Canadian Mortgage Calculator  

Note: The calculations in this spreadsheet are estimates. We believe the calculations to be correct, but do not guarantee the results. Please consult your financial advisor or lending institution before making any final financial decisions.

The spreadsheet is pretty self explanatory, and many of the cells contain pop-up comments that provide information about the inputs and calculations. Basically, you just enter values in the white-background cells, and see what happens to the payment, total interest, outstanding balance, etc. To add irregularly scheduled prepayments, enter the numbers in the "Additional Payment" column (yellow cell background). If you have questions about using this calculator, please contact Vertex42.

From what I can tell (having never actually lived in Canada), there are two main differences between US and Canadian mortgages:

1. The Canadian mortgage rates that are quoted are based on a semi-annual compound period. The rates for US mortgages assume a monthly compound period.
2. With a Canadian mortgage, your rate usually depends upon the Term that you choose (e.g. 6 months, 1 yr, 2 yr, 3 yr, 5 yr, 7 yr, or 10 years), which is essentially the length of time that you are under contract for the specified mortgage rate.

For more information, see the references and resources listed below.

We used a number of different online calculators to verify this spreadsheet. Some of these are listed below. Keep in mind that some online calculators do not round the payment and interest to the nearest cent, so if you see a small discrepancy in the calculations, this is likely the issue. Our spreadsheet DOES round, and it also adjusts the last payment to bring the balance to zero. Please note the disclaimer, and report any errors you may find in our spreadsheet. Thanks!

• Invis.ca : Creates an amortization table comparing a regular payment schedule to a prepayment schedule. It looks like this calculator is taking rounding into account.
• CanadianMortgageCalculator.net : It looks like this calculator does not do rounding except for in the amortization table.
• LendingMax.ca : This calculator is very nice, and it assumes no rounding.
• CanadaMortgage.com : Besides a useful calculator, their Learning Center provides additional information about mortgage calculations and compound interest.