Can we afford it? — Ottawa Visuals

Summary

Tax + deductions

Housing

Shared costs

Leftover

of — gross income

Total net income ?Combined estimated after-tax income for both persons. Includes federal + provincial tax, CPP and EI. Province inferred from postal code. Approximation — not a tax calculator.

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Mortgage payment ?Mortgage payment using standard Canadian semi-annual compounding formula. Does not include property tax or heat.

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Total housing cost

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incl. tax + heat

Leftover

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Shared expenses

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Total interest

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Lump sum savings ?Time saved off your amortization by making an extra annual payment on the principal. Most lenders allow 10–20% of original principal per year prepayment-free.

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Max house price ?Maximum purchase price where GDS ≤ 39% and TDS ≤ 44% at the stress rate (max of rate+2% and 5.25%, per OSFI B-20). This reflects the regulatory qualifying limit — your personal comfort level may be lower.

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Spending breakdown bi-weekly shared expenses: 70% of net

	Salary		Housing					Shared Expenses					Leftovers
	Gross	Est. Net	Mortgage	Tax/fees	Heat	Condo	Lump sum	Groceries	Entertain.	Transport	Kids	Other	Shared	Personal

Avg spending ?Average household spending by province, Statistics Canada Survey of Household Spending 2023 (table 11-10-0222-01). Values shown per category below each input reflect the provincial average for that spending group, scaled to the selected display period. Housing average includes shelter and household operations. Excludes CMHC-insured amounts.

Stress tests — ?OSFI B-20 qualifying rules. Lenders must test that you can afford payments at the higher of your rate + 2% or 5.25%. Blue line = your rate; purple = stress rate.

Actual rate

+2% stress

Amortization — stacked area all 25 yrs ?Annual cost breakdown over the full amortization. Stacked from bottom: principal repaid, interest paid, shared living expenses (inflation-adjusted), and remaining leeway.

Principal

Interest

Shared expenses

Leeway

Shared = tax + heat + discretionary. Leeway = what's left over after all costs.

Housing market context Ottawa

Freehold sales by price bracket — trailing 12 months

MLS benchmark price history — Ottawa (2005–present)

Actual benchmark

2005 price × CPI inflation

Max you could afford

Avg sold

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Median sold

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List / sold

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Avg days on market

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Neighbourhood analysis —

Employment income distribution ?Distribution of total household income for private households in this FSA. Source: 2021 Census. Shows the share of individuals (aged 15+) with employment income in each bracket. Bars represent % of workers — they sum to 100% of those with employment income. Census 2021 · —

FSA

Province

Canada

Enter salaries and postal code then calculate.

Neighbourhood profile — FSA vs Province vs Canada

FSA

Province

Canada

Methodology & assumptions

Mortgage payment

Standard Canadian mortgage formula with semi-annual compounding (as required by the Interest Act). Bi-weekly rate: r_bw = (1 + rate/200)^(2/26) − 1. Payment: P × r_bw / (1 − (1+r_bw)^−n) where n = years × 26.

CMHC stress test & bank maximum

GDS ratio calculated at both contract rate and stress rate (max of rate+2% and 5.25%, per OSFI B-20). GDS = (mortgage + property tax + heat) / gross monthly income. TDS adds all other monthly debt payments. Bank qualifying limits: GDS ≤ 39% and TDS ≤ 44% at stress rate.

Net income estimate

Combined federal + provincial income tax, CPP and EI premiums. Rates from TaxTips.ca 2026 combined marginal brackets (Other Income column), province-inferred from postal code. Not a substitute for a tax calculator.

Neighbourhood profile

Source: Statistics Canada 2021 Census Profile by forward sortation area (FSA).

CPI adjustment

Source: Statistics Canada table 18-10-0005-01 (annual average, all-items, Canada, base 2002=100). Used to inflation-adjust the 2005 Ottawa benchmark price to today's dollars for comparison.

Housing data

Ottawa data provided by u/ottawaagent (Reddit). CREA MLS HPI benchmark prices.

Average Spending

Source: Statistics Canada Household spending, Canada, regions and provinces.

Tool built using Claude AI

Sources

FSA definition — ISED 2021 Census Profile — Statistics Canada Tax rates — TaxTips.ca GDS/TDS calculation — CMHC Cost of raising a child — Statistics Canada Ottawa weekly data — u/ottawaagent Ottawa data spreadsheet