CMHC premium calculator / $500k
CMHC insurance on a $500,000 home
CMHC premium on a $500,000 home at every down payment: minimum down $25,000, premium up to $19,000, sales tax in ON, QC and SK, and the monthly cost.
Purchase & financing
Insured mortgages stop at $1.5 million; above that you need 20% down
Minimum here: $25,000 (5%)
30 yrs insured adds 0.20 points; first-time buyers and new builds only
ON, QC and SK charge sales tax on the premium
CMHC insurance premium
$19,000
4.00% of the loan at 95% LTV, added to your mortgage
The premium is added to your mortgage, but this tax is due in cash at closing.
LTV
95%
Premium rate
4.00%
Cash at closing
$26,520
Cash at closing here is the down payment plus premium tax only; add legal fees, inspection, and land transfer tax.
The premium at every down payment
Minimum down payment on a $500,000 home is $25,000 (5%). At this price the 5% minimum applies to the whole amount. Monthly payments assume 4.99% over 25 years with the Canadian semi-annual compounding formula.
| Down | Loan | Rate | Premium | Total mortgage | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% ($25,000) | $475,000 | 4.00% | $19,000 | $494,000 | $2,870 |
| 10% ($50,000) | $450,000 | 3.10% | $13,950 | $463,950 | $2,696 |
| 15% ($75,000) | $425,000 | 2.80% | $11,900 | $436,900 | $2,539 |
| 20% ($100,000) | $400,000 | none | $0 | $400,000 | $2,324 |
Premium tiers as published by CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty; down payment and $1.5 million cap rules from Finance Canada, in force since December 15, 2024. Verified September 2026.
Sales tax on the premium, due in cash
Three provinces tax the premium and none of them let you add the tax to the mortgage. With 5% down on $500,000:
Every other province and territory: nothing. Manitoba removed its tax on default insurance premiums in 2020.
The 10% cliff on this price
Premiums step at exactly 90% loan-to-value. With 9.5% down ($47,500) the premium is 4.00% of the loan, or $18,100. With 10% down ($50,000) it is 3.10%, or $13,950. Finding an extra $2,500 of down payment saves $4,150 of premium and $39 a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum down payment on a $500,000 home?+
$25,000, which is 5%. Up to $500,000 the federal minimum is 5% of the price, so an insured mortgage of $475,000 is the largest loan available.
How much is CMHC insurance on a $500,000 home with 5% down?+
$19,000. The loan before insurance is $475,000, the loan-to-value is 95%, and the premium at that tier is 4.00% of the loan. It is added to the mortgage, so the total mortgage becomes $494,000. In Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan the provincial sales tax on the premium ($1,520 in Ontario) is paid in cash at closing.
How do I avoid CMHC insurance on a $500,000 home?+
Put down 20%, which is $100,000. That takes the loan-to-value to 80% and no default insurance is required. Compared with 5% down, the extra $75,000 of down payment removes a $19,000 premium and cuts the monthly payment from $2,870 to $2,324 at 4.99% over 25 years.
What does a 30-year amortization cost on a $500,000 insured mortgage?+
An extra 0.20 percentage points of premium, so 4.20% instead of 4.00% with 5% down: a premium of $19,950 rather than $19,000. The monthly payment drops from $2,870 to $2,639. Insured 30-year amortizations are limited to first-time buyers and buyers of new construction.
Other prices and tiers
Buying a duplex to fourplex to live in? The house hacking calculator applies these premiums inside a full monthly cost. Closing costs are the other cash item: see the land transfer tax calculator.