Enter the home price, your down payment, amortization, interest rate and province to see the CMHC mortgage insurance premium, the sales tax due at closing, the insured mortgage and its monthly payment, and how the premium changes at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% down.
$
$
5.00% of the price; minimum $25,000
30 years only for first-time buyers and new builds
%
Your lender's rate for the term
Manitoba stopped taxing mortgage insurance on 1 July 2020
CMHC premium (4.00%)
$19,000.00
Insured mortgage
$494,000.00
Monthly payment
$2,734.16
Sales tax due at closing
$1,520.00
Premium's share of the payment
$105.16
Interest on the premium
$12,547.96
Loan $475,000.00 (95.00% of the price) × 4.00% = $19,000.00 premium, added to the mortgage: $494,000.00.
The sales tax on the premium, $1,520.00, can't be added to the mortgage: you pay it at closing.
Over 25 years the premium costs $31,547.96 with its interest.
The same home at other down payments
Down payment
Premium
Mortgage
Monthly
$25,0005.00%
$19,0004.00%
$494,000
$2,734.16
$50,00010.00%
$13,9503.10%
$463,950
$2,567.84
$75,00015.00%
$11,9002.80%
$436,900
$2,418.12
$100,00020.00%
none
$400,000
$2,213.89
An estimate for a homeowner purchase with a traditional down payment, at CMHC's premiums. Sagen and Canada Guaranty, the other two insurers, set their own; your lender confirms the figure. Not financial advice.
How to use the CMHC insurance calculator
Enter the home price and your down payment, in dollars or as a percentage.
Choose the amortization and enter your lender's interest rate.
Choose your province, then read the premium, the tax due at closing and your payment, and compare other down payments in the table.
Worked example
A $500,000 home in Ontario with the minimum 5% down ($25,000) leaves a $475,000 loan: 95% of the price, so the premium is 4.00%, or $19,000. It's added to the loan for a $494,000 mortgage, and Ontario's 8% sales tax on the premium, $1,520, is paid at closing. Over 25 years at 4.5%, the payment is $2,734.16 a month, of which $105.16 pays for the premium. Putting 10% down instead lowers the premium to $13,950 (3.10%), and 20% down removes it.
CMHC premiums
Down payment 5% to 9.99% (loan-to-value 90.01% to 95%): 4.00% of the loan; 4.50% with a non-traditional down payment
10% to 14.99% down (85.01% to 90%): 3.10%
15% to 19.99% down (80.01% to 85%): 2.80%
Amortization over 25 years: add 0.20%
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation premium information and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada; Manitoba Finance RST notice 20-04 for the Manitoba exemption. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How much is CMHC insurance?
A percentage of the loan that depends on your down payment: 4.00% with 5% to 9.99% down, 3.10% with 10% to 14.99%, 2.80% with 15% to 19.99%. With 20% or more down, insurance isn't required. On a $500,000 home with $25,000 down, the loan is $475,000 and the premium is $19,000.
Who has to pay mortgage loan insurance?
Buyers who put down less than 20% of the price. The home must cost under $1.5 million, the minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest (so $55,000 on an $800,000 home), and the amortization can be up to 25 years, or 30 years for first-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes.
Is the CMHC premium added to the mortgage?
Usually yes: the premium is added to the loan and paid off with it, so a $19,000 premium on a $475,000 loan gives a $494,000 mortgage. In Ontario (8%), Quebec (9%) and Saskatchewan (6%) there's also provincial sales tax on the premium, which can't be added to the mortgage and is paid at closing: $1,520 in Ontario on that $19,000 premium.
Does a 30-year amortization cost more?
The premium rate goes up by 0.20%. With 5% down on a $500,000 home, the rate is 4.20% and the premium $19,950 instead of $19,000. At 4.5% interest the monthly payment drops from $2,734.16 to $2,495.61, but you pay interest for five more years.
What if part of my down payment is borrowed?
Above 90% loan-to-value, CMHC charges 4.50% instead of 4.00% when the down payment comes from a non-traditional source such as an unsecured loan or line of credit. Savings, money from selling a home and gifts from immediate family are traditional sources.
Does Manitoba charge PST on CMHC insurance?
Not any more. Manitoba charged retail sales tax on mortgage insurance from July 2012, but exempted it for policies from 1 July 2020. The calculator applies sales tax only in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
