-value | Premium rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 65% | 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% |
| 90.01% – 95%, borrowed down payment | 4.50% |
Two adjustments to know. A 30-year insured amortization (first time buyers and new builds only) adds 0.20 percentage points to any tier. And the tiers below 80% LTV exist mainly for lender-paid insurance; a borrower with 20% down or more simply is not required to insure at all.
The tier cliff is worth planning around
Premiums step at exactly 85% and 90% LTV, so a slightly bigger down payment sometimes pays for itself instantly. On a $500,000 home, 10% down means a 3.10% premium ($13,950) while 9.5% down means a 4.00% premium ($18,100 on the larger loan): finding the extra $2,500 of down payment saves about $4,150 of premium. Run your own numbers a half point either side of 10% and 15% before settling.
Where this fits with the other tools
Buying a duplex to fourplex and living in one unit? The house hacking calculator applies these same premium tiers inside a full monthly cost analysis. For a pure rental (20% down, no insurance available), start with the rental property calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the CMHC insurance premium?+
It depends on your loan-to-value: 2.80% of the loan at 80.01% to 85% LTV, 3.10% at 85.01% to 90%, and 4.00% at 90.01% to 95%. On a $550,000 home with 10% down, that is 3.10% of the $495,000 loan, or $15,345. Sagen and Canada Guaranty charge the same rates as CMHC, so you cannot shop the premium.
Do I pay the premium up front?+
Almost nobody does. The premium is added to your mortgage and paid off over the amortization, which is why the calculator shows your total mortgage as the loan plus the premium. The exception is the provincial sales tax on the premium in Ontario (8%), Quebec (9%), and Saskatchewan (6%): that tax cannot be added to the mortgage and is due in cash at closing. Manitoba charged this tax too until 2020, when it removed its RST from mortgage default insurance.
When is mortgage default insurance required?+
Whenever your down payment is under 20% on a home priced below $1.5 million. It is only available for owner-occupied properties with up to four units and amortizations of 25 years or less (30 for first-time buyers and new builds). Non-owner-occupied rental properties cannot be insured, which is why rentals require at least 20% down.
Does a 30-year amortization cost more?+
Yes. On an insured mortgage, a 30-year amortization is only available to first-time buyers and buyers of new construction, and it adds 0.20 percentage points to the premium: 4.20% instead of 4.00% at 95% LTV, for example. The trade is a lower monthly payment against a bigger premium and more lifetime interest.
Can I get any of the premium back?+
Sometimes. CMHC's Eco Plus program refunds 25% of the premium when you buy or build a newly constructed energy-efficient home that meets its certification criteria (applications accepted up to two years after closing), and Sagen and Canada Guaranty run similar programs. Otherwise the premium is not refundable, though if you sell and buy again quickly the insurers offer premium portability credits on the new mortgage.