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Mortgage Affordability Calculator (GDS/TDS)

Estimate how much home you could afford in Canada, using the same GDS and TDS debt-service ratios — and stress-tested qualifying rate — that federally regulated lenders use.

$

Combined gross annual income of all applicants.

%

The actual rate you'd pay. Lenders qualify you at a higher stress-tested rate — see below.

years
$
$
$
$

Only 50% of condo fees count toward GDS/TDS. Leave at $0 if not a condo.

$

Car loans, credit cards, student loans, etc. — used in the TDS ratio only.

Maximum affordable home price$441,447.57
Maximum loan amount$391,447.57
Qualifying (stress-test) rate7.00%Greater of contract rate + 2pp, or the 5.25% floor
GDS ratio (max 39%)39.0%Pass
TDS ratio (max 44%)42.6%Pass

Your maximum loan is limited by the GDS ratio — the tighter of the two lender debt-service tests in this scenario.

How this calculator works

Canadian lenders test affordability with two ratios, applied to your gross (before-tax) income:

GDS = (P&I + property tax + heat + 50% condo fees) ÷ gross income ≤ 39%

TDS = (GDS costs + other debt payments) ÷ gross income ≤ 44%

Crucially, the principal-and-interest (P&I) figure used in both ratios is calculated at thequalifying rate — the greater of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points, or a 5.25% floor — not the actual rate you'll pay. This federal stress test (OSFI Guideline B-20) applies to every mortgage, insured or not. Whichever ratio produces the smaller maximum monthly P&I budget is the binding constraint, and the calculator works backwards from that budget to your maximum loan amount and home price.

Worked example

Take a household with $100,000 gross annual income, a 5% contract rate, a25-year amortization, $4,000 annual property tax, $150 monthly heating costs, no condo fees, $300 in other monthly debt payments, and a $50,000down payment. The qualifying rate comes out to 7% (5% contract rate + 2 points, above the 5.25% floor). Working through the GDS and TDS budgets at that qualifying rate produces a maximum monthly principal-and-interest budget, and — once the down payment is added back — an estimated maximum home price. The calculator shows you exactly which ratio binds in your specific scenario.

What affects your result

  • Gross income — the single biggest lever on both ratios; combine incomes for a joint application.
  • Contract rate — a higher quoted rate raises the qualifying (stress-test) rate too, since it's calculated as contract rate + 2pp, reducing your maximum loan.
  • Other monthly debts — car loans, credit cards, and student loans only affect TDS, but can become the binding constraint even when GDS looks comfortable.
  • Property tax, heating, and condo fees — fixed dollar costs that reduce the P&I budget available under both ratios before you even look at the mortgage itself.
  • Down payment — doesn't change your maximum loan, but adds directly to your maximum home price, dollar for dollar.

A note on accuracy

This calculator applies the standard federally regulated GDS/TDS framework and OSFI's B-20 stress-test rules as published, with editable inputs for every assumption. It does not model a specific lender's full underwriting criteria (credit score, employment type, or exceptions some lenders make for well-qualified borrowers), so your actual maximum loan from a real lender may differ. For official guidance, see theOSFI Guideline B-20and CMHC.

Frequently asked questions

What are GDS and TDS in a Canadian mortgage application?

GDS (Gross Debt Service) and TDS (Total Debt Service) are the two debt-service ratios Canadian lenders use to decide how much you can borrow. GDS covers your housing costs alone — mortgage principal and interest, property tax, heating, and 50% of any condo fees — as a percentage of your gross income, capped at 39%. TDS adds all your other debt payments (car loans, credit cards, student loans) on top of housing costs, capped at 44%. Whichever ratio produces the smaller maximum loan is the one that actually binds your borrowing power.

What is the mortgage stress test in Canada?

Since 2016, every federally regulated lender must qualify you at a "qualifying rate" rather than the actual contract rate you'll pay. Under OSFI Guideline B-20, the qualifying rate is the greater of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points, or a floor rate of 5.25% — whichever is higher. This applies to every insured AND uninsured mortgage, so even buyers putting down 20% or more are stress-tested. The idea is to confirm you could still afford the payments if rates rose after you took out the loan.

How much mortgage can I afford in Canada on a $100,000 income?

It depends heavily on your down payment, the qualifying rate, property tax, heating costs, condo fees, and any other debts — there's no single answer. As a rough illustration, a $100,000 gross income with modest debts and a $50,000 down payment might support a maximum home price somewhere in the mid-$500,000s to low-$600,000s range at a typical qualifying rate around 7%, though your specific numbers will move this meaningfully in either direction. Enter your own figures into the calculator above for a personalized estimate.

Why do condo fees only count 50% toward GDS/TDS?

Lenders typically only count half of your monthly condo (strata) fees as a housing cost for GDS/TDS purposes, on the reasoning that a portion of those fees often covers costs (like utilities or amenities) that a non-condo owner would otherwise pay directly and which aren't purely a 'shelter' cost. This 50% convention is standard across most federally regulated lenders, though some lenders may use a different treatment — always confirm with your specific lender.

What happens if I fail the GDS or TDS test?

If your desired home price would push either ratio above the maximum, the lender caps your loan at whichever ratio is more restrictive — reducing your maximum loan (and therefore maximum home price) until both ratios are back within limits. This calculator shows you exactly which ratio (GDS or TDS) is the binding constraint in your scenario, and clear pass/fail badges for both, so you can see which lever (lower price, bigger down payment, paying off other debts) would help most.

Is the qualifying rate the rate I will actually pay?

No — the qualifying (stress-test) rate is used only to test affordability; it is not your actual contract rate. You'll make payments at your real, lower contract rate, but the lender needs to see that you could still afford payments at the higher qualifying rate before approving the loan. This calculator shows both figures clearly labelled so you understand which one drives your maximum loan calculation.

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