Mortgage refinance calculator
How much can you actually take out, what will the new payment be, and does the penalty make it worth doing? Three questions, one calculator.
Your refinance
Results
Your new mortgagenew monthly payment
Canadian refinances are capped at 80% of appraised value. Interest saved compares the existing balance at the old rate against the same balance at the new rate over five years; cash taken out is new borrowing and is not counted as a saving.
Results are estimates for illustration only, calculated with Canadian semi-annual compounding. They are not an offer of credit, do not include property tax, condo fees, insurance or closing costs unless stated, and your actual rate and approval depend on your credit, income, property and lender. August 2026 rates.
Placed with Canada's banks, monolines, credit unions and alternative lenders
Lender names shown for reference. Availability, pricing and guidelines vary by province, property and borrower profile.
What a refinance can and cannot do
A refinance replaces your existing mortgage with a new, larger one and gives you the difference in cash. In Canada the hard ceiling is 80% of your home's appraised value — that is a regulatory limit on insured and conventional lending, not a lender preference, and no amount of shopping moves it.
The reason people refinance is almost never the rate on its own. It is the arithmetic of moving debt: consumer credit at 19% to 24% becomes mortgage debt at mortgage rates, and the monthly obligation drops by an amount that is usually life-changing rather than marginal.
Be honest about the trade. Rolling short-term debt into a 25-year amortization lowers the payment and raises the total interest you will pay on that debt if you only make the minimum. The move is right when you use the freed-up cash flow deliberately — to prepay, to rebuild savings, to stop the bleeding — and wrong when the credit cards fill back up.
The penalty is the number that decides it
Breaking a closed mortgage early costs money. On a variable rate the penalty is usually three months' interest — modest and easy to model. On a closed fixed mortgage it is the greater of three months' interest or the interest rate differential, and the IRD is where lenders differ enormously.
The comparison rate a lender uses, and whether it deducts the original discount you received, can swing the penalty by tens of thousands of dollars on the same balance. Do not estimate it. Call your lender, ask for a written payout statement good to a specific date, and put the real number in the calculator above.
- Ask for the calculation, not just the total. A written statement should show the comparison rate and the method.
- Ask about blend-and-extend. Many lenders will blend a new rate into your existing one with no penalty at all — sometimes better than breaking.
- Use your prepayment privilege first. Paying down the maximum allowed before you break reduces the balance the penalty is calculated on.
- Check the timing. If you are inside the last few months of your term, waiting for maturity can eliminate the penalty entirely.
What lenders look at on a refinance
A refinance is a full application, not a formality. Since it increases the loan, it is subject to the minimum qualifying rate — the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%.
| Test | What it means | Typical threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Loan-to-value | New mortgage ÷ appraised value | 80% maximum |
| GDS | Housing costs ÷ gross income | 39% (A lenders) |
| TDS | All debt payments ÷ gross income | 44% (A lenders) |
| Qualifying rate | Rate used to test the payment | Contract + 2%, floor 5.25% |
| Credit score | Bureau score, both applicants | Generally 680+ for best pricing |
| Appraisal | Full appraisal or AVM | Lender's discretion |
If you do not qualify at an A lender
A decline at a bank is one lender's guideline saying no. Alternative (B) lenders will refinance to 80% with more flexible ratios and bruised credit, at roughly one to two percent above bank rates plus a lender fee of around 1%. Private lenders will go further and lend primarily on equity, at materially higher cost.
Both are legitimate, regulated routes — and both should come with a written exit plan naming what has to change before you move back to a lower-cost lender. If nobody has given you that plan, ask for it before you sign.
Estimates are free. So is the real answer.
Send us the file and we will run it against our full lender panel, confirm the rate you actually qualify for, and tell you whether the move is worth making.
Turn the estimate into a real quote
A calculator uses assumptions. A broker uses your actual file.
Frequently asked questions
Up to 80% of the appraised value, less your existing mortgage balance. On a $900,000 home that is $720,000 total; if you owe $480,000, roughly $240,000 is available before costs. A revolving HELOC on its own is limited to 65% of value.
On a closed variable mortgage, typically three months' interest. On a closed fixed mortgage, the greater of three months' interest or the interest rate differential (IRD). IRD calculations vary widely between lenders — get a written payout statement rather than estimating.
It can be. If you are consolidating consumer debt at 19% to 24% into a mortgage at 4% to 5%, the blended cost of your total debt falls sharply even if the mortgage rate itself rises. The calculator's break-even figure only measures the rate saving — the debt consolidation calculator measures the full picture.
Yes. Because it increases the loan amount, a refinance is qualified at the minimum qualifying rate — the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. The renewal exemption for straight switches does not apply.
Typically three to five weeks from application to funding at an A lender, assuming documents come in promptly. Alternative and private lenders can move considerably faster when there is a deadline.
Often yes, and lenders will generally require those arrears to be paid out through the refinance rather than left outstanding. Tax debt can affect priority on title, so it is one of the situations where getting it cleared through the mortgage is both what the lender wants and what protects you.
Usually. Some lenders accept an automated valuation on straightforward files, and we run an AVM before anything is ordered so you know roughly where the value will land before you pay for a full appraisal.
Typically $1,000 to $1,800 for legal fees and disbursements, $300 to $500 for an appraisal if one is required, plus a discharge fee from your outgoing lender. Some lenders offer cash-back or cover legals to win the file.
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One call, a real broker, and a straight answer about what you qualify for and what it will cost. If we cannot beat what you already have, we will tell you that too.