How long will it take to pay off my mortgage?

Small changes can help you shave years off the length of your mortgage. Use our calculator to find out how quickly you can pay off your mortgage – and own your home faster – by making extra payments.

Calculator fields

• Loan amount. This refers to how much you owe on your mortgage or plan to borrow from a lender.
• Interest rate. You can find the rate you’re currently paying on your mortgage statement or by looking at current rates offered by specific providers.
• Repayments. These are the payments you make towards your mortgage to pay if off.
• Repayment frequency. This refers to how often you’ll make payments. You can choose weekly, bi-weekly or monthly installments depending on your pay structure, loan terms and personal preference.

Ready for a mortgage? Compare lenders below

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Name	Product	Interest Rate (APR)	Loan Term	Min. credit score	Provincial availability
CASHBACK nesto Mortgages nesto Mortgages	CASHBACK	4.69%	5 Year Fixed Rate	680	All of Canada	Switch to nesto and get up to $4,300 cashback.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Tangerine Mortgages Tangerine Mortgages		5.74%	5 Year Fixed Rate	620	All of Canada	Secure a mortgage rate for up to 120 days. Make lump sum prepayments up to 25% of your original mortgage amount each year.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BMO Mortgages BMO Mortgages		6.49%	5 Year Fixed Rate	Varies	All of Canada	Switch your mortgage to BMO and get up to $4,200 CashBack. Valid until June 30, 2023.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Homewise Mortgages Homewise Mortgages		Varies	Varies	600	Not available in Quebec	Homewise's personal advisors can get you mortgage rates from over 30 banks and lenders.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Tips to pay off your mortgage faster

• Make payments more often. Make weekly or bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments. Because there are a little over four weeks in a month, you’ll end up make two extra payments a year by making bi-weekly payments.
• Choose accelerated payments. Avoid paying so much interest and pay off your mortgage faster by choosing accelerated payments. You can pay slightly more than a regular weekly or bi-weekly payment by choosing the accelerated option.
• Repay more when you have unexpected funds. Consider dumping your tax refunds, work bonuses or dividends from any other investments onto your mortgage – this can also help you cut down the interest payable. But watch out for early repayment fees.
• Increase your payments when interest rates are low. If you have a variable interest rate, keep making the same (or higher) monthly payments when your interest rate goes down — the difference will go directly to your principal balance.
• Consider refinancing. Your mortgage rate may not be the most competitive product on the market anymore. Consider refinancing to a mortgage with a lower interest rate.

Bottom line

Paying extra on your mortgage can help you cut down the length of your loan and save money on interest. If your interest rate is currently so high that you can barely afford your monthly payments, consider refinancing to a new, more competitive mortgage.

Frequently asked questions

• Is there a penalty if I pay off my mortgage early?

  Possibly. Check your contract to find out if you have a prepayment penalty, and if so, how much it'll cost you. Sometimes it's not worth incurring the fee to pay down your mortgage faster. You'll need to determine whether you'll save more money by paying a chunk from your principal amount but facing the prepayment penalty, or whether you can hold out until your loan term matures and then refinance with a different lender who doesn't charge prepayment penalties.

• Will refinancing save me money?

  Possibly, but not always. Refinancing is most likely to help if you've built up equity in your home and/or interest rates have gone down since you signed your original mortgage contract.

• How else can I cut down my loan term?

  Save a bigger down payment. Waiting to buy a home until you have a large down payment not only reduces how much you have to borrow, but it also drastically reduces how much interest you'll have to pay over the life of your mortgage.