EmpireSheets

Mortgage Payment Calculator

Canadian semi-annual compounding, the full schedule, and what accelerating actually saves.

What this does

Enter a price, a down payment, a rate and an amortisation, and this gives you the payment, the total interest over the life of the mortgage, and the schedule payment by payment. It also checks your down payment against the Canadian minimums and tells you whether mortgage loan insurance applies.

Why this one

Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound semi-annually, not monthly. Most calculators on the internet are American and divide the annual rate by twelve. On $500,000 at 5% over 25 years that overstates the payment by $14.93 a month and $4,478 across the term: small enough to look right, large enough to matter. This one uses the Canadian convention and lets you switch to monthly for a variable rate or a HELOC.

The formula

monthly rate  =  (1 + annual rate / 2) ^ (1 / 6) - 1
payment  =  principal x rate / (1 - (1 + rate) ^ -periods)
accelerated bi-weekly  =  the monthly payment, halved, paid 26 times a year

Published so you can check it. A calculator about money that will not show its working is asking to be trusted on the one thing you cannot verify.

Questions

Why is this different from an American mortgage calculator?
Interest on a Canadian fixed-rate mortgage is compounded semi-annually, not in advance. American mortgages compound monthly. That single difference changes the payment, and it is the most common error in mortgage maths found online.
How does accelerated bi-weekly save so much?
It is not a different formula. It is your monthly payment cut in half and paid every two weeks, so 26 half payments a year is the equivalent of 13 monthly payments instead of 12. That one extra payment a year takes roughly three years off a 25 year amortisation.
What is the minimum down payment in Canada?
5% on a price up to $500,000. Above that, 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest, up to $1,500,000. At $1,500,000 and above, 20%, because mortgage loan insurance is not available past that point.
Does this include property tax and insurance?
No. This is the principal and interest payment only. Property tax, home insurance, condo fees and mortgage loan insurance premiums are separate and vary too much by municipality to estimate honestly.