The short answer: between 5% and 20%, depending on price. The longer answer is where most buyers get the math wrong by $20-40K.
Here's exactly how it works in Ontario in 2026, with the dollar amounts.
The 5/10/20 rule (still the foundation)
CMHC rules set the federal floor for what you can put down. Anything below 20% is called a "high-ratio" mortgage and requires CMHC (or Sagen / Canada Guaranty) insurance.
| Purchase price | Minimum down payment | |---|---| | Up to $500,000 | 5% of price | | $500,001 to $1,500,000 | 5% on first $500K, 10% on the rest | | Over $1,500,000 | 20% of full price |
The $1.5M ceiling went up from $1M in late 2024. That's the most important change for GTA buyers in years -- it opened up high-ratio insured mortgages on homes between $1M and $1.5M, which is most of Mississauga, Oakville, and a chunk of Toronto.
Real dollar examples
A $700,000 home
Minimum down: $500,000 x 5% + $200,000 x 10% = $45,000.
That's a 6.4% effective down payment. Add CMHC insurance (~3.1% of mortgage) financed into the loan, and you're carrying about $675K in mortgage debt.
A $900,000 home
Minimum down: $25,000 + $40,000 = $65,000.
7.2% effective down. Mortgage of ~$835K + CMHC premium financed in. This is the typical Mississauga semi or Brampton detached number.
A $1,200,000 home
Minimum down: $25,000 + $70,000 = $95,000.
7.9% effective. Mortgage of ~$1.105M + CMHC. This used to be impossible (over the old $1M cap meant 20% minimum) but is now firmly in high-ratio territory.
A $1,500,000 home
Minimum down (still high-ratio eligible): $25,000 + $100,000 = $125,000.
8.3% effective. This is the absolute ceiling. One dollar more and you flip into 20%-down territory, which means $300,001 minimum on a $1,500,001 home.
A $1,600,000 home
Minimum down: 20% = $320,000. No CMHC insurance available. The cliff is real -- $100K extra in price triggers $195K extra in down payment.
If you're shopping anywhere near $1.5M, structure the offer carefully.
CMHC insurance kick-in points
You pay CMHC insurance any time you put less than 20% down. The premium scales:
| Down payment | Premium % of mortgage | |---|---| | 5-9.99% | 4.00% | | 10-14.99% | 3.10% | | 15-19.99% | 2.80% | | 20%+ | 0% (none) |
On an $835K mortgage at 5% down, that's $33,400 added to your loan. You pay it off over the amortization, but it's real interest you're paying for years.
The crossover point: if you can scrape together 10% instead of 5%, you save about 0.9% of the mortgage, which on a $1M loan is $9,000. Sometimes worth it, sometimes not -- depends on what else that cash could do.
The new 30-year amortization for first-time buyers
As of December 2024, first-time buyers (or anyone buying a new build) can get 30-year amortizations on insured mortgages, up from 25. That doesn't reduce your down payment, but it drops your monthly carry by roughly 8-10%. On an $835K mortgage at 5.25%, that's about $400/month savings.
That savings can be the difference between getting approved and getting declined under stress-test rules.
Where the down payment actually comes from
This is where most buyers pile up bigger numbers than they realize.
FHSA (First Home Savings Account)
$8,000/year contribution room, $40,000 lifetime cap. Tax-deductible going in (like an RRSP), tax-free coming out (like a TFSA). If you and a partner both opened FHSAs in 2023, by 2026 you each have $32,000 of room, $64,000 combined.
If you maxed out, that's $64K of pure tax-deductible down payment money. Best account in Canadian personal finance for first-time buyers, period.
RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)
Borrow up to $60,000 from your own RRSP per person (was $35K, raised in 2024). Tax-free withdrawal, but you have to pay it back to the RRSP over 15 years.
Combined with your partner's HBP: $120,000.
FHSA + HBP stacked
The legal max for a couple, both first-time buyers, who maxed both accounts: $64K (FHSA) + $120K (HBP) = $184K.
That's enough for the minimum down on a $1.5M home with $59K to spare for closing costs.
Gifted down payment
Lenders will accept a gift letter from immediate family. No repayment, no debt service. Common in 2026 -- especially from parents who've held GTA property since the early 2010s and want to help their kids in.
The lender wants the gift in your account 90 days before close. Don't time it tight.
What buyers usually get wrong
Mistake 1: forgetting closing costs. Down payment is not the only out-of-pocket. Plan an additional 3-4% of price for closing costs -- legal, land transfer tax, title insurance, inspection. On a $900K home, that's $27K-$36K on top of your $65K down payment.
Mistake 2: depleting reserves. The bank wants to see 3-5% of the purchase price in reserves after your down payment is paid. If you scrape together $65K and put every dollar at the deal, your approval often falls apart at the last underwriting check.
Mistake 3: not pre-approving on the right number. A pre-approval at $900K means $900K including land transfer and closing. If your maximum cash-out-of-pocket is $90K, you cannot afford a $900K home -- you can afford about $815K.
How I check the math with clients
Before you write an offer, run these three numbers:
- Cash to close. Down + LTT + legal + title + inspection + status certificate (condos) + property tax adjustments. Use my affordability calculator for a defensible number.
- Stress-tested mortgage. Lenders qualify you at the higher of (your actual rate + 2%) or 5.25%. Run the math on that, not your contract rate.
- Reserves. What's left in the account after closing day? Aim for 3 months of mortgage payments minimum. Lenders verify this.
A clean example: couple buying their first home in Mississauga
Combined household income $185K. They opened FHSAs in 2023 and have $58K combined. Add $40K from RRSP HBP (split between them). Plus $35K saved in a TFSA. Total available cash: $133K.
Buying a $950K Mississauga semi:
- Down payment: $70K (7.4%)
- Closing costs: $32K
- Reserves left: $31K
- Mortgage: $880K + CMHC premium of ~$27K = $907K
- Monthly payment at 5.0%, 30-year amortization: ~$4,860
That's a clean, defensible deal. They put 7% down and still walked away with a one-month emergency fund -- something a lot of buyers skip.
When to put down more than the minimum
Three scenarios where I push clients to put 20% down even if they qualify for less:
- High-rate environment with renewal risk -- larger down payment = smaller mortgage = lower payment shock at year-five renewal.
- Investment property -- 20% required by law for non-owner-occupied.
- You hate paying CMHC premiums -- legitimate. The premium is wasted money once it's in there.
For most first-time buyers in 2026, though, putting down 5-10% and using the FHSA + HBP combo is the right move. Cash flexibility matters more than equity in your first year of ownership.
Want me to run your specific down payment math? Book a free 30-minute consult or play with the numbers on my affordability calculator first. Either works.
Hassan Nouman is a REALTOR with Cityscape Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage. CMHC rules and tax program limits are current as of April 2026. Always verify with a mortgage broker or accountant before relying on these numbers for a purchase decision.