HELOC Borrowing Capacity Calculator Canada (2026): Equity and Interest Illustration

This calculator separates two questions that are often confused: how much equity-based borrowing the entered values could illustrate and what interest would cost at the rate you enter. It does not predict approval or recommend putting unsecured debt against a home.

FCAC describes a HELOC as a revolving credit product secured by the home. Its current home-equity guidance lists 65% of appraised value for the HELOC portion at federally regulated institutions, while total home-equity borrowing can involve a separate 80% limit and lender conditions. Read FCAC’s home-equity guidance and FCAC’s HELOC risk guidance.

Use an actual offer for the rate

The old version used a prime snapshot and a credit-score spread. Those are not reliable substitutes for a lender’s offer. Enter the actual annual rate, then test a higher rate to see how variable interest changes the monthly cost. The illustration assumes interest-only cost on the drawn amount; it does not model every lender’s minimum payment, fees, readvanceable structure, or amortization.

Before borrowing, verify the appraised value and all existing secured balances; the lender’s limit, rate formula, minimum payment, and right to change terms; appraisal, legal, title, discharge, annual, and other fees; a repayment plan that reduces principal; and what happens if income falls or the property must be sold.

If the borrowing is meant to cover routine expenses or an ongoing deficit, start with the job-loss runway calculator and debt-payoff calculator before adding secured debt.