CMHC Mortgage Insurance Calculator 2025
This Page’s Content Was Last Updated: December 28, 2024
CMHC Insurance
What is CMHC Insurance?
Mortgage default insurance, also known as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Insurance, protects your mortgage lender in the case of default. It differs from regular home insurance in Canada which protects you and your property; mortgage default insurance protects your lender.
CMHC insurance allows you to make a smaller down payment on your home, sometimes as low as 5%. Without CMHC insurance, you must make a down payment of at least 20%. CMHC-insured mortgages, or high-ratio mortgages, generally have lower mortgage rates than uninsured mortgages, meaning your mortgage interest savings can offset CMHC insurance fees.
What is the CMHC?
CMHC stands for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Government of Canada owns the CMHC and aims to make housing in Canada more affordable and accessible. To facilitate this, the CMHC has a variety of federal government programs in place, including providing financing and loans to build affordable apartments and rental units and offering mortgage loan insurance for those looking to buy a home.
The CMHC also makes it easier for mortgage lenders to access money to lend to Canadians through Canada Mortgage Bonds. CMHC-guaranteed bonds are used to purchase National Housing Act (NHA) mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from lenders. In Canada, CMHC has the same role as FHA in the US.
How much is CMHC insurance?
Your CMHC insurance rate is calculated as a percentage of your purchase price. This percentage depends on your down payment sum; the premium is smaller for larger down payments. The CMHC premium is a one-time charge on the amount of your insured mortgage.
Provincial sales tax is applied to the CMHC premium amount for properties in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan.
CMHC Fees 2021
Down Payment (% of Purchase Price)
5–9.99%
10–14.99%
15–19.99%
CMHC Insurance (% of Mortgage Amount)
4.00%
3.10%
2.80%
How do I get CMHC insurance?
When applying for a loan with a lender, you may have to ask for a CMHC-insured mortgage specifically. Your mortgage lender will obtain CMHC insurance and pay for it on the closing date, passing the cost of the insurance premiums onto you.
How do I pay for CMHC insurance?
You can either pay the entire CMHC premium up-front or pay it off gradually through your mortgage payments by adding the premium to your mortgage principal balance. Adding the insurance premium to your mortgage balance will mean that your monthly mortgage payments will be higher and increase your interest costs. Using a monthly mortgage payment calculator, you can easily find out how much your monthly mortgage payments will be, including the cost of CMHC insurance.
If the insured property is located in a province that charges provincial sales tax on the premium amount, you must pay this sales tax upfront. You cannot add the sales tax to your mortgage principal.
For example, making a 5% down payment on a $500,000 home in Ontario will result in a CMHC insurance premium of $19,000. Ontario HST on the premium will be an additional $1,520, which must be paid immediately. You can pay the $19,000 insurance premium at the same time as HST or add it to your mortgage principal.
Do I need CMHC Insurance?
CMHC insurance is required if your down payment is less than 20%. You won’t be able to get an uninsured mortgage from any major bank in Canada if your down payment is less than 20%. The Bank Act, Trust and Loan Companies Act, Insurance Companies Act, and Cooperative Credit Associations Act all restrict Canadian financial institutions from lending more than 80% of the value of the collateral when a loan is secured by real property. There is an exception: if the portion of the loan over 80% of the collateral is insured by the borrower against the risk of default. The baseline position is that any mortgage with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio greater than 80% requires mortgage default insurance by law.
If you make a down payment of at least 20%, you won’t need CMHC insurance. However, your mortgage lender can still insist on CMHC insurance even with a higher down payment in certain circumstances, such as if you’re purchasing in a remote location where it might be challenging to find a buyer at a future date.
CMHC insurance is not available if:
- Your purchase price is $1,000,000 or above, or
- Your amortization period is longer than 25 years
In these cases, you must make a down payment of at least 20% to obtain a mortgage.
Can I get CMHC insurance for a mortgage from any lender?
Only National Housing Act (NHA) approved lenders can offer mortgages with CMHC mortgage insurance. NHA-approved lenders include federally regulated financial institutions, such as banks and federal credit unions, but private mortgage lenders do not provide insured mortgages.
While most credit unions in Canada are provincially regulated, many are NHA-approved via provincial credit union association membership. For example, Credit Union Central of Ontario represents 90% of credit unions in Ontario and is an NHA-approved lender allowing member credit unions, such as DUCA Credit Union, FirstOntario Credit Union, and Meridian, to offer insured mortgages.
Some lenders are also restricted to offering insured mortgages in certain provinces. For example, ATB Financial can only offer insured mortgages in Alberta, while Alterna Savings is limited to Ontario. All of Canada’s major banks, as well as many B-lenders, can offer insured mortgages across Canada.
What does CMHC insurance cover?
CMHC insurance covers your insured mortgage loan amount. If you default, the CMHC compensates your mortgage lender for their losses. Even though the CMHC will compensate your lender for any shortfalls after your home is sold, you are still responsible for paying the mortgage. CMHC insurance does not protect you from foreclosure or prevent you from defaulting on your mortgage.
Mortgage life insurance, also called mortgage protection insurance, helps cover your mortgage if you cannot meet the monthly payments due to redundancy, disability, critical illness, or death. You can get mortgage life insurance alongside CMHC insurance from a private insurer or your lender if they offer it. However, mortgage life insurance does not cover your property; this is home insurance, a separate product. You can get home insurance quotes in just a few minutes online.
Because mortgage life insurance covers the mortgage principal balance, the amount of your eligible coverage will slowly decrease over time as your monthly repayments decrease the principal owed. However, your insurance premiums will stay the same.
Mortgage life insurance rates are based on a monthly cost for every $1,000 coverage. For example, if the price was $0.20 per $1,000 of coverage, CMHC insurance on a $500,000 mortgage 100% covered will have a monthly premium of $100.00.
CMHC Certificate of Insurance
When When you apply for a CMHC-insured mortgage, your mortgage lender will submit your application to the CMHC for review. If you pass their underwriting policies and receive CMHC approval, the CMHC will issue a Certificate of Insurance (COI).
Your CMHC Certificate of Insurance is valid for the entire amortization period of your insured mortgage; your CMHC insurance covers your mortgage balance until your mortgage is fully paid off, not just for the initial mortgage term.
Your CMHC Certificate of Insurance and the certificate number are used whenever you renew your mortgage or switch lenders.
What happens to my CMHC insurance if I change lenders?
If you change lenders when renewing your insured mortgage, you don’t have to pay for CMHC insurance again. CMHC insurance covers your mortgage until it is paid off and will follow you from lender to lender. Simply provide your CMHC certificate of insurance or certificate number when you change lenders.
CMHC Rules
CMHC mortgage insurance has specific eligibility requirements. For example:
- You can only have one CMHC-insured mortgage at a time (second properties cannot be CMHC-insured)
- One borrower or guarantor of the mortgage must have a minimum credit score of 600
To learn more about CMHC eligibility, such as allowed down payment sources and debt service, visit our CMHC Rules page.
CMHC Programs
The CMHC provides various programs, from residential mortgage insurance to commercial mortgage insurance, along with different mortgage insurance loan types to help borrowers obtain approval for a mortgage. CMHC-insured commercial mortgages can have an amortization of up to 50 years with CMHC MLI Select if certain accessibility, affordability, or energy efficiency targets are met. Otherwise, CMHC commercial mortgages can have an amortization of up to 40 years.
Types of CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance
Homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance
CMHC Purchase
Homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance
CMHC Purchase For home buyers looking to get a loan for a property they will occupy.
CMHC Improvement
CMHC Improvement Provides financing to improve or renovate an existing home or to finance the construction of a new home. The new home can be owner or a custom-built home with a construction company.
CMHC Newcomers
CMHC Newcomers For newcomers without a Canadian credit history looking to get a CMHC-insured mortgage, the CMHC will look at alternative sources. These include an international credit report, payment history to creditors that don’t report to a credit bureau, or a letter of reference from their country of origin.
CMHC Self-Employed
CMHC Self-Employed The CMHC makes it easier for self-employed borrowers to qualify for a mortgage by accepting that self-employment income can be lower due to deductions and allowances.
CMHC Income Property
CMHC Income Property This makes it easier for real estate investors to qualify by considering their rental income when calculating their debt service ratios (GDS and TDS).
CMHC Commercial Mortgage Insurance
Multi-Unit Rental Properties
Multi-Unit Rental Properties Provides mortgage insurance for:
- Multi-unit residential properties
- Retirement housing
- Supportive housing
- Student housing
- Co-living spaces
CMHC Insurance Refund
A CMHC insurance premium is a one-time fee paid at closing, not a recurring fee charged yearly, although the upfront cost can be rolled into your monthly mortgage payments. The premium charged does not depend on the length of your mortgage amortization. A CMHC-insured mortgage with an amortization period of 25 years will have the same CMHC fee as a CMHC mortgage with an amortization of 15 years.
If you make a mortgage prepayment that lowers your loan-to-value below 80% (equivalent to a down payment greater than 20%), your CMHC insurance won’t be canceled, and you won’t receive a refund. If you added the CMHC premium to your mortgage principal, this additional sum is not removed. Similarly, if you fully pay off your mortgage early, you will not receive a refund for your CMHC insurance premium.
However, the CMHC does give premium refunds through the CMHC Green Home program. If you buy, build, or renovate your home up to specific standards, you can receive a CMHC premium refund of up to 25%. For example, building your home to Energy Star standards will generate an insurance refund of 15%. Construction to the R-2000 Standard will allow you to receive a refund of 25%.
You can also receive a credit for the CMHC premiums you paid previously if you obtain another CMHC-insured mortgage within a certain period.
CMHC Portability
If you have previously had a CMHC-insured mortgage, you can save on the CMHC insurance premiums for your next insured mortgage through CMHC portability.
CMHC Premium Credit
A CMHC premium credit refund depends on when your previous insured mortgage started.
CMHC Portability Premium Credit
Time Since Closing of Existing Insured Mortgage
Premium Credit (% Refund of CMHC premium)
6 months or less
100%
12 months or less
50%
24 months or less
25%
For example, you paid a CMHC premium of $20,000 on a home in Toronto. In 10 months, you move to Ottawa and get another CMHC-insured mortgage. The CMHC premium for your home in Ottawa was $15,000. You can get a premium credit of 50% for the house you sold in Toronto, resulting in a premium credit of $10,000. This is applied against your new CMHC mortgage in Ottawa, meaning you will only have to pay a $5,000 CMHC insurance premium.
CMHC Straight Portability
If your new CMHC-insured mortgage has the same or lower mortgage balance, amortization, and loan-to-value ratio, your CMHC insurance can be ported over from your old mortgage to your new loan. Since you will be keeping your old CMHC insurance for your new home, you won’t have to apply for CMHC insurance again or pay any additional CMHC premiums.
CMHC Portability with an Increased Loan Amount
If you increase your insured mortgage loan amount or loan-to-value ratio, you must pay CMHC premiums on the difference between your old mortgage balance and your new one. The CMHC insurance rate that applies to this difference is higher than regular CMHC premium rates.
CMHC Premium on Increased Loan Amounts
Down Payment
5% – 9.99%
10% – 14.99%
15% – 19.99%
20% – 24.99%
25% – 34.99%
35% or greater
CMHC Insurance Premium
6.30%
6.25%
6.20%
6.05%
5.90%
0.60%
For example, you make a down payment of 10% for a $400,000 home, so your insured mortgage is $360,000. You sell your house and buy another one and want to borrow more money, so your new mortgage balance is $380,000, equivalent to a 7.5% down payment.
The increased loan amount is $20,000. The CMHC premium that you must pay is the lower of either the CMHC premium on the whole mortgage amount or the CMHC portability premium on the increased amount. In this case, the CMHC premium on the entire amount is $15,200 (4% of $380,000), while the premium on the increased amount is $1,260 (6.30% of $20,000). Therefore, the CMHC premium you will pay to increase your loan amount is $1,260.
When calculating the CMHC premium on the whole amount, you can apply any CMHC portability premium credits you may be eligible for. For example, if you increase your loan amount within 12 months, you can get a 50% credit from your old mortgage.
If your old mortgage had a CMHC premium of $11,160 (3.10% of $360,000), the credit you can apply for is $5,580 (50% of $11,160). Since $5,580 for the whole amount is still greater than the $1,260 on the increased amount, you will still only pay $1,260.
Other CMHC Fees
You can obtain CMHC insurance even if your down payment is greater than 20%, which could happen if your lender requires this to qualify for a mortgage with them. You will still need to pay for CMHC insurance, but the premium rate is lower than high-ratio mortgages.
CMHC Fees for Down Payments Greater Than 20%
Down Payment (% of Purchase Price)
20% – 24.99%
25% – 34.99%
35% or greater
CMHC Insurance (% of Mortgage Amount)
2.40%
1.70%
0.60%
Other CMHC fees may apply in specific scenarios, such as if you make a down payment using non-traditional sources or extend your commercial mortgage amortization over more than 25 years.
CMHC Fee for Non-Traditional Down Payment Sources
Down Payment (% of Purchase Price)
5% – 9.99%
CMHC Insurance (% of Mortgage Amount)
4.50%
CMHC Commercial Mortgage Amortization Premium Surcharge
Amortization
Surcharge (% of Loan Value)
25 Years or Less
0%
Up to 30 Years
0.25%
Up to 35 Years
0.50%
Up to 40 Years
0.75%