Salary Required for Mortgage
Reverse the stress test: what income does THIS listing require? With lever simulator.
The Listing
These affect your GDS and TDS ratios. The defaults are CMHC/lender standard estimates.
What Can Lower the Required Income?
Each lever shows how much income it saves — pick the ones that are realistic for your situation.
| Action | New Required Income | |
|---|---|---|
| Enter home price and rate above to see levers. | ||
The math behind your result
Every number on this page is derived from the exact Canadian regulatory formula — not approximations or estimates. The calculation runs entirely in your browser using the inputs you provided. Expand the section below to verify the math step-by-step, or share the URL to reproduce these exact results.
▶ How is the required income calculated?
1. Stress test (OSFI B-20)
Qualifying rate = max(contract rate + 2%, 5.25%) Monthly payment = PMT(totalMortgage, qualifyingRate, amortization)
2. GDS and TDS ratios
GDS numerator = payment + propertyTax/12 + heating + condoFees × 50% TDS numerator = GDS numerator + other monthly debts GDS ≤ 39% → grossIncome ≥ GDS numerator / 0.39 × 12 TDS ≤ 44% → grossIncome ≥ TDS numerator / 0.44 × 12
3. Required income = binding constraint
Required income = max(GDS required income, TDS required income) Binding constraint = whichever ratio produced the larger required income With zero other debts: GDS is almost always binding. With significant other debts: TDS becomes binding.
4. CMHC (when down payment < 20%)
Down 5–9.99%: 4.00% of loan amount Down 10–14.99%: 3.10% Down 15–19.99%: 2.80% ≥ 20%: 0% (conventional, no insurance) CMHC premium is added to the mortgage principal BEFORE computing the qualifying payment — so less-than-20%-down buyers need higher income.
About the Salary Required for Mortgage Calculator
Why "reverse-first"?
Every mortgage calculator on page 1 of Google starts from your income and asks how big a mortgage you qualify for. That framing is backwards for the most common real-world situation: you have found a listing you want to buy, and you need to know whether your income qualifies — or how much more income you'd need. This tool solves for income rather than price.
The OSFI B-20 stress test explained
OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) requires all federally regulated lenders to qualify borrowers at a stress test rate: the greater of (a) your contract rate + 2%, or (b) 5.25%. At current rates near 5.5%, the qualifying rate is typically 7.5%. This means you need to be able to afford payments at 7.5% even if your actual rate is 5.5%.
The stress test uses two ratios: GDS (Gross Debt Service) and TDS (Total Debt Service). GDS must be ≤ 39% and TDS must be ≤ 44% of your gross monthly income. GDS covers housing costs only; TDS adds all other debt payments.
What is the "binding constraint"?
When you have no other debts, GDS is almost always the binding constraint — your housing costs alone determine how much income you need. When you have significant monthly debts (car loan, student loan, etc.), TDS can become the binding constraint — meaning your debts are eating into the TDS headroom and requiring more income than the housing costs alone would dictate. The "Pay off debts" lever directly addresses a TDS constraint.
CMHC insurance and required income
If your down payment is less than 20%, CMHC mortgage insurance is required. The premium (2.80%–4.00% of the loan amount) is added directly to your mortgage principal. This increases your qualifying payment, which increases your required income. The calculator automatically adds CMHC and shows you the premium amount and total insured mortgage.
Related calculators
- Mortgage Calculator — Semi-annual compounding, CMHC, amortization schedule. The forward version: "given my income, what is my payment?"
- Canadian Income Tax Calculator — At the required income, what is your take-home? Are you realistically able to earn that?
- Rent vs Buy (Canada) — Before you chase the required income, check whether buying actually beats renting over your time horizon.
Not financial advice. This calculator uses OSFI B-20 qualifying rules and CMHC premium schedules as of 2025. Lenders may apply additional criteria. All calculations happen in your browser — no data is sent to any server.
Frequently asked questions
How much income do I need to buy a house in Canada?
It depends on the listing price, your down payment, your interest rate, and the OSFI B-20 stress test — there is no single number for all of Canada. This calculator reverses the stress test math: enter a home price and it solves for the minimum gross annual income that would pass both the GDS (≤39%) and TDS (≤44%) ratios at the qualifying rate.
What is the "qualifying rate" and how is it different from my mortgage rate?
The qualifying rate (used to calculate your required income) is the greater of your contract rate + 2%, or 5.25% — this is the OSFI B-20 stress test. Your actual mortgage payment is calculated at your real contract rate, but lenders must confirm you could still afford payments at the higher qualifying rate before approving you.
Is the required income figure just GDS, or does it include my other debts too?
Both ratios are checked and the higher requirement wins. GDS (Gross Debt Service) covers housing costs only — mortgage payment, property tax, heating, and 50% of condo fees. TDS (Total Debt Service) adds every other monthly debt (car loans, student loans, credit cards) on top of GDS. The calculator shows which ratio is the "binding constraint" for your numbers — with no other debts, GDS is almost always the one that determines the income you need.
Does a co-applicant just add their income to mine?
On this calculator, the co-applicant figure is a simple 50/50 split: it shows what each of two applicants would need to earn if the total required income were divided evenly between you. It is not a full lender underwriting model — actual lenders combine household incomes and may weigh each applicant's debts and credit differently. Use the co-applicant number as a rough planning estimate, not a pre-approval figure.
What can I do to lower the income I need to qualify?
The calculator's lever simulator checks a few concrete moves against your specific numbers: paying off other monthly debts (if you have any), adding a co-applicant to split the required income, increasing your down payment to 20% to remove the CMHC premium (if you're currently under 20%), and switching to a 30-year amortization to lower the qualifying payment (if you're currently on a shorter one). Each shows the exact new required income and how much it saves.