Mortgage Stress Test Calculator (2026)

The mortgage stress test is a federal qualifying rule that checks whether you could still afford your mortgage payments if interest rates rose. To get a mortgage from a bank, you must qualify at the higher of your contract rate plus 2%, or 5.25%, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). That higher rate is the qualifying rate, and the lender checks that you could still afford the payments at it, even though you'll actually pay your contract rate.

The stress test applies whether your down payment is 5% or 50%: insured and uninsured mortgages use the same rule.

Mortgage stress test calculator

The mortgage stress test calculator shows whether you pass: enter your mortgage amount, the rate you've been offered and the amortization, and add your household income and monthly debts to see whether you pass.

How the qualifying rate works

The stress test qualifying rate is whichever is higher: your contract rate plus 2 percentage points, or a floor of 5.25%. Your contract rate is the interest rate written in your mortgage, the one your payments are based on.

Your contract rate	Contract rate + 2%	Qualifying rate
3.00%	5.00%	5.25% (the floor)
3.25%	5.25%	5.25%
4.00%	6.00%	6.00%
4.50%	6.50%	6.50%
5.50%	7.50%	7.50%

The lender then works out your payment at the qualifying rate and runs two ratios against your gross household income (income before tax):

• Gross debt service (GDS): your housing costs as a share of income. Housing costs are the mortgage payment, property tax, heating and half of any condo fee. The limit is 39%.
• Total debt service (TDS): housing costs plus all your other debt payments (car loans, credit cards, lines of credit, student loans, support payments) as a share of income. The limit is 44%.

These are the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) limits for insured mortgages, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada uses the same numbers as a guide. Lenders set their own limits on uninsured mortgages and may be stricter or a little looser, so check with your lender or a mortgage broker.

When you don't know the actual property tax or heating cost yet, the calculator estimates property tax at 1.1% of the price a year and heat at $150 a month, the way many lenders do before they have real numbers.

Worked example

In this worked example of the stress test, say you're buying a $600,000 home with 20% down, so you need a $480,000 mortgage over 25 years, and you've been offered 4.5%.

1. Qualifying rate: 4.5% + 2% = 6.5%, which is above the 5.25% floor, so you qualify at 6.5%.
2. Payment you'll actually make at 4.5%: about $2,657 a month.
3. Payment you must qualify at at 6.5%: about $3,215 a month.
4. Housing costs for GDS: $3,215 + $550 property tax (1.1% of $600,000, divided by 12) + $150 heat = about $3,915 a month.
5. Income needed: to keep that within 39%, your household income needs to be about $120,500 a year. With $500 a month of other debt payments, the TDS limit of 44% needs about the same income.

So in this example, the stress test asks you to show you could handle about $560 a month more than your real payment.

See what you can afford with your own numbers →

Insured vs uninsured mortgages

The stress test qualifying rate is the same for insured and uninsured mortgages, but the rule comes from two places.

• Insured mortgages (less than 20% down, with mortgage loan insurance): the rules are set by the federal Department of Finance Canada, and CMHC and the other insurers apply the 39% GDS and 44% TDS limits.
• Uninsured mortgages (20% or more down): the rule is set by OSFI, the federal regulator for banks, in its Guideline B-20. OSFI's minimum qualifying rate is the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%.

The stress test is required by federally regulated lenders, such as banks. Provincially regulated lenders, such as credit unions, aren't bound by OSFI's rule, but many apply a similar test anyway. Ask the lender what rate they qualify you at.

Read how the size of your down payment decides whether you need insurance in the down payment guide.

Renewals and switching lenders

Renewing with your current lender generally doesn't require passing the stress test again.

Switching lenders at renewal: since November 21, 2024, OSFI no longer expects lenders to apply the qualifying rate to an uninsured mortgage that moves to a new federally regulated lender at renewal, as long as it's a straight switch: the loan amount and the remaining amortization don't increase. The balance can go up by up to $3,000 to cover switching costs like penalties or fees, but you can't take equity out.

Insured mortgages could already be switched at renewal without requalifying under the same kind of conditions. A Department of Finance Canada change effective December 16, 2024 extended this to low-ratio mortgages (80% of the home's value or less) that lenders insure in bulk.

Refinancing is different: if you borrow more, stretch the amortization, or take out a home equity line of credit, the stress test applies. A new lender can also choose to run its own checks on a switch, so confirm with them before you count on it.

How buyers qualify with a lower income

If your income falls short at the stress test qualifying rate, buyers have a few usual levers. Each has trade-offs, so talk to a mortgage broker or your lender about which fit your situation.

• Add a co-borrower. A spouse, partner or family member on the mortgage adds their income to the ratios, and their debts too. They're equally responsible for the loan.
• Put more down. A bigger down payment means a smaller mortgage and a lower payment at the qualifying rate. See where the money can come from in the down payment guide, including the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan.
• Choose a longer amortization. The amortization is the number of years it takes to pay the mortgage off, and stretching it from 25 to 30 years lowers the monthly payment: in the example above, the qualifying payment drops from about $3,215 to about $3,007. Under Department of Finance Canada rules in force since December 15, 2024, insured mortgages can be amortized over 30 years for first-time buyers and buyers of new builds; other insured mortgages are limited to 25. Many lenders offer 30 years on uninsured mortgages, but a longer amortization means paying more interest overall, and on an insured mortgage it adds 0.20% to the insurance premium.
• Pay down other debts. Lowering car or credit card payments improves your TDS ratio, though not your GDS.
• Look at a lower price. The calculator shows the mortgage you'd pass at; the first-time buyer guide covers what to budget for overall.