Reverse mortgage calculator.
A reverse mortgage lets Canadian homeowners aged 55+ turn home equity into tax-free cash — with no monthly payments and no requirement to sell. You keep title; the loan plus accrued interest is repaid when you sell or leave. Estimate how much you could access.
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Lender-ready summary, your assumptions baked in, and a personalized note from an advisor at Mortgage Squad Advisors.
Is a reverse mortgage right for you?
A reverse mortgage solves a specific problem: you’re 55 or older, most of your wealth is in your home, and you want to stay there while freeing up cash — without the monthly payment a regular mortgage or HELOC demands. You can take the money as a lump sum or in instalments, it’s tax-free, it doesn’t claw back OAS or GIS, and you keep title to your home.
Why the amount rises with your age
The percentage of your home’s value you can access increases with age — from roughly 15-20% in your mid-fifties toward the ~55% ceiling at 80-plus. The reason is the lender’s timeline: an older borrower’s loan is expected to run fewer years before it’s repaid (on sale or in the estate), so less interest compounds before then, and the lender can safely advance more today. It’s based on age, home value and type, and location — not on your income or credit, because there are no payments to qualify for.
A worked example: a $900,000 home at 70
On a $900,000 home, a 70-year-old can typically access around 30% — roughly $270,000 tax-free. There’s no monthly payment; instead, interest accrues onto the balance. At a representative reverse-mortgage rate, that balance roughly doubles over about 12-14 years if nothing is repaid — so the equity left to the estate shrinks over time. That can be entirely the right trade (the home is there to fund retirement), but it’s the number to understand going in. Voluntary payments can slow or stop the compounding whenever you choose.
The honest comparison
Reverse-mortgage rates sit above regular mortgage and HELOC rates, and because no payments are made, interest compounds and erodes the equity left to your estate. So it deserves a side-by-side. If you can comfortably service a payment, a HELOC or a refinance is usually cheaper; if staying in the home isn’t essential, downsizing frees more equity with no interest at all. The reverse mortgage wins when staying put with zero payments is the priority. As an FSRA-licensed brokerage we’re paid the same regardless, so we model every option and recommend a reverse mortgage only when it genuinely comes out ahead — see the full reverse mortgage guide.