Lunenburg, South Shore
Mortgage amortization calculator: the full schedule, year by year
Where each payment goes: the interest, the principal and the balance left, by year or payment by payment, on the Canadian compounding convention.
What does the amortization calculator show for a $400,000 mortgage over 25 years?
A payment of $2,202.79 a month at 4.45%, the chartered-bank prime rate, Bank of Canada, 2026-09-30, and $260,835 of interest if the rate never changed. The first payment is $1,469.77 of interest and $733.02 of principal; from payment 113 principal is the larger share. After a 5-year term you still owe $350,894. Your own rate will differ.
Amortization schedule calculator
Enter the mortgage, the rate and the years, and read the schedule by year or payment by payment. For a mortgage you already have, enter today’s balance and the years left. The arithmetic is the same anywhere in Canada.
25 years or 30: what a longer amortization costs
A longer amortization buys a lower payment with more interest. The same $400,000 mortgage at 4.45%, with monthly payments, over four amortizations:
| Amortization | Monthly payment | Total interest | Against 25 years | Owing after 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | $3,041.46 | $147,464 | $113,371 less | $294,711 |
| 20 years | $2,511.06 | $202,653 | $58,182 less | $330,243 |
| 25 years | $2,202.79 | $260,835 | — | $350,894 |
| 30 years | $2,005.24 | $321,887 | $61,052 more | $364,128 |
From 25 to 30 years the payment falls by $197.55 a month and the interest rises by $61,052. With less than 20% down the mortgage is insured, and an insured mortgage runs to 25 years. 30 years is open only to first-time home buyers buying any home, and anyone buying a newly built home, and it adds 0.20 percentage points to the premium. The down payment and CMHC insurance calculator prices that. With 20% or more down, each lender sets its own longest amortization. First-time buyer mortgages →
Go deeper
The detail, if you want it
Amortization versus term
Amortization is the whole road: the years it takes to bring the balance to zero at the payment you are making. The term is the contract you sign now, with one rate and one lender for a set number of years.
When the term ends the balance is not due in cash. You renew it, with the same lender or another, at that day’s rate, and the amortization carries on from where it stopped. On the default above, the first 5-year term repays $49,106 and leaves $350,894, with 20 years still to run.
So only the rows inside your term are fixed. Every row after it assumes the rate never moves. The mortgage renewal calculator compares what you are offered when it does. Mortgage renewal in Nova Scotia →
Why an amortization calculator for Canada differs from a US one
The Interest Act requires a mortgage repaid by blended payments to state its rate “calculated yearly or half-yearly, not in advance”. Lenders quote fixed rates compounded half-yearly. A calculator built for the United States compounds monthly, which charges a little more on the same quoted rate.
| On the same quoted rate | Semi-annual (Canada) | Monthly compounding | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective annual rate | 4.500% | 4.542% | 0.042 points |
| Monthly payment | $2,202.79 | $2,211.99 | $9.20 |
| Interest over 25 years | $260,835 | $263,599 | $2,764 |
A variable rate is the exception: some lenders compound it monthly. If your payment does not match the one above, that is the first thing to check on your statement. The mortgage payment calculator adds the down payment, the insurance premium and the stress test.
How the interest in each payment is worked out
Each payment, the lender charges interest on the balance still owing at the rate for one payment period, and the rest of the payment comes off the balance. At 4.45% compounded semi-annually the monthly rate is 0.3674%. The next balance is smaller, so the next interest charge is too, and the principal share grows.
| Payment | Balance before | Interest | Principal | Balance after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000.00 | $1,469.77 | $733.02 | $399,266.98 |
| 2 | $399,266.98 | $1,467.07 | $735.72 | $398,531.26 |
| 3 | $398,531.26 | $1,464.37 | $738.42 | $397,792.84 |
That makes the schedule a mortgage interest calculator as well: every row shows the interest in that payment. It is also why money paid early does more than money paid late. The mortgage prepayment calculator shows what an extra payment takes off the 25 years. Nova Scotia mortgage rates →
Why a broker
Licensed, independent, paid by the lender
- Licensed in Nova Scotia Associate broker 3001134, verifiable on the provincial register
- $0 broker fee On a standard residential mortgage the lender pays, not you
- Banks, credit unions, monolines One application, one credit check, placed with the lender that reads your file best
- Every part of the province Bedford office, remote process: Yarmouth to Sydney, the same four steps
Questions people ask
What is the difference between amortization and term?
Amortization is the time it takes to pay the mortgage to zero. The term is the length of the contract and the rate you sign now. On $400,000 over 25 years at 4.45%, a 5-year term repays $49,106 and leaves $350,894 owing, which you renew for another term with 20 years of amortization left.
How much interest will I pay over the life of my mortgage?
On $400,000 over 25 years at 4.45% (chartered-bank prime rate, Bank of Canada, 2026-09-30), $260,835, so the 300 payments come to $660,835. That assumes the rate never changes, and it will at each renewal. Used as a mortgage interest calculator, the schedule shows the interest in every payment and the running total.
Why does a Canadian amortization calculator show a lower payment than a US one?
A fixed mortgage rate in Canada is compounded twice a year, not monthly (Interest Act, section 6). On $400,000 over 25 years at 4.45% that is $2,202.79 a month. A calculator that compounds monthly shows $2,211.99, which is $9.20 too high, and $2,764 too much interest over the amortization.
Is a 30-year amortization better than 25 years?
It lowers the payment and raises the interest. On $400,000 at 4.45%, 30 years is $2,005.24 a month against $2,202.79, and $61,052 more interest if the rate never changed. On an insured mortgage, 30 years is open only to first-time home buyers buying any home, and anyone buying a newly built home.
When does more of my payment go to principal than interest?
On $400,000 over 25 years at 4.45%, from payment 113, in year 10. The first payment is $1,469.77 of interest and $733.02 of principal, and the principal share grows with every payment. Over 20 years the same point is payment 53.
What does the schedule look like on the average Nova Scotia home?
The August 2026 Nova Scotia average price was $467,585 (Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® / CREA monthly statistics). With the minimum $23,379 down and the default insurance premium added, the mortgage is $461,974: $2,544.08 a month over 25 years at 4.45%, $301,248 of interest if the rate never changed, and $405,260 owing after 5 years.
Still unsure? Ask me directly.
If your question isn't here, your situation is probably specific. Fifteen minutes on the phone beats reading another page, and nothing is pulled on your credit.
(902) 298-0218 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Atlantic
Want this schedule on a rate you can actually get?
Send the mortgage amount and the amortization you have in mind; you get back the payment and the schedule on a lender rate for your situation, within a business day.
(902) 298-0218 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Atlantic