$3,631
Canada · Refinance
When does switching pay back the fees?
Compare the break-even period with how long you expect to keep the new financing. OwnerCost starts with an editable 36-month planning horizon.
Example with the default inputs. Change any field to recalculate.
Break-even in 4.4 months
Break-even occurs 31.6 months before your stated horizon of 36 months. This compares timing only; it does not show whether switching is right for you.
36 months is the editable OwnerCost planning default, not a lender or regulatory threshold. Replace it with how long you expect to keep this financing before selling or switching again.
$3,292
$339
Switching costs in Canada
Breaking or transferring a mortgage before the end of its term can trigger a prepayment penalty — typically the higher of three months' interest or an interest-rate differential (IRD). How it is calculated varies by lender.
Source: FCAC — Mortgage prepayment penalties (updated 15 Oct 2025)
At renewal, insured mortgage holders can switch lenders without another stress test. For uninsured mortgages, the minimum qualifying rate does not apply to a straight switch between federally regulated lenders, as long as the loan amount and amortization do not increase.
Source: Finance Canada — Mortgage reforms in force (switching at renewal) (15 Dec 2024); OSFI — Uninsured straight switches exempt from the MQR (21 Nov 2024); OSFI — Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (confirmed 29 Jan 2026)
Checked against these sources on 24 September 2026.
What this estimate includes
- Current and new payments on today's balance over the same remaining term
- The switching costs you enter (fees, penalties, charges)
- Break-even months = switching costs ÷ monthly payment saving
What it does not include
- Penalties or fees you do not enter — none are calculated for you
- Cash-out or extra borrowing
- Changing the loan term or amortization
- Total interest over the life of either loan
- Your horizon: it only positions break-even in time and never changes the break-even figure
How we calculate
Break-even months = penalty and fees ÷ (current payment − new payment). OwnerCost converts the rate you enter with semi-annual compounding, the usual Canadian convention (the Interest Act requires the rate to be stated yearly or half-yearly): monthly rate = (1 + r/2)^(2/12) − 1. Payment = P·i / (1 − (1 + i)^−n).
Official sources
Rules checked against these sources on 24–25 September 2026.