CMHC Mortgage Insurance: Premiums, the 30-Year Amortization Rule, and When It's Worth It
The loan around this premium is the Canadian mortgage guide. Where the premium sits in a first purchase, next to the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan, is the first-time home buyer guide. The qualifying rate on the insured file is the stress test. The calculator that leaves this premium out on purpose is rent versus buy. Life insurance sold at the same table is a different product: mortgage life versus term life.
- Homeowner premiums, owner-occupied, 1 to 4 units: 0.60% up to 65% loan-to-value, then 1.70%, 2.40%, 2.80%, 3.10%, and 4.00% above 90%. Non-traditional down payment in that top band is 4.50%.
- Home Start, the 30-year product for a first-time buyer or a new build, with loan-to-value above 80%: 3.00%, 3.30%, and 4.20%, or 4.70% with a non-traditional down payment. That is the standard band plus 0.20 of a point.
- The purchase price or lending value must be below $1,500,000. For a 1- or 2-unit homeowner loan, minimum equity is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest. At least one borrower needs a credit score of 600, with room for an alternative history.
- Gross debt service is capped at 39% and total debt service at 44%, both at the greater of the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25%.
- Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan charge provincial sales tax on the premium. CMHC says that tax cannot be added to the loan. This page does not quote the provincial tax rate.
What does CMHC actually charge?
| Loan-to-value | Standard schedule | Home Start schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Up to and including 65% | 0.60% | Not on the Home Start table. Home Start is for high-ratio loans, above 80%. |
| 65.01% to 75% | 1.70% | Not on the Home Start table. |
| 75.01% to 80% | 2.40% | Not on the Home Start table. |
| 80.01% to 85% | 2.80% | 3.00% |
| 85.01% to 90% | 3.10% | 3.30% |
| 90.01% to 95% | 4.00% | 4.20% |
| 90.01% to 95%, non-traditional down payment | 4.50% | 4.70% |
Table as of October 2026. Standard column: CMHC's premium page for homeowner loans. Home Start column: CMHC's Home Start premium table. CMHC's premium page also says an amortization beyond 25 years is subject to a 0.20% surcharge. The Home Start column is that surcharge, already added, for the bands Home Start publishes. Portability premiums, which apply to an increase in the loan rather than to the whole balance, are a second column on the standard page and are higher. Read them before you port. They are not reprinted here because a port is a different transaction from a purchase.
A small rental, non-owner-occupied, 2 to 4 units, uses a different schedule on the same page: 1.45% up to 65% loan-to-value, 2.00% from 65.01% to 75%, and 2.90% from 75.01% to 80%. There is no 95% band on that rental table. A rental is not Home Start. The tax file on a rental is rental deductions, and the premium is a cost of borrowing, not a deduction you invent on the T776 without reading the guide.
Who can use the 30-year amortization?
CMHC Home Start is mortgage loan insurance for borrowers who are first-time homebuyers or who are buying a newly built home. At least one borrower must meet CMHC's first-time definition, or the property must be newly built and not previously occupied as a residence. The home must be owner-occupied, including by a spouse, common-law partner, or a child, on a rent-free basis in the wording CMHC uses. The product is for high-ratio loans, above 80% loan-to-value. Maximum amortization is 30 years. Maximum purchase price or lending value is below $1,500,000.
CMHC's first-time definition, in the Home Start footnote, is a person who at closing has never purchased a home in Canada, or has not occupied a home in Canada as a principal residence that they or their current spouse or common-law partner owned, in the current calendar year or the four preceding calendar years, or who has been separated for at least 90 days because of a breakdown and began living apart in that same window. That test is not the FHSA test and not the Home Buyers' Plan test. Passing one does not prove the others. The first-time buyer guide separates them.
CMHC's minimum equity for a 1- or 2-unit homeowner loan is 5% of the first $500,000 of lending value and 10% of the remainder. On a $600,000 price that is $25,000 plus $10,000, or $35,000 down. The base loan is $565,000. Loan-to-value is $565,000 divided by $600,000, about 94.2%, so the premium is in the top band. On the standard schedule that is 4.00%, or $22,600. On Home Start, if you qualify, it is 4.20%, or $23,730. The premium may be added to the loan. This page does not turn either premium into a monthly payment, because the payment needs a contract rate, and a contract rate is not a CMHC figure. The $600,000 is arithmetic on CMHC's own equity rule, not a listing and not a quote.
When is the premium worth paying?
It is worth paying when the alternative is waiting years for 20 percent down in a market where the price, the rent, and your life will not wait, and you can carry the insured payment at the qualifying rate. It is a poor trade when you are close to 20 percent and the premium, plus the provincial sales tax that cannot be rolled into the loan, is larger than the rent and the moving costs of waiting a few more months. Run that comparison in dollars you have, not in a national "CMHC is worth it" slogan. The rent versus buy decision guide is the assumption list. The calculator does not add this premium. Add it yourself if the down payment is under 20 percent.
CMHC lists savings, the sale of a property, and a non-repayable gift from a relative as traditional sources. Non-traditional sources include unsecured personal loans and unsecured lines of credit. They are available only in the 90.01% to 95% band, on 1- or 2-unit properties, for borrowers with a strong credit history, and they cost 4.50% or 4.70%, not 4.00% or 4.20%. Borrowing the down payment from a line of credit and calling it savings is how a file lands in the expensive row.
What else is on the premium, besides the percentage?
- Provincial sales tax. CMHC says Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan currently apply it to the premium, and that the tax cannot be added to the loan amount. Budget the tax in cash. This page does not print the provincial percentage.
- Portability credit. CMHC's example: a new insurance request 6 months after the original closing can credit 100% of the premium previously paid, 12 months can credit 50%, and 24 months can credit 25%. A blended amortization is subject to a 0.60% surcharge on the increase, not on the whole loan. Confirm the credit on the new application.
- Eco products. CMHC offers a 25% partial premium refund when you buy or build an energy-efficient home or make energy-efficient improvements. "Partial" is CMHC's word. Read the eco rules before you count the refund as cash at closing.
- The qualifying rate. Home Start calculates gross and total debt service at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%, with caps of 39% and 44%. You pay the contract rate. The lender uses the higher rate to decide if the file fits.
Frequently asked questions
Does CMHC insurance protect me if I lose my job?
No. It protects the lender against default. Your household protection is a separate decision: an emergency fund, and disability or life insurance sized to people, not to the mortgage balance. Mortgage life insurance is optional and is not this premium. FCAC's mortgage-life page is linked from the mortgage-life comparison.
Can I avoid the premium with 20 percent down?
A loan at 80% loan-to-value or below is not in the high-ratio bands that require this insurance for the purchase. The standard schedule still publishes premiums at 65%, 75%, and 80%, because lenders sometimes insure lower-ratio loans, including portfolio insurance you do not shop for. A 20% down payment avoids the high-ratio requirement. It does not promise that the lender's file is uninsured behind the scenes. Ask.
Is the 30-year amortization automatically cheaper?
The payment is lower because the same loan is spread over more months, and the premium rate is 0.20 of a point higher. Total interest is higher if you keep the longer schedule and the rate does not fall. This page will not print a payment at an assumed rate and call it CMHC's. Take 30 years if you need the payment to qualify or to stay solvent. Shorten it with prepayments if the cash arrives. The prepayment guide is the privilege. The penalty guide is what it costs to break the term instead.
What if the home costs $1.5 million or more?
CMHC's Home Start and Purchase pages cap the purchase price or lending value below $1,500,000 for the homeowner loan. At or above that cap you are outside high-ratio insurance. The practical down payment is at least 20%. The stress test for an uninsured loan at a federally regulated lender is still the qualifying rate. The price cap is not a tax rule.
Does a gift from my parents count as traditional?
CMHC lists a non-repayable financial gift from a relative as a traditional source. A loan from a parent is not that sentence. The lender will ask for a gift letter. If the money has to be repaid, you are in the non-traditional row, and only if the rest of that row's conditions are met.
Can I add the premium to the mortgage?
CMHC says the application premium is a one-time charge which may be added to the insured loan. The provincial sales tax on that premium cannot. Interest then accrues on the premium you rolled in, at whatever contract rate you sign. Rolling it in is a cash-flow choice. It is not a discount.
Sources
- CMHC: premium schedules, surcharge, sales tax, portability credits
- CMHC Home Start: eligibility, 30-year amortization, premiums
- CMHC Purchase
The premium is a closing cost. The interest is the term.
Default insurance is not mortgage life insurance, and it is not a deduction on the home you live in. The 2026 tax guide is the filing side of a purchase.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
