Mortgage · Canada
Amortization schedule.
See the principal and interest breakdown of every payment over the life of your mortgage, with Canadian semi-annual compounding.
A mortgage amortization schedule splits every payment into interest and principal until the balance reaches zero. This calculator builds it for a Canadian mortgage, where, by convention, interest on a fixed-rate loan compounds semi-annually rather than monthly (see the Interest Act, which governs how that rate is disclosed).
Source: FCAC — Mortgage terms and amortization; Justice Canada — Interest Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-15) · As of
Cite this page: TNAADO Tools, “Amortization Calculator”, https://tools.tnaado.ca/calculators/mortgage/amortization-calculator/
Inputs
Schedule
Fill the form and press Calculate.
How amortization works
Each payment is split between interest (calculated on the remaining balance) and principal (which reduces the balance). Early on, most of the payment goes to interest; over time, more goes to principal.
Canadian mortgages compound semi-annually, not in advance. The schedule below uses that convention.
Worked example: $300,000 at 5.0% over 25 years
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada publishes a worked example of a $300,000 mortgage on a 25-year amortization at 5.0%: a monthly payment of $1,744.81 and $223,444.49 of interest over the 25 years (FCAC, Mortgage terms and amortization). Entering $300,000, 5% and 25 years above returns $1,744.81 a month and $223,444 of total interest, so the calculator and the regulator agree to the cent on the payment.
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Balance at year end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $6,232 | $14,706 | $293,768 |
| Year 5 | $7,593 | $13,345 | $265,523 |
| Year 10 | $9,719 | $11,218 | $221,388 |
| Year 15 | $12,442 | $8,496 | $164,893 |
| Year 20 | $15,926 | $5,011 | $92,574 |
| Year 25 | $20,387 | $551 | $0 |
- Year 1 is mostly interest: of about $20,938 paid in the first year, $14,706 (70%) is interest and only $6,232 reduces the balance.
- The crossover: principal first exceeds interest in year 12. From then on each payment pays down more than it costs.
- Bi-weekly instead of monthly: the same mortgage paid $804.41 every two weeks (26 payments a year that add up to about the same yearly amount as the monthly payment) costs $222,865 in interest, only $579 less. Ordinary bi-weekly payments barely help; accelerated payments, which add the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year, are modelled in the mortgage payment calculator.
- A 20-year amortization: the payment rises to $1,971.38 a month ($226.57 more) and total interest falls to $173,130, $50,314 less than over 25 years.
Next steps: test a bigger payment with the prepayment calculator, see what you can afford with the affordability calculator, or price a new rate against your current one with the refinance calculator.
How this is calculated
Canadian fixed-rate mortgages are quoted with semi-annual compounding. Section 6 of the federal Interest Act says no interest is chargeable on a mortgage of real property unless the contract states the rate “calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance.” The calculator therefore converts the quoted rate to a monthly rate first:
- monthly rate i = (1 + annual rate ÷ 2)1/6 − 1. At 5.0% that is 0.41239% a month, an effective annual rate of 5.0625%.
- payment = P × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−n), where P is the loan amount and n the number of payments. For other frequencies i is re-expressed for the payment period.
- every row of the schedule charges interest = opening balance × i, then applies the rest of the payment to principal. The yearly table adds up those rows.
Maximum amortization is set by rules, not by this tool: with less than 20% down it is 30 years for first-time buyers and new builds and 25 years otherwise; above 20% down the lender sets it (FCAC). The schedule covers principal and interest only: it does not add CMHC premiums, property tax, heat or fees, and a lender’s rounding can differ by a few dollars. Sources checked 1 October 2026.
General information, not mortgage or financial advice. Confirm the payment, rate and compounding with your lender’s disclosure statement.
TNAADO Inc. · Toronto
Why the early years are almost all interest
An amortized payment is constant but its split is not. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, so at the start, when the balance is highest, most of the payment is interest and very little touches principal. That reverses slowly, and on a 25-year Canadian mortgage the crossover point typically arrives well past the halfway mark. The schedule is the only honest way to see it; the payment figure on its own hides it completely.
The mistake people make. Confusing the term with the amortization. A five-year term is the contract. The 25-year amortization is the repayment horizon. At the end of the term you renew whatever balance remains at whatever rates exist then, which is the real interest-rate risk in a Canadian mortgage and the reason the later years of any schedule are an estimate rather than a promise.
Frequently asked questions
Why does so much of my early mortgage payment go to interest?
Interest is charged on the balance still owed, and at the start the balance is at its highest. On this $300,000 example the first year’s interest is $14,706 against $6,232 of principal. The payment is fixed, so as the balance falls the interest share shrinks and the principal share grows, crossing over in year 12.
Do Canadian mortgages really compound semi-annually?
Fixed-rate mortgages do by convention, and the Interest Act requires the rate to be stated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance. Some lenders compound variable-rate mortgages monthly, so check your mortgage documents. Using a US-style monthly-compounding calculator on a Canadian fixed-rate mortgage slightly overstates the payment.
What is the difference between the term and the amortization period?
The term is the length of the contract with your lender, from a few months to five years or more, after which you renew. The amortization period is the time it would take to pay the whole mortgage off. Because the amortization is an estimate based on the current term’s rate, a rate change at renewal changes the schedule.
What is the longest amortization I can get?
With a down payment under 20%, the maximum is 30 years for first-time buyers and for new builds, and 25 years in all other cases. With more than 20% down, the lender sets the limit. A longer amortization lowers the payment but increases the total interest, as the 20-year comparison above shows in reverse.
Does paying weekly or bi-weekly save interest?
Only slightly if the payment is just re-cut: on this example $579 over 25 years. The savings come from paying more in total, which is what accelerated bi-weekly does (half the monthly payment every two weeks, so one extra monthly payment a year). Run the numbers for your own mortgage in the payment calculator.
Does this schedule include CMHC insurance, property tax or fees?
No. It amortizes only the loan amount you enter. If your down payment is under 20%, add the CMHC premium to the loan before you enter it (the CMHC premium calculator works it out), and budget property tax and heating separately.
Disclaimer
Estimates for educational purposes only. Actual schedules from your lender may vary slightly due to rounding and payment timing.