Will I Pass the Mortgage Stress Test? Calculator (Canada)

Will I pass the mortgage stress test?

Enter the mortgage, the rate, your income and your monthly costs. See the rate you are tested at, your debt ratios against the limits, and the income that would pass.

The mortgage

What are you doing?

My mortgage is insured (less than 20% down when I bought)

Mortgage amount

Include any insurance premium added to the mortgage.

Interest rate

Example rate only, not a quote. Enter the rate you have been offered.

Amortization

Income and monthly costs

Household income before tax (yearly)

Property tax (yearly)

Example amount. Use the actual tax bill or the listing.

Heating (monthly)

An assumption. Lenders use actual costs or their own standard figure.

Condo fees (monthly)

Lenders commonly count half.

Other monthly debt payments

Car loans, student loans, lines of credit, support. For credit cards, lenders usually count a minimum payment, often 3% of the balance.

Your estimate

What this calculator answers

The stress test checks whether you could still carry your mortgage if rates were higher. You are not charged the higher rate; the lender only uses it to work out a test payment, then checks that payment plus your other housing costs and debts against your income. This calculator shows that test step by step, whether you pass, and how much income or how small a mortgage it would take to pass.

If rates in the table below your own rate do not change the result, that is the 5.25% floor at work: below about 3.25%, everyone is tested at the same rate.

How the calculation works

Qualifying rate = the higher of 5.25% or your contract rate plus 2 percentage points (federal regulation).
Test payment = the monthly payment on your mortgage at the qualifying rate, over your amortization, with semi-annual compounding.
GDS = (test payment + property tax + heating + half of condo fees) ÷ gross monthly income. Limit 39%.
TDS = GDS costs + your other monthly debt payments, ÷ gross monthly income. Limit 44%.
Income needed = the income at which both ratios are exactly at their limits.

Assumptions and limits

The 39% and 44% limits are CMHC limits (insurer policy). Lenders and other insurers can be stricter or, for uninsured mortgages, use different limits.
How income is counted (salary, overtime, self-employed, rental) is lender policy and is not modelled. Enter the income you expect a lender to use.
Heating and property tax are the amounts you enter; lenders may use their own standard figures.
The uninsured straight switch exemption applies at renewal to the same amount and amortization at a federally regulated lender. Adding money or extending the amortization is qualified normally.

Common questions

What rate is the stress test in Canada?

The greater of 5.25% or your contract rate plus 2%. With a 4.29% rate, for example, you are tested at 6.29%.

Do I have to pass the stress test when I renew?

Not if you renew with your current lender. Since November 2024, switching an uninsured mortgage to another federally regulated lender at renewal, with no new money and no longer amortization, is also exempt.

I failed. What can I change?

Lower monthly debts, a larger down payment, a co-borrower, a less expensive home or, in some cases, a longer amortization. An affordability estimate shows the price your numbers support.

Do credit unions use the stress test?

Insured mortgages are tested at every lender. For uninsured mortgages, the OSFI rule binds federally regulated lenders; provincially regulated lenders such as many credit unions set their own policy, which is often similar. Ask the lender.

Is passing the stress test the same as being approved?

No. It is one part of the decision. Lenders also look at credit, employment, the property and, for insured mortgages, the insurer approval.

Sources

OSFI: minimum qualifying rate (rules checked 2026-10-31)
CMHC: mortgage loan insurance (rules checked 2026-10-31)
OSFI B-20 infosheet (rules checked 2026-10-31)