Mortgage Refinance Calculator

It depends on the gap between your current rate and the new rate, and the fees involved. For example, refinancing a $350,000 balance from a 6% rate (with 22 years remaining) to a 4.8% rate over 25 years cuts the monthly payment noticeably, and a $1,500 refinance fee is typically recouped within a handful of months. Use the calculator above with your own numbers for an exact figure.

Typical costs include an appraisal fee, legal fees, a mortgage discharge fee from your current lender, and — if you're breaking your current term before it ends — a prepayment penalty, which for fixed-rate mortgages is usually the greater of three months' interest or the Interest Rate Differential (IRD), a calculation based on the difference between your contract rate and the lender's current rate for a similar remaining term. IRD penalties can be substantial, so always get an exact payout quote from your current lender before refinancing mid-term.

It's how many months it takes for your monthly saving on the new mortgage to add up to more than the fees (including any prepayment penalty) you paid to get it. If the break-even point is, say, 8 months, you come out ahead from month 9 onward. If the new deal doesn't actually lower your monthly payment — or saves so little that the fees are never fully recouped within the new term — the calculator tells you plainly rather than showing a misleading number.

Yes — this is one of the most common reasons Canadians refinance, often called a "cash-out refinance" or increasing your mortgage to access equity. Federally regulated lenders generally cap this at 80% loan-to-value of your home's current appraised value. This calculator focuses on comparing payments between your current and new rate/term rather than modelling an increased loan amount, so add any extra funds you're taking out to the new loan balance manually if you're refinancing to access equity.

It can be, if the rate improvement is large enough to outweigh the prepayment penalty (often an IRD charge on fixed mortgages) for breaking your current term early. Since IRD penalties scale with both your remaining term and the rate difference, refinancing tends to make more sense either close to your renewal date (when the penalty shrinks) or when rates have moved enough to produce a large ongoing saving. Get an exact penalty quote from your current lender before deciding.

Both are common. Staying with your current lender (sometimes at renewal, without a full refinance) can be simpler and sometimes fee-free, but you may not get the most competitive rate. Switching lenders can secure a better rate but typically involves the fees this calculator lets you enter — appraisal, legal, and discharge costs. It's generally worth comparing offers from multiple lenders or working with a mortgage broker before committing.