Canada Mortgage & Stress Test Calculator
Estimate whether a home purchase may pass Canada’s mortgage stress test by calculating the qualifying rate, minimum down payment, monthly stress-tested payment, GDS and TDS ratios. This tool uses the common stress-test rule: the higher of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%.
Result
Calculating...
Qualifying Rate
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Mortgage Amount
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Stress Payment
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Minimum Down
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GDS Ratio
Gross Debt Service guideline: under 39%
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TDS Ratio
Total Debt Service guideline: under 44%
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Debt Service Breakdown
- Monthly income
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- Stress-tested mortgage
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- Housing costs in GDS
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- Other monthly debts
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Rate Logic
- Contract rate
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- Contract + 2%
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- Federal floor
- 5.25%
- Down payment %
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How This Canada Mortgage Stress Test Calculator Works
The mortgage stress test is designed to check whether a borrower could still afford the mortgage if interest rates were higher than the rate offered by the lender. Instead of qualifying only at the contract rate, the calculator uses a higher qualifying rate and then measures the borrower’s housing costs and total debts against monthly household income.
1. Qualifying Rate
The qualifying rate is the greater of the contract mortgage rate plus 2 percentage points or the 5.25% federal floor. For example, if the contract rate is 4.50%, the stress-test rate becomes 6.50% because 4.50% + 2.00% is higher than 5.25%.
2. Minimum Down Payment
The minimum down payment depends on the purchase price. Homes up to $500,000 require at least 5% down. Homes from $500,000 to below $1.5 million use 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the amount above $500,000. Homes priced at $1.5 million or more generally require at least 20% down.
3. GDS and TDS
GDS compares monthly housing costs against monthly income. TDS compares monthly housing costs plus other monthly debts against monthly income. This calculator uses 39% for GDS and 44% for TDS as practical guideline thresholds, but individual lenders may apply different internal policies.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not mortgage, legal, financial, tax or lending advice. Actual approval depends on lender underwriting, credit score, income verification, mortgage insurance eligibility, property taxes, heating costs, strata fees, amortization rules and other factors.