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Methodology, Sources and Changelog

How each calculator works, where every rule and rate comes from, and what changed when.

Rules checked
Short answer

FinanceApp.ca's calculators run in your browser. Mortgage payments use semi-annual compounding; insurance, stress-test and land-transfer rules come from the MITEY calc engines with dated primary sources. Rates are Bank of Canada series. CPP, OAS and 2026 tax come from RetirementPlanner.ca's engine, and dividend tax from HighDividendPayingStocks.com's.

Figures as of 2026-11-13.

Formulas

  • Mortgage payment: payment = P·i / (1 − (1 + i)−n), where i is the rate per payment period converted from semi-annual compounding, i = (1 + r/2)2/k − 1 for k payments a year.
  • Savings and investing: monthly steps, Bm = Bm−1·(1 + i)·(1 − fee)1/12 + deposit, with i the monthly equivalent of the stated rate and compounding.
  • Goals: monthly amount = (target − saved·(1 + i)n)·i / ((1 + i)n − 1).
  • Debt payoff: monthly interest on each balance, all minimums paid, the extra to the highest rate (avalanche) or smallest balance (snowball).
  • Crypto ACB: average cost of identical property; a sale realises proceeds − fees − (units sold × ACB per unit); half of a capital gain is taxable.
  • Net worth: assets − liabilities. Runway: cash ÷ monthly essentials (housing, transport, food, debt, insurance, childcare).

Engines and their dates

  • MITEY calc engines 0.3.0 (mortgage insurance, stress test, land transfer tax, closing costs, reverse mortgage, rental and the toolbox): rules dated per tool, newest 2026-11-02.
  • Retirement, CPP and OAS: RetirementPlanner.ca's engine, figures reviewed 2026-10-30.
  • Dividend and investment tax: HighDividendPayingStocks.com's engine, reviewed 2026-10-31.
  • Rates: the MITEY rates dataset of Bank of Canada Valet series; lender rates read off each lender's own page.

Changelog

  • 2026-11-13: FinanceApp.ca rebuilt on the MITEY site kit 1.7.5 and calc engines 0.3.0. Every original address kept (/mortgage-calculator now forwards to /mortgage). New: dashboard, net worth and cash flow, goals, what-to-do-next guide, today's rates, toolbox, CPP & OAS, dividends and crypto ACB. Removed: the 'Today's Best Rates' strip (hard-coded rates with no source), user-count statistics and testimonials we could not verify. Social Security wording on the retirement page replaced with CPP and OAS.

Sources used on this site

  1. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Setting up an emergency fund. Checked .
  2. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Making a budget. Checked .
  3. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Paying back your debt. Checked .
  4. Canada Revenue Agency — MP, DB, RRSP, DPSP, ALDA, TFSA limits, YMPE and YAMPE. Checked .
  5. Canada Revenue Agency — First Home Savings Account (FHSA). Checked .
  6. Canada Revenue Agency — T4037 Capital Gains guide: adjusted cost base and identical properties. Checked .
  7. Canada Revenue Agency — Information for crypto-asset users and tax professionals. Checked .
  8. Department of Finance Canada — Report on Federal Tax Expenditures 2026 (capital gains inclusion rate increase cancelled March 21, 2025). Checked .
  9. Bank of Canada — Inflation-control target. Checked .
  10. Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation — What's covered. Checked .
  11. OSFI — Residential mortgage underwriting practices and procedures – Guideline B-20 (2017). Checked .
  12. CMHC — Calculating GDS / TDS (limits 39% and 44%). Checked .
  13. Bank of Canada — Bank of Canada target for the overnight rate (policy rate) (series V39079) (effective November 6, 2026). Checked .
  14. Bank of Canada — Prime rate (chartered banks, typical) (series V80691311) (effective November 4, 2026). Checked .
  15. Bank of Canada — Posted conventional mortgage rate, 5-year (series V80691335) (effective November 4, 2026). Checked .
  16. Bank of Canada — Effective rate on new insured fixed mortgages, 5 years and over (series V122667780) (effective August 1, 2026). Checked .
  17. Bank of Canada — Posted GIC rate, 1-year (major banks) (series V80691339) (effective November 4, 2026). Checked .
  18. Bank of Canada — Effective rate on outstanding credit card balances (series V122667812) (effective August 1, 2026). Checked .
Mitey reads a small book and points at a line.
The sources page is Mitey's favourite: every number traced to who published it and when.

Spotted an outdated figure? Tell us and we'll check it against the source.