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Federal qualifying rate: contract + 2.00 pts or 5.25%, whichever is higher · checked November 1, 2026Rules & sources
Mortgage Stress Test Calculator.caWill you pass at the qualifying rate?Ask Mitey
Methodology

Stress Test Rules, Formulas and Sources

Short answer

Every rule our calculators use is listed here with its value, primary source and effective date, plus the formulas and a dated changelog. The qualifying rate is the greater of the contract rate plus 2 points or 5.25%, payments use semi-annual compounding, and GDS and TDS follow CMHC's definitions for insured loans.

Rules checked against primary sources How we source rules

Formulas

  • Qualifying rate = max(contract rate + 2, 5.25%) for uninsured loans at federally regulated lenders (OSFI B-20) and for every insured loan (Department of Finance). Example: 4.12% → 6.12%.
  • Monthly payment = P·i / (1 − (1 + i)−n) with i = (1 + r/2)1/6 − 1 (semi-annual compounding, the Canadian convention for fixed rates) and n = 12 × amortization years.
  • GDS = (payment at the qualifying rate + property tax + heating + 50% of condo fees) ÷ gross monthly income. TDS = (GDS costs + other debt payments) ÷ gross monthly income.
  • Insured when the down payment is under 20%: premium = loan × rate by loan-to-value (+0.20 points over 25 years), added to the loan. Price must be under $1,500,000.
  • Maximum price: the highest price that passes every test, found by bisection (feasibility only gets harder as price rises). What the test costs: the maximum price at your contract rate minus the maximum at the qualifying rate, other rules unchanged.
  • Breaking point: the highest qualifying rate at which a price still passes; the matching contract rate is that minus 2 points when it is above the floor.
  • Household stress test: a monthly ledger (cash + take-home pay − mortgage payment − housing costs − other spending − debt payments). At renewal the payment is recalculated on the remaining balance and amortization at the shocked rate; recovery levers (savings, spending, prepayment, amortization at renewal) are solved one at a time by bisection.
  • Paths to pass: each lever (co-signer income, debt payments, down payment, 30-year amortization, contract rate, lender qualifying at the contract rate) is solved on its own by bisection, holding the rest at your inputs.
Worked example: the tested payment on $400,000, by hand
Worked example: the tested payment on $400,000, by hand: inputs, steps and result
Loan$400,000
Qualifying rate6.12%4.12% + 2 points
Amortization25 years = 300 payments
Monthly rate i = (1 + r/2)^(1/6) − 10.50362%Semi-annual compounding, the Canadian convention
Payment = P·i / (1 − (1 + i)^−n)$2,588
Engine result$2,588Same figure from the kit's mortgage module

Open this example in the calculator →Computed November 1, 2026.

Mitey the yeti seated on a stone, reading a small book and pointing at a line
Mitey checks each rule value against the regulator's own page and writes down the date.

Rule values

Rules used by our calculators (checked November 1, 2026)
RuleValueSourceEffective
Buffer added to the contract rate (percentage points)+2 pointsOSFIJune 1, 2021
Floor qualifying rate (%)5.25%OSFIJune 1, 2021
Insured mortgages: buffer added to the contract rate (percentage points), in federal regulation+2 pointsJustice LawsJune 1, 2021
Insured mortgages: floor qualifying rate (%), in federal regulation5.25%Justice LawsJune 1, 2021
Uninsured straight switch to another federally regulated lender at renewal: MQR no longer prescribedfrom November 21, 2024OSFINovember 21, 2024
Insured (high-ratio) straight switch at renewal: no requalification expected under the Canadian Mortgage Charterfrom November 21, 2023Department of Finance CanadaNovember 21, 2023
Low-ratio (portfolio-insured) straight switch: no requalification, amortization unchanged, no equity take-outfrom December 16, 2024Department of Finance CanadaDecember 16, 2024
Low-ratio insured straight switch: balance may rise by up to this much to cover switching costs$3,000Department of Finance CanadaDecember 16, 2024
OSFI loan-to-income threshold for each lender's new uninsured lending (a portfolio limit, not a per-borrower cap)4.5× incomeOSFIJanuary 29, 2026
Maximum GDS ratio for insured mortgages (%)39%Justice LawsFebruary 27, 2025
Maximum TDS ratio for insured mortgages (%)44%Justice LawsFebruary 27, 2025
Share of condo fees counted in GDS/TDS50%CMHC—
Minimum credit score (at least one borrower or guarantor)600Justice LawsFebruary 27, 2025
Insured mortgages: purchase price must be below$1,500,000Department of Finance CanadaDecember 15, 2024
Maximum insured amortization (years), standard purchase25 yearsCMHC—
Maximum insured amortization for first-time buyers and new builds (years)30 yearsCMHCDecember 15, 2024
Premium surcharge for amortizations over 25 years+0.20 pointsCMHC—
Premium as a share of the loan, by loan-to-value≤65%: 0.60%; ≤75%: 1.70%; ≤80%: 2.40%; ≤85%: 2.80%; ≤90%: 3.10%; ≤95%: 4.00%CMHC—
Minimum down payment on the first $500,0005% of the first $500,000CMHC—
Minimum down payment on the portion above $500,00010%CMHC—
Down payment at which a mortgage is uninsured (and the minimum at $1.5M+)20%CMHC—
Maximum loan-to-value for a conventional (uninsured) refinance80%OSFIJanuary 1, 2018
Maximum loan-to-value for the revolving (HELOC) portion65%OSFIJanuary 1, 2018
Monthly payment counted on credit card and unsecured line of credit balances (a common lender convention, not a regulation)3% of balanceOur planning estimate—
Example monthly heating cost (CMHC asks for actual or a reasonable estimate; no official figure)$100 / monthCMHC—
Example property tax, % of price per year (our planning estimate; use your city's bill)0.8% of price / yearOur planning estimate—

Market rates

Bank of Canada series from the MITEY network's shared rate dataset. These are averages and list prices, used as labelled examples only.

Bank of Canada rates used as examples
SeriesValueDateSeries ID
Effective rate on new insured fixed mortgages, 5 years and over4.12%August 1, 2026V122667780
Effective rate on new uninsured fixed mortgages, 5 years and over4.58%August 1, 2026V122667786
Effective rate on new insured variable-rate mortgages3.74%August 1, 2026V122667776
Effective rate on new uninsured variable-rate mortgages3.90%August 1, 2026V122667782
Posted conventional mortgage rate, 5-year6.19%October 28, 2026V80691335
Bank of Canada target for the overnight rate (policy rate)2.50%October 29, 2026V39079

Rule history

  1. Insured borrowers must meet the standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, even if they choose a variable rate or a shorter term. Government of Canada
  2. All new high-ratio insured mortgages qualify at the greater of the contract rate or the Bank of Canada's 5-year conventional posted rate (low-ratio insured loans followed on November 30, 2016). Department of Finance Canada
  3. OSFI Guideline B-20: uninsured mortgages at federally regulated lenders qualify at the greater of the contract rate + 2 points or the Bank of Canada 5-year benchmark. Renewals with the same lender are not retested. OSFI
  4. Ottawa announces a new insured benchmark (weekly median insured 5-year rate + 2 points) for April 6, 2020; it was suspended when the pandemic hit and never took effect. Department of Finance Canada
  5. OSFI and the federal government both move to the greater of the contract rate + 2 points or 5.25%, for uninsured and insured mortgages. OSFI
  6. The Canadian Mortgage Charter: insured mortgage holders switching lenders at renewal shouldn't have to requalify at the minimum qualifying rate. Department of Finance Canada
  7. OSFI stops prescribing the qualifying rate for uninsured straight switches to another federally regulated lender at renewal, and starts loan-to-income portfolio limits. OSFI
  8. Insured price cap rises to under $1.5 million; 30-year insured amortization for all first-time buyers and new builds. Department of Finance Canada
  9. Low-ratio (portfolio-insured) straight switches written into federal regulation: no requalification, same amortization, up to $3,000 added for costs, no equity take-out. Department of Finance Canada
  10. OSFI keeps the qualifying rate and loan-to-income limits, and consults on folding B-20 into a single credit-risk guideline (no change to the qualifying rate proposed). OSFI
  11. Quebec's AMF revises its residential lending guideline for caisses and Quebec trust companies; it keeps contract + 2 points or 5.25%, with no straight-switch exemption. Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec)

The full story, with a chart of the qualifying rate typical borrowers faced each month since 2015, is on the history page.

Changelog

  1. Depth pass for the 9.6 standard: every guide and tool page now opens with a 40–60 word answer and has its own worked example (computed by the engine, with a link that opens it in the calculator), its own Mitey moment and a what-this-means section. New household stress test (monthly cash ledger under renewal-rate, income and expense shocks; MITEY calc-engines MAPPING assigns it here). The debt-payoff page left the sitemap because another MITEY site owns that question; its URL still works. Engine cross-checked against the shared MITEY calculation engines in automated tests. Phone result bar on the calculator. Rules unchanged since the November 1 check.
  2. Review fixes: phone layout at 390px (calculator inputs, sensitivity grid, embeds), scenario presets now reset every field, purchases at $1.5M+ with under 20% down show as not insurable, exact dollar labels on the stress-test cost bar, renewal checker hides the borrow-more row until you change the loan, property-tax picker with 2026 rates for eight cities (municipal sources), a caveat that lenders may still requalify straight switches, lowest collected lender rates beside the Bank of Canada averages, and the Ask Mitey chat. AMF guideline revision date (September 2026) confirmed on lautorite.qc.ca in a browser.
  3. Site rebuilt on the MITEY kit. All rules re-checked against OSFI's MQR and LTI pages (modified 2026-01-29), OSFI's straight-switch notice (2024-11-21), the federal insured-mortgage regulations (SOR/2012-281 and -282, current to 2026-09-30), Finance Canada's Mortgage Charter and December 2024 switch notices, CMHC's GDS/TDS and premium pages, and the provincial credit-union regulators (BCFSA, CUDGC Alberta and Saskatchewan, DGCM, FSRA, AMF revised September 2026, NS CUDIC). Bank of Canada rates refreshed (policy rate 2.50% from 2026-10-29; insured 5-year+ average for August 2026). Corrected the old site's statements that switching lenders at renewal always needs a new stress test, and that 5.25% is a Bank of Canada benchmark.

All sources

Primary sources

  1. OSFI — Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (effective January 29, 2026). Checked .
  2. OSFI — OSFI confirms minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (effective December 15, 2022). Checked .
  3. OSFI — OSFI exempts uninsured mortgage straight switches from the prescribed MQR and implements portfolio LTI limits (effective November 21, 2024). Checked .
  4. OSFI — Loan-to-income limits for uninsured mortgage portfolios (effective January 29, 2026). Checked .
  5. OSFI — Guideline B-20: Residential mortgage underwriting practices and procedures (effective January 1, 2018). Checked .
  6. OSFI — Final revised Guideline B-20 (letter of October 17, 2017) (effective October 17, 2017). Checked .
  7. OSFI — Backgrounder: minimum qualifying rate (MQR) (effective November 21, 2024). Checked .
  8. OSFI — Amendments to the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (effective June 1, 2021). Checked .
  9. OSFI — Quarterly release: LTI limits and B-20 (January 2026) (effective January 29, 2026). Checked .
  10. OSFI — Consultative document: credit risk management (folding B-20 into one guideline) (effective January 29, 2026). Checked .
  11. OSFI — Annual Report 2025–2026, chapter 2: key accomplishments (assessed B-20) (effective October 13, 2026). Checked .
  12. OSFI — Who we regulate (federally regulated banks and trust companies) (effective August 21, 2026). Checked .
  13. Justice Laws — Insurable Housing Loan Regulations (SOR/2012-282), ss. 5, 6 and 6(3.1) (effective February 27, 2025). Checked .
  14. Justice Laws — Eligible Mortgage Loan Regulations (SOR/2012-281) (effective February 27, 2025). Checked .
  15. Department of Finance Canada — Statement: new minimum qualifying rate for insured mortgages (May 2021) (effective June 1, 2021). Checked .
  16. Department of Finance Canada — Technical backgrounder: mortgage insurance rules (October 2016) (effective October 17, 2016). Checked .
  17. Government of Canada — Government of Canada takes action to strengthen housing financing (2010) (effective April 19, 2010). Checked .
  18. Department of Finance Canada — New benchmark rate for qualifying insured mortgages (announced February 2020, not implemented) (effective February 18, 2020). Checked .
  19. Department of Finance Canada — 2023 Fall Economic Statement, Chapter 1: the Canadian Mortgage Charter (effective November 21, 2023). Checked .
  20. Department of Finance Canada — Straight switches and portfolio insurance (effective December 16, 2024). Checked .
  21. Department of Finance Canada — Statement on the insured mortgage stress test (December 2023) (effective December 12, 2023). Checked .
  22. Department of Finance Canada — Boldest mortgage reforms in decades (insured switches at renewal, September 2024) (effective September 16, 2024). Checked .
  23. Department of Finance Canada — Mortgage reforms in force: $1.5M insured price cap, 30-year amortization (effective December 15, 2024). Checked .
  24. CMHC — Calculating GDS / TDS. Checked .
  25. CMHC — Homeowner mortgage loan insurance: Purchase (eligibility). Checked .
  26. CMHC — Home Start: 30-year amortization for first-time buyers and new builds. Checked .
  27. CMHC — CMHC reviews underwriting criteria (39% / 44%, 600 credit score restored) (effective July 5, 2021). Checked .
  28. CMHC — Mortgage loan insurance cost (premium table). Checked .
  29. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Preparing to get a mortgage: how the stress test impacts your qualification (effective October 15, 2025). Checked .
  30. BC Financial Services Authority — Residential mortgage underwriting guideline (credit unions) (effective January 1, 2015). Checked .
  31. Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation (Alberta) — Residential mortgage underwriting guidance G#03-2018 (effective March 1, 2018). Checked .
  32. Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation (Alberta) — Standards of sound business and financial practices (2026) (effective July 3, 2026). Checked .
  33. Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation (Saskatchewan) — Guideline 2015-01: Residential mortgage underwriting (Appendix I) (effective June 1, 2021). Checked .
  34. Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba — Standards of sound business practice guidance framework (effective July 1, 2022). Checked .
  35. Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario — Residential mortgage lending guidance for credit unions (CU0063INT) (effective February 1, 2021). Checked .
  36. Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec) — Residential hypothecary lending guideline (revised September 2026) (effective September 1, 2026). Checked .
  37. Nova Scotia Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation — SSBP guidance framework (effective June 1, 2024). Checked .
  38. ATB Financial — Qualifying for a mortgage in 2018 (ATB's own article) (effective October 29, 2018). Checked .
  39. City of Vancouver — Residential property tax rates (2026). Checked .
  40. City of Calgary — How your property tax bill is calculated (2026). Checked .
  41. City of Edmonton — Property taxes (2026 rates). Checked .
  42. City of Winnipeg Assessment and Taxation — Property tax bills (2026 mill rates). Checked .
  43. City of Toronto — Property tax rates and fees (2026). Checked .
  44. City of Ottawa — What you get for your property taxes (2026, per $100,000 of assessment). Checked .
  45. Ville de Montréal — Taux de taxes pour 2026. Checked .
  46. Halifax Regional Municipality — Tax rates (2026/27). Checked .
  47. Bank of Canada — Posted interest rates offered by chartered banks (5-year conventional mortgage). Checked .
  48. Bank of Canada — Banking and financial statistics: effective rates on new mortgages. Checked .
  49. Justice Laws — Interest Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-15, s. 6. Checked .
  50. Bank of Canada — Effective rate on new insured fixed mortgages, 5 years and over (series V122667780) (effective August 1, 2026). Checked .
  51. Bank of Canada — Posted conventional mortgage rate, 5-year (series V80691335) (effective October 28, 2026). Checked .