Variable rate mortgage check
If you have a variable-rate mortgage and your payment stayed the same while prime rose, more of each payment went to interest than you may have expected. This replays your mortgage against the actual prime rate since your term started, and estimates where your payments went, where your balance may stand, your trigger rate, and what your payment could look like at renewal. Nothing you enter leaves your browser, and there is no sign-up.
Your mortgage when it started
Your rate
Your payment
Estimate · 55 monthly payments since March 2022
About $132,756 paid so far, and $128,196 (97%) went to interest
The other $4,559 came off the balance. Your rate moved from 1.55% to 3.55% as prime went from 2.45% to 4.45%.
The balance today
Where each month’s payment goes
Amber is interest, green is principal. Bars are drawn to the same scale.
Estimate · trigger rate and trigger point
Today's rate is about 1.31 points below the estimated trigger rate, so the payment is covering the interest and some principal. The replay suggests interest first ran past the payment around December 2022, for about 25 months in total.
The estimated balance has stayed below the $600,000 originally borrowed, so the trigger point does not appear to have been reached.
Estimate · at renewal on February 15, 2027
That is about $1,036 more a month than today. At renewal, lenders usually reset the payment so the mortgage ends when it was originally meant to. Some may offer a longer amortization instead, which lowers the payment and adds interest. The figure assumes today’s rate carries on to renewal, which it may not.
Estimates based on the information entered, as of September 28, 2026, using Bank of Canada prime rate data to September 23, 2026. The replay assumes the mortgage was advanced on the start date, payments were monthly and on time, nothing was prepaid, and interest compounds monthly, as it usually does on Canadian variable-rate mortgages. Your lender’s statement is the authoritative figure.
For informational purposes only. You may wish to confirm the figures with your lender or a licensed mortgage professional before making a decision.
What a change now could do
Move either slider to see what a lump sum or a higher payment from today may change, assuming today’s rate holds.
How the estimate works
The replay
Starting from the amount you borrowed on your start date, the calculator works through each monthly payment up to today. For each month it charges interest at prime plus your spread, averaged over the days at each rate, since prime can change mid-month. Interest is compounded monthly, as it usually is on Canadian variable-rate mortgages. Prime comes from the Bank of Canada’s published series, which tracks the typical prime rate at the big banks.
The original schedule
The comparison line is where the balance would be if the rate had stayed at its starting level for the whole term. The gap between the two is the shortfall: how far behind that plan the mortgage has fallen. On a fixed-payment mortgage the gap is mostly interest that the payment did not cover. On an adjustable-payment mortgage it is small, because the payment rose to keep up.
Trigger rate and renewal
The trigger rate is the rate at which today’s payment only covers the interest on today’s balance. The renewal payment is the level monthly payment that would clear the projected balance by your original end date, at today’s rate. Rates will move before then, so read it as a sense of scale rather than a forecast. For more on renewal options, the renewal calculator goes further.
What it cannot see
Any prepayment you made, a payment your lender changed partway through, a different payment schedule, or your lender’s own prime rate if it differs from the typical one. It also assumes the mortgage started exactly on the date entered. Your lender’s statement is the authoritative figure; this is a way to understand it, and to see the size of what may be ahead.
Common questions
- What is a trigger rate?
- On a variable-rate mortgage with a fixed payment, the trigger rate is the interest rate at which your regular payment only just covers the interest. Below it, part of each payment reduces the balance. Above it, none does, and the unpaid interest is usually added to the balance. It depends on your payment and your balance, so it moves a little as the balance changes. The calculator estimates it as twelve monthly payments divided by the balance.
- What is a trigger point?
- The trigger point is a balance, not a rate. It is the point at which the amount owing reaches a set share of the original mortgage or of the home's value, often 105% of the original amount, though lenders and contracts differ. At that point lenders typically ask for a higher payment, a lump sum, or a switch to a fixed rate. Your mortgage agreement states the figure that applies to you.
- What is negative amortization?
- It is when the balance grows instead of shrinking, because the payment is less than the interest charged. Several Canadian lenders allowed this on fixed-payment variable mortgages when prime rose quickly in 2022 and 2023, which kept payments steady but added the shortfall to the loan. Since prime has come down, many of these mortgages are covering their interest again, but the balance is usually still higher than the original schedule expected.
- What happens to a fixed-payment variable mortgage at renewal?
- At renewal, lenders usually reset the payment so the mortgage ends on its original date. If the balance is higher than the schedule expected, that new payment can be noticeably higher than the one you make now, even if rates have fallen. Some lenders may offer a longer amortization to soften the change, which lowers the payment but adds interest over time. The calculator estimates the reset payment at today's rate so you can see the size of the gap ahead of time.
- Can I increase my payment or make a lump sum on a variable mortgage?
- Usually, yes. Most mortgages allow a prepayment of 10% to 20% of the original amount each year, and many let you raise your regular payment by a similar share, without a penalty. Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, which narrows the gap before renewal. The limits are set out in the prepayment section of your contract, and your lender can confirm what applies. The sliders in the calculator show what a given amount may change.
- What is the difference between a fixed-payment and an adjustable-payment variable mortgage?
- With a fixed payment, the amount you pay stays the same when prime moves, and the split between interest and principal changes instead. TD, RBC, BMO and CIBC describe their standard variable mortgages this way, as does Scotiabank's Ultimate Variable, which sets its fixed payment using a cap rate. With an adjustable payment, the lender recalculates the payment whenever prime moves, so the mortgage stays on its original schedule and the monthly cost absorbs the change. National Bank and Scotiabank's Flex Value work this way. Your statement or lender can confirm which you have.
- Why might my lender's balance differ from this estimate?
- The replay assumes the mortgage started on the date entered, that every payment was monthly and on time, and that nothing was prepaid. It uses the Bank of Canada's published prime rate, which is the typical prime across the big banks, and monthly compounding. Your lender counts exact days, may have changed your payment at some point, and will reflect any prepayments or payment schedule you actually used. Your latest statement is the authoritative figure.
- Is anything I enter stored or shared?
- No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026. General information, not advice about your situation. If you would like someone to look at your statement with you, you can book a call with a broker.