Mortgage renewal calculator
Your lender's renewal letter is an offer, not a verdict. Put its rate next to a shopped rate and see what signing without asking actually costs you.
Your renewal
Most lenders cover switch costs on a straight switch, or the cost is capped around $3,000 and often absorbed. Leave this at $0 unless you have been quoted a fee.
Results
What shopping the renewal is worthtotal saving over the term
Saving is measured as interest saved over the term plus the difference in the balance you owe at the end of it, less any switch costs. An uninsured straight switch with no increase in loan amount or amortization is exempt from the stress test.
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.
Why the renewal letter is the most expensive envelope in your year
Your lender knows exactly how likely you are to sign. Renewal offers are priced on inertia — the rate on the letter is rarely the best rate that same lender will give you if you push, and it is very rarely the best rate in the market. Signing it takes thirty seconds; shopping it takes about a week.
This calculator measures the whole cost of that decision, not just the payment. It compares interest paid over the term and the balance you are left owing at the end of it, because a lower rate does both: it costs you less interest and it retires more principal.
The rule that changed everything. Since November 21, 2024, an uninsured straight switch to another federally regulated lender at renewal is exempt from the minimum qualifying rate, provided you do not increase the loan amount or extend the amortization. If you were told you cannot move because you would fail the stress test, that advice is out of date.
Straight switch vs. refinance at renewal — they are not the same thing
A straight switch (sometimes called a transfer) moves the same balance and the same remaining amortization to a new lender. It is stress-test exempt, the paperwork is light, and most lenders will cover or cap the legal and discharge costs to win your business.
A refinance changes the loan — more money, a longer amortization, or both. It requires a full application, a new appraisal, and it does have to pass the stress test. If you need cash out or want to consolidate debt, that is a refinance, and the renewal vs. refinance calculator is the better tool.
| Straight switch | Refinance | |
|---|---|---|
| Loan amount | Unchanged | Can increase to 80% of value |
| Amortization | Unchanged or shorter | Can be extended |
| Stress test | Exempt (uninsured, federally regulated) | Applies |
| Appraisal | Often waived or lender-paid | Usually required |
| Legal fees | Frequently covered by the new lender | Payable, typically $1,000–$1,800 |
| Typical timeline | 1–3 weeks | 3–5 weeks |
When to start, and what to do first
Most lenders will hold a rate for you 90 to 120 days before your maturity date, so the work starts about four months out. That window is free optionality — if rates fall you take the better rate, and if they rise you are protected.
- 120 days out. Request a written renewal quote from your current lender and a payout statement showing the exact maturity balance and remaining amortization.
- 110 days out. Have your file shopped. A rate hold costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
- 90 days out. Take the best offer back to your current lender and ask them to match. Sometimes they will; the leverage only exists because you have a competing offer in hand.
- 60 days out. Decide. A straight switch needs three to four weeks to complete cleanly.
- Never. Let it lapse into your lender's posted rate or roll to an open mortgage — that is the single most expensive outcome available to you.
What to look at besides the rate
Two mortgages at the same rate are not the same mortgage. These are the terms that cost people money in years three and four, long after the rate has stopped being interesting.
- Prepayment privileges. How much can you put down per year without penalty, and can you increase your payment?
- Penalty calculation. On a fixed mortgage, ask how the interest rate differential is calculated and which comparison rate is used. The difference between methods can be tens of thousands of dollars.
- Portability. If you might move within the term, can the mortgage come with you, and how long do you have between closings?
- Charge type. A collateral charge can make it more expensive or more difficult to switch lenders next time.
- Blend and extend options. Some lenders let you blend a new rate into your existing one without a penalty at all.
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
Usually yes. Since November 21, 2024, an uninsured straight switch to another federally regulated lender is exempt from the minimum qualifying rate, as long as you do not increase the loan amount or extend the amortization. If you want more money or a longer amortization, it becomes a refinance and the stress test applies.
On a straight switch, usually very little. Most lenders either cover the legal, appraisal and discharge costs or cap them, and competing lenders frequently absorb them to win the business. Your outgoing lender may charge a discharge fee, typically a few hundred dollars. Enter any quoted cost in the calculator to see the net effect.
About 120 days before maturity. That is when most lenders will hold a rate for you, and a rate hold costs nothing and obligates you to nothing — if rates improve you take the improvement, and if they rise you are protected.
Most lenders will either roll you onto the rate in the renewal letter or, if you miss the deadline entirely, onto an open or posted rate that can be dramatically higher. Automatic renewal is always the lender's best outcome and almost never yours.
It is uncommon but it happens — typically where payments have been missed, the property has changed use, or the lender is exiting a segment. If that happens you are not stuck: alternative lenders and, in the short term, private lenders can take out a maturing mortgage while your file is repaired.
Sometimes. At August 2026 pricing a 3-year fixed sits near 3.94% versus 4.09% on a 5-year, so the shorter term is genuinely cheaper today. The trade is that you renew again sooner, into an unknown market. Choose the term you can live with, not just the lowest number.
It depends on your tolerance and your timeline. Variable pricing is quoted off prime, currently 4.45%, with the Bank of Canada policy rate at 2.25%. Variable wins when rates fall and costs more when they do not, and the penalty to break a variable is usually three months' interest rather than an interest rate differential — which matters if you may sell or refinance mid-term.
Only marginally. We pull your credit once and use that one report across the lenders we approach. Mortgage-related enquiries made while shopping are generally treated as a single event by the bureaus.
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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.