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CMHC Mortgage Insurance Calculator

Estimate your CMHC (or Sagen / Canada Guaranty) mortgage default insurance premium, check your minimum down payment requirement, and see whether your home qualifies for insured financing.

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The federal minimum is 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,500,000.

years

Amortizations beyond 25 years carry a premium surcharge on insured mortgages.

CMHC premium$19,000.00
Loan-to-value (LTV)95.00%
Insurance required?Yes
Premium rate4.00%
Minimum down payment required$25,000.00
Eligible for insurance?Yes
Loan + premium (if added to loan)$494,000.00

Your down payment is below 20% (LTV above 80%), so mortgage default insurance is required.

How this calculator works

Mortgage default insurance is required on Canadian mortgages whenever the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is above 80% — that is, whenever the down payment is below 20% — on an eligible home:

LTV = loan amount ÷ home price

When required, the premium is a percentage of the loan amount, tiered by LTV band (roughly 0.6% at the lowest insured tier up to 4.0% at 95% LTV, the maximum allowed), with a further surcharge if the amortization period exceeds 25 years. Two federal rules bound the whole system: a minimum down payment — 5% of the first $500,000 of price, plus 10% of any portion from $500,000 to $1,500,000 — and a hardeligibility cutoff: homes priced at $1,500,000 or more cannot be insured at all, no matter the down payment, and require at least 20% down as a conventional mortgage instead.

Worked example

Take a $500,000 home with a $25,000 down payment (5% down, the federal minimum at this price) — a $475,000 loan at 95% LTV. That falls in the top premium tier, at 4.0% of the loan, producing a premium of roughly $19,000 — typically added to the mortgage balance rather than paid upfront, bringing the total amount financed to about$494,000. Increase the down payment to $100,000 (20%) on the same home and the LTV drops to 80%, crossing below the insurance threshold entirely — no premium applies at all.

What affects your result

  • Down payment size — the single biggest lever; every LTV tier crossed downward (95% → 90% → 85%, and so on) meaningfully cuts the premium rate.
  • Home price — determines both your minimum required down payment (via the two-tier federal formula) and whether the home is even eligible for insurance at all (the $1.5M cutoff).
  • Amortization period — insured mortgages with amortizations beyond 25 years carry a rate surcharge.
  • Whether the premium is added to the loan or paid upfront — most buyers roll the premium into the mortgage balance, which means paying interest on the premium itself over the life of the loan.

A note on accuracy

This calculator uses the standard published CMHC premium tiers and eligibility rules; actual premiums can vary slightly by insurer (CMHC, Sagen, Canada Guaranty) and by specific loan features. Provincial sales tax on the insurance premium itself may also apply in some provinces and is not included here — always confirm the exact premium with your lender before relying on this estimate. For official rules, seeCMHC — Mortgage Loan Insurance.

Frequently asked questions

What is CMHC insurance and when is it required?

CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) mortgage default insurance — also offered by private insurers Sagen and Canada Guaranty — is required whenever your down payment is below 20% (i.e. your loan-to-value is above 80%) on an eligible home. It protects the LENDER, not you, if you default on the loan, and lets buyers with a smaller down payment still qualify for a mortgage. The premium is a percentage of your loan amount, added either as a one-time payment or (more commonly) rolled into your mortgage balance.

How much is CMHC insurance?

The premium is tiered by loan-to-value: roughly 0.6% of the loan for LTV up to 65%, rising through 1.7% (up to 75%), 2.4% (up to 80%), 2.8% (up to 85%), 3.1% (up to 90%), and 4.0% for LTV up to 95% — the maximum allowed for insured financing. On a $475,000 loan at 95% LTV (5% down on a $500,000 home), for example, the premium would be about 4% of the loan, or roughly $19,000, typically added to your mortgage balance rather than paid upfront.

What is the minimum down payment in Canada?

The federally mandated minimum is 5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price, plus 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1,500,000. So a $700,000 home requires a minimum down payment of $45,000 (5% of $500,000 plus 10% of $200,000) — about 6.4% of the price. Homes priced at $1,500,000 or more require a minimum 20% down payment and are not eligible for insured (high-ratio) financing at all, regardless of the buyer's actual down payment percentage.

Why can't I get CMHC insurance on a $1.6 million home?

Federal rules make homes priced at $1,500,000 or more ineligible for mortgage default insurance entirely — no down payment percentage, however large, qualifies for insured financing above that threshold. Buyers of homes at or above $1.5M must put down at least 20% and take out a conventional (uninsured) mortgage. This calculator flags this clearly rather than showing a misleading premium calculation.

Does a longer amortization increase my CMHC premium?

Yes — insured mortgages with an amortization period beyond 25 years carry a surcharge (an additional 0.2 percentage points) added to the standard LTV-based premium rate. Since insured mortgages are otherwise capped at 25 years for most buyers, this surcharge mainly affects first-time buyers purchasing new construction who qualify for a 30-year insured amortization under recent federal rules.

Can I avoid CMHC insurance entirely?

Yes — putting down 20% or more (LTV at or below 80%) makes your mortgage "conventional" and avoids default insurance entirely, regardless of the home price (subject to the home being under $1.5M if you wanted insured financing as an alternative). This is one of the biggest reasons buyers aim for a 20% down payment: it skips a real, often five-figure, added cost.

Related calculators

Mortgage Payment CalculatorSee your monthly payment once you know your loan amount.Loan-to-Value (LTV) CalculatorCheck your LTV before applying for a mortgage.Mortgage Affordability CalculatorWork out how much you could qualify to borrow.