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Mortgage renewal calculator
Your lender’s renewal offer against another rate or term: the new payment on each, and the interest and balance difference by the end of the term, on Canadian semi-annual compounding.
How much is a lower rate worth at mortgage renewal in Nova Scotia?
On a $300,000 balance with 20 years left, renewing at 4.95% is $1,963.28 a month; at 4.45% it is $1,883.29. Over a 5-year term the half point is worth $7,033 in interest: $4,799 in lower payments and a balance $2,233 lower at the end. Both rates are illustrations. Enter your own below.
Compare your renewal offer
Enter the balance and the amortization left from your renewal letter, the rate your lender is offering, and the rate and term you want to hold against it. You get the payment on each offer and what the difference adds up to. The arithmetic is the same anywhere in Canada.
What each quarter point costs at renewal
A renewal rate comparison on the same balance, amortization and payments as the calculator, at four rates above the alternative. The table follows your numbers when you change them.
| Gap | Rate | Payment | More per payment | More paid | Balance at end | Extra interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 points | 4.70% | $1,923.08 | $39.79 | $2,387 | $248,807 | $3,512 |
| 0.50 points | 4.95% | $1,963.28 | $79.99 | $4,799 | $249,916 | $7,033 |
| 0.75 points | 5.20% | $2,003.90 | $120.61 | $7,237 | $251,007 | $10,561 |
| 1.00 points | 5.45% | $2,044.92 | $161.63 | $9,698 | $252,082 | $14,098 |
On the starting example ($300,000 with 20 years left, 4.95% against 4.45%), half a point is $4,799 more in payments and $7,033 more in interest over the 5 years. The interest figure is the larger because the higher rate also leaves $2,233 more owing at the end, and that carries into the next term.
Switching lenders at renewal
Since November 21, 2024, a straight switch of an uninsured mortgage between federally regulated lenders is not stress-tested: same balance, same amortization, no new money. The new lender usually covers the appraisal and the transfer on a standard charge. A collateral charge cannot be assigned and may need legal fees to move.
Sign the letter or switch: $300,000, 20 years left, 5-year term
The switch is half a point below the letter on this example
Sign the renewal letterStay with your lender
- Balance and amortization
- $300,000, 20 years left
- Monthly difference
- None; the letter is the baseline
- Payments over the 5-year term
- None; the baseline
- Interest over the term
- None; the baseline
- Stress test
- Not applied: you stay on the existing loan
- Switch costs
- None
Switch lendersHalf a point lower
- Balance and amortization
- $300,000, 20 years left; same balance, same amortization
- Monthly difference
- $79.99 a month less
- Payments over the 5-year term
- $4,799 less in payments
- Interest over the term
- $7,033 less interest
- Stress test
- Exempt on a straight switch between federally regulated lenders since November 21, 2024
- Switch costs
- Usually covered by the new lender on a standard charge; a collateral charge may need legal fees
Half a point over 5 years on this example is $7,033 in interest.
Illustration on $300,000 with 20 years left and a 5-year term, semi-annual compounding: the switch rate is the chartered-bank prime rate, Bank of Canada, 2026-09-30 and the offer is that rate plus half a point; neither is a quote. OSFI straight-switch rule of November 21, 2024. Last verified September 20, 2026.
Go deeper
The detail, if you want it
How the renewal payment is worked out
The payment is the level amount that clears the balance over the amortization left at the rate entered. A fixed rate in Canada is compounded semi-annually, not in advance, so 4.95% is charged at 0.4083% a month, not the 0.4125% that dividing by twelve gives. The mortgage payment calculator uses the same convention.
Interest and principal over a term come from the payment-by-payment schedule, run on the payment rounded to the cent. On the example, the lower rate saves $7,032.88 of interest: $4,799.40 in lower payments plus a balance $2,233.48 lower at the end of the term.
Two offers with different terms are compared over the shorter term only. Past that point the shorter offer renews at a rate nobody can state today, so any longer comparison would be a guess.
Accelerated bi-weekly and weekly payments are half and a quarter of the monthly payment. They add up to one extra monthly payment a year, so the balance falls faster than the amortization entered. A lender that counts interest by the day will differ slightly from these figures.
When the stress-test exemption applies
OSFI’s rule of November 21, 2024 exempts an existing stand-alone uninsured mortgage moving from one federally regulated financial institution to another, with no increase in the remaining amortization or the loan amount; the balance may rise by up to $3,000 to cover penalties or fees.
Outside that box you are qualified at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% and 5.25%: taking out equity, extending the amortization, re-registering a collateral charge for more, or moving to or from a credit union, which is provincially regulated. Insured mortgages were already exempt on a straight switch. The new lender still verifies income and pulls credit; only the qualifying-rate hurdle is removed.
Taking equity out at renewal is a refinance, not a switch. The mortgage refinance calculator works that through.
What a switch costs
Standard charge: the new lender takes an assignment of the existing charge. It commonly covers the appraisal and the transfer and pays the brokerage, so the borrower pays nothing and the saving in the calculator is the whole saving.
Collateral charge: registered for more than the loan and often tied to a line of credit, it cannot be assigned. Moving it means a discharge and a new registration, with legal fees, and the file leaves the straight-switch box if the amount changes. Check which you have before the 120-day window opens.
At maturity there is no prepayment penalty on either. Leave before maturity and the penalty applies; the $3,000 allowance in the exemption exists to absorb one. The mortgage penalty calculator estimates it.
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
How is the payment at renewal calculated?
The lender takes the balance on the renewal date, the amortization left and the new rate, and sets the level payment that clears the balance in that time. On $300,000 with 20 years left that is $1,963.28 a month at 4.95% and $1,883.29 at 4.45%, with interest compounded semi-annually as the Interest Act requires. This mortgage renewal calculator uses the same arithmetic.
Does the stress test apply when I switch lenders at renewal?
Not on a straight switch. Since November 21, 2024 OSFI exempts an existing stand-alone uninsured mortgage moving from one federally regulated financial institution to another, with no increase in the remaining amortization or the loan amount; the balance may rise by up to $3,000 to cover penalties or fees. Add money, extend the amortization or move to or from a provincially regulated credit union and you are qualified at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% and 5.25%.
Is a quarter point worth switching lenders for at renewal?
On $300,000 with 20 years left, a quarter point is $39.79 a month: $2,387 in payments over a 5-year term, and $3,512 of interest once the lower balance at the end is counted. Half a point is $7,033 of interest; a full point $14,098. Whether it is worth the paperwork depends on those figures against any cost the new lender does not cover.
What does a switch cost?
On a standard-charge mortgage the new lender usually covers the appraisal and the transfer, and pays the brokerage, so the borrower pays nothing. A collateral charge cannot be assigned; it needs a full refinance with legal fees. The exemption lets up to $3,000 be added to the balance for penalties or fees and still count as a straight switch.
Can I compare a 3-year offer with a 5-year offer?
Yes, over the first three years. The calculator compares two different terms over the shorter one, because nobody knows the rate the shorter term renews into. On $300,000 with 20 years left, a 5-year offer at 4.95% against a 3-year alternative at 4.45% differs by $4,309 of interest over those 3 years.
My mortgage is with a credit union. Does the exemption apply?
No. Credit unions are provincially regulated and the exemption needs a federally regulated lender on both ends, so a move between a credit union and a bank is qualified at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% and 5.25%. Start 120 days before the renewal date so a requalification has time to run; staying put avoids it.
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
Have the renewal letter in hand?
Send the renewal letter and your current statement; you get back whether the straight-switch exemption applies, what a switch is worth on your balance, and whether the letter is worth signing, within a business day.
(902) 298-0218 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Atlantic