Required Gross Income for Mortgage Qualification Calculator

Estimate the gross income needed to support a target mortgage amount across Prime, Light Alt, and Heavy Alt lending tiers in Canada, with Canadian-style mortgage payment calculations and stress test treatment by scenario.

Insured lending & CMHC premium: When a purchase has a down payment under 20%, this calculator automatically looks up the CMHC default insurance premium, adds it to the mortgage balance, and qualifies on the inflated insured amount — exactly how lenders underwrite insured files. The premium and insured mortgage amount are shown in the inputs panel and in Qualification Details.
Canadian amortization method: Mortgage payments use a Canadian-style formula based on a nominal annual rate compounded semi-annually, converted to the effective monthly rate. This is different from the American monthly nominal convention and is mandated under the Interest Act (Canada).

Enter Your Mortgage Details

Scenario
Enter the purchase price and down payment below — mortgage amount will populate automatically.
%
$
Edit either field — the other updates automatically when purchase price is set.
Populated from purchase price − down payment. You can also type directly.
Calculated
Base mortgage + CMHC premium. This is the amount lenders qualify you on.
Affects the maximum insured amortization (25 yrs standard; 30 yrs for eligible FTBs / new builds) and the 30-yr CMHC surcharge.
Go here to see rates.
50% of condo fees are included in debt service ratios.
CMHC Default Insurance Applied
LTV ratio—
Premium rate—
Premium amount—
Insured mortgage amount—
⚠️ Provincial sales tax (PST) applies to the CMHC premium in Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. PST must be paid at closing and cannot be added to the insured mortgage. Ontario PST = 8% of premium; Quebec = 9%; Saskatchewan = 6%.
This tool estimates the income required to support the target mortgage. It does not issue an approval or commitment.
Recommended Tier
Prime
Lowest tier likely to support the target mortgage.
Qualifying Rate
0.00%
Stress test applied
Monthly Contract Payment
$0
Based on Canadian mortgage payment methodology.
Monthly Qualifying Payment
$0
Used in GDS and TDS qualification ratios.

Required Gross Income by Lender Tier

Qualification Details

Insured mortgage amount—
CMHC premium added to mortgage—
CMHC premium rate (LTV-based)—
Monthly property taxes$0
Included condo fees$0
Heating$0
Total monthly housing costs$0
Other monthly debt$0
Binding Prime Insured constraint—
Binding Prime Conventional constraint—
Binding Light Alt constraint—
Binding Heavy Alt constraint—

Monthly Housing Cost Breakdown

Housing Cost
$0
The chart shows the qualifying mortgage payment plus taxes, heating, and included condo fees.
Planning Estimate

What This Means

Private Financing Context

The Heavy Alt tier shown here uses a maximum planning assumption of 50% GDS / 50% TDS. If the borrower’s actual income is below the Heavy Alt income threshold shown, the file may move into Private territory or require a lower mortgage amount, lower debt load, or stronger supporting factors.

Some alternative and private lenders may assess qualification differently. This calculator uses a standardized planning framework for comparison.

Disclaimer

This calculator is for educational and planning purposes only. It provides estimates of the gross income that may be required to support a mortgage under selected qualification assumptions. It is not a mortgage approval, commitment, or lending decision.

Actual qualification depends on lender policy, credit profile, loan-to-value, property type, documentation, borrower profile, insured versus uninsured status, and other underwriting factors.