Mortgage Affordability Calculator Canada 2026

It uses your income, down payment, existing debts and housing-cost assumptions to find the maximum mortgage payment allowed under Canada's GDS (39% of income) and TDS (44% of income) limits, then converts that payment into a maximum mortgage amount and home price at your stress-tested qualifying rate. This mirrors how Canadian lenders assess affordability, but it's an estimate, not a pre-approval.

Gross Debt Service (GDS) caps housing costs — mortgage payment, property tax, heating and condo fees — at 39% of gross income. Total Debt Service (TDS) caps housing costs plus all other debt payments (car loans, credit cards, student loans) at 44%. Lenders use whichever ratio is stricter, and this calculator does the same.

This calculator applies a stress-test buffer (2 percentage points by default) on top of your entered interest rate, matching how federally regulated Canadian lenders qualify borrowers at a rate above what they'll actually pay. Your maximum affordable home price is based on this higher qualifying rate, not the contract rate.

Yes. A larger down payment reduces the mortgage amount needed, which can raise your maximum affordable home price. It may also affect whether mortgage default insurance is required — the calculator checks your down payment against Canada's minimum tiers (5% up to $500k, 10% on the portion from $500k to $1.5M, and a flat 20% at $1.5M or more) but does not add a separate CMHC premium on top of the mortgage.

No. This is a planning estimate using standard GDS/TDS and stress-test assumptions. Actual lender approval also depends on your credit score, employment history, exact debt details and specific lender policies, and it will calculate a CMHC premium separately if your down payment is under 20%. Use this to narrow your budget range, then get pre-approved before making an offer.