Skip to content

Tools

What will this mortgage cost over the years you keep the home?

A mortgage in Canada is priced by the term, but you pay for it over the years you own the home. Compare two structures over your own hold: payments, interest, the balance when you sell, property tax and insurance, and the penalty if you leave before a term ends.

Written by Stonefield Mortgage · Reviewed by David Steinfeld, principal broker · Stonefield Mortgage, FSRA mortgage brokerage licence #13722 · [review pending — before this page is indexed]
Published · Updated

Optional

Optional

Structure A

0 if none; check it fits the privileges

Ask the lender; leave blank if unknown

Structure B (optional)

0 if none; check it fits the privileges

Ask the lender; leave blank if unknown

Enter the rate for structure A (and B, to compare) to see the cost over your hold. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How this tool works

  • Payments use the Canadian fixed-rate convention (interest compounded semi-annually); variable payments are held level at the rate you enter.
  • The tool assumes the rate you enter applies after each renewal, on the same term. Your real renewal rate will differ: the tool compares structures and does not forecast rates.
  • Penalty if the hold ends mid-term: three months' interest on the balance then, or the interest rate differential when you enter the lender's comparison rate and it is higher (fixed only). Lenders may use posted rates, and your contract governs (FCAC).
  • Extra payments are applied once a year; check they fit the offer's prepayment privileges, since paying more than the limit means a penalty (FCAC).
  • The tool covers the mortgage side only: no investment returns, no change in the home's price, no tax. Returns, prices and tax are questions for your financial advisor and accountant.

Rules checked 2026-10-26. Estimates only, not an offer or advice; a licensed broker confirms the numbers and every mortgage is subject to lender approval. Everything is calculated in your browser. The amounts you type are never sent to us.

Read next: Rates aren't the only cost · Planning ahead · Penalty estimator

Questions about the total cost of holding tool

Why compare over my hold instead of the term?

Because a term is the lender's unit, not yours. If you expect to sell in four years, a five-year term may end with a penalty, and a three-year term with a renewal. The cheaper structure is the one that costs less over the four years, all in.

Can this tell me whether to invest the payment difference?

No. Whether to invest the payment difference depends on returns we don't forecast. That choice is a question for your financial advisor. The tool shows the mortgage side: what each structure costs you over the hold.

What is the lender's comparison rate?

The rate a lender uses to work out an interest rate differential penalty on a fixed mortgage, often linked to its posted rates. Federally regulated lenders must explain how it is set (FCAC Code of Conduct). Leave it blank if you don't have it; the tool then shows three months' interest.

More tools: Rental cash flow · Income as lenders see it · Bridge gap

No cost to talk

Ask for options from actual lenders

A tool can only estimate. Tell us your plans and we'll come back with options from actual lenders — no cost to talk.

You can also call us at (416) 371-2077.

What are you looking to do?
Roughly how large is the mortgage?

Optional

We use these details to call you back about your mortgage, and store them in Canada. If we introduce you to a partner broker, we tell you first and share only what you have given us here. See our privacy policy. Stonefield Mortgage is a trade name of Stonefield Capital Inc., FSRA mortgage brokerage licence #13722. A pre-approval or quote is subject to lender approval.