Mortgage payoff timeline
How long until you're mortgage-free at your current pace — and how much sooner if you switch to accelerated bi-weekly, add an extra monthly amount or make a yearly lump sum.
Your scenario
Result
Confirm prepayment privileges with your lender before increasing payments above contract.
What this calculator answers
Two versions of one question. At the payment you make today — or any payment you type in — how long until the balance reaches zero, and what will the interest have cost? And when could you be mortgage-free if you changed how you pay? Leave the three levers at zero for the first; switch them on for the second. To test one lump sum against your lender's prepayment privileges, use the prepayment savings calculator.
How payoff timeline math works
Given a balance, interest rate and monthly payment, the calculator runs the balance forward month by month until it reaches zero, adding up the interest along the way. Rates are converted with semi-annual compounding, the convention Canadian fixed-rate mortgages are quoted in.
How an early-payoff plan compounds
Three levers work together: accelerated bi-weekly payments (half the monthly payment every two weeks, which adds the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year), an extra fixed amount each month, and a yearly lump sum from a bonus or tax refund. Every extra dollar goes straight to principal and stops accruing interest for the rest of the amortization, which is why the same extra payment does more the earlier it is made.
What's allowed under standard Canadian mortgages
Closed mortgages set an annual limit on lump sums and payment increases; stay inside it and there is no penalty. Published limits at major lenders:
- TD: up to 15% of the original amount a year, and payment increases up to 100% of the original payment (details)
- RBC: 10% lump sum and 10% payment increase, each once every 12 months (details)
- Scotiabank and CIBC: 10%, 15% or 20% depending on the product (Scotiabank, CIBC)
- National Bank: 10% lump sum, plus an extra payment of up to one regular payment (details)
- Desjardins: 15% lump sum, payments up to double (details)
- First National: 15% lump sum and 15% payment increase (details); MCAP: up to 20% lump sum (details)
Each figure is from the lender's own website, checked September 2026 and linked from its calculator page. Your commitment letter is what actually applies — products within one lender differ.
Which lever to pull first
- If you have a regular bonus or tax refund: start with the annual lump sum. It moves the most principal at once.
- If your monthly cash flow has slack: add an extra monthly amount. It starts cutting interest from the first month.
- If you are paid bi-weekly: accelerated bi-weekly lines up with your pay and adds roughly one extra monthly payment a year.
When not to accelerate
- You haven't used your FHSA, TFSA or RRSP room — those tax shelters can beat the mortgage rate
- You have higher-interest debt (credit cards, unsecured LOC) — pay those first
- You expect to break the mortgage soon — a lump sum you are allowed to prepay can shrink the balance the penalty is calculated on, so time it before the break rather than after
- You don't have a 3-6 month emergency fund
What this calculator assumes
- Fixed interest rate for the entire payoff period (your real mortgage will renew at new rates)
- No rate changes from BoC / variable resets
- No lender prepayment privilege limits — confirm yours allow the larger payment
- No tax / insurance escrow components
Related
Mortgage agent or broker? Calculators like this one embed on the website you already have, and Mortgage360 campaign landing pages capture the enquiries they start straight into your CRM.
Questions about this calculator
- How do I pay off my mortgage faster in Canada?
- Three levers, in rough order of power: switch to accelerated bi-weekly payments, raise the regular payment by whatever percentage your contract allows, and make an annual lump sum. All three apply entirely to principal within your prepayment privileges.
- How much time does an extra payment actually save?
- More than most people expect, because the saving is interest avoided over every remaining year. On a 25-year amortization, accelerated bi-weekly payments alone typically remove three to four years without any additional cash.
- Should I pay off the mortgage or invest the money?
- Paying down the mortgage is a guaranteed, tax-free return equal to your rate. An investment must beat that after tax and after risk. The higher your rate and the shorter your horizon, the stronger the case for paying down.
- Is there a penalty for paying off my mortgage early?
- Within your annual prepayment privileges, no. Paying the whole balance out mid-term is a different matter and triggers a prepayment charge — three months' interest on a variable, or the interest rate differential on a fixed, which is usually far larger.
- Should the lump sum shorten the amortization or lower the payment?
- Shorten the amortization, which is the default at most lenders. Re-amortizing to lower the payment gives up nearly all of the interest saving — it converts a permanent gain into monthly cash flow.
- When in the year should I make the lump sum?
- As early as your privilege allows, and check whether it resets on the calendar year or on your mortgage anniversary. A lump sum sitting unpaid is a year of interest you did not have to pay on that amount.