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Five percent of the first $500,000, ten percent of the part above it — and then the CMHC premium, which you don’t pay, you borrow. This works out the minimum on your price, compares it against 10%, 15% and 20% down, shows what getting to 20% is worth in dollars, adds the closing costs nobody budgets for, and counts the months of saving between you and either. All in your browser.
$30,000
The least you can put down on a $550,000 home — 5.45% of the price
$520,000
Mortgage before insurance
$20,800
CMHC premium, added to it
$540,800
You would sign for
$9,200
Yours on day one
An estimate. The federal minimum is a floor, not an approval — your lender can want more, and the premium here assumes a 25-year amortization and CMHC’s standard bands. This is arithmetic, not advice from a licensed advisor or a rate hold from a broker.
The premium is not a fee you pay, it is a fee you borrow — CMHC adds $20,800.00 to the mortgage, so you sign for $540,800 on a $550,000 house. You hand over $30,000 and own $9,200 of it — 1.7% — the morning you get the keys.
| Down payment | Share | Mortgage | CMHC premium | You sign for | Yours on day one |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000The minimum | 5.45% | $520,000 | $20,8004.00% | $540,800 | $9,200 |
| $55,00010% down | 10.00% | $495,000 | $15,3453.10% | $510,345 | $39,655 |
| $82,50015% down | 15.00% | $467,500 | $13,0902.80% | $480,590 | $69,410 |
| $110,00020% down | 20.00% | $440,000 | None | $440,000 | $110,000 |
Estimates. The premium assumes a 25-year amortization — an insured mortgage stretched to 30 years, which needs a first-time buyer or a newly built home, adds 0.20% to it. “Yours on day one” is the price less what you sign for, so it is smaller than the down payment wherever the premium has been added to the mortgage.
Getting to 20% — $110,000, which is $80,000 more than the minimum — removes the premium entirely. That is $20,800.00 you do not borrow, and do not pay interest on for the next twenty-five years.
Closing costs — the part nobody budgets for
These land on top of the down payment, in cash, on closing day. The Land Titles figures below are exact; everything else is a typical range, not a quote.
Alberta charges no land transfer tax — the Land Titles levy on this purchase is $1,195.00 for both registrations together. The same house in Ontario or British Columbia would attract land transfer tax on top — a percentage of the price rather than a flat few hundred dollars, which at most house prices runs to thousands. That is the single biggest reason closing here is cheaper. This tool does not work out those provinces’ tax.
Buying in Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan instead? Those three charge sales tax on the CMHC premium — 8% in Ontario, about $1,664.00 on this premium — and that tax is due in cash at closing. It is the one piece of the premium that cannot be rolled into the mortgage.
Not counted here: title insurance, your home insurance binder, the property tax adjustment owed to the seller, condo document or estoppel fees, movers, and GST on a newly built home. Any of them can be several hundred dollars, and the tax adjustment can be more.
| Target | Amount | Still to find | Deposits | Months | Ready by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The minimum | $30,000 | $5,000 | 5 deposits | 5 | — |
| 20% down | $110,000 | $85,000 | 85 deposits | 85 | — |
Whole deposits of $1,000.00, counted at 12 a year, with no interest or investment growth assumed — an FHSA or a savings account would get you there slightly sooner. The date is worked out from today on this device and takes no account of the price moving while you save. It very likely will.
Every figure here is an estimate produced by arithmetic in your browser, from the rules as they stand for 2026. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is a pre-approval, and none of it is financial advice — a mortgage broker or your lender is the one who can tell you what you will actually be offered.
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