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APR Calculator: Canada

Work out a loan's APR with its fees included, by the method your country's law prescribes: US Regulation Z, the EU and UK APRC, Canada's formula and more.

Reviewed by CentExactRates effective 1 sourceCalculated in your browser. Shared links include inputs.

The rules for Canada

What the calculator above works from, read from the datasets listed under Data sources. Where a table gives the basis, “set by law” marks a figure fixed by statute or by the body that charges it, and a typical figure is a market convention the calculator opens on, which you can change.

How the APR is calculated
RuleValueBasis
Name of the rateAPRSet by law
MethodCost of borrowing ÷ (years × average principal)Set by law
Stated to2 decimal placesSet by law
LawFinancial Consumer Protection Framework Regulations, SOR/2021-181, s. 47Set by law

Canada: an APR that is a ratio, not a discount rate

Canada's federal rule for banks does not solve for a rate at all. The Financial Consumer Protection Framework Regulations define the APR as the cost of borrowing divided by the term in years and by the average principal outstanding, times 100. The cost of borrowing is the interest plus charges such as administration fees, a lawyer's or appraiser's fee the lender requires, and a broker's fee if it is financed; optional insurance, registry fees and prepayment charges are left out.

Because the average balance of an amortising loan is a little more than half the original sum, and the fee is counted against that average rather than against the money received, the Canadian figure comes out below the American one for the same loan: 11.86% against 12.11% on the calculator's opening figures. The regulations allow the result to be rounded to the nearest eighth of a per cent.

Provincial laws set their own disclosure rules for lenders outside federal banking, and Ontario's credit union regulation uses the same ratio; this page follows the federal formula. Separately, the Criminal Code makes an APR above 35% a criminal rate from 1 January 2025.

For how the calculation works, the formula behind it and what it leaves out, see the full guide. For help interpreting a result or comparing it with a quote or statement, read the questions and answers.

Data sources

Canadian consumer finance conventionsGovernment of CanadaWithin its effective period

Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.

This calculator in other countries

Where the rules change the answer, a place has its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.

CentExactCalculator publisher

CentExact publishes the calculation method, worked examples and available data sources. Automated checks cover reference calculations; they do not certify a result for your circumstances or imply approval by a lender or tax authority.

How we build and test our calculators

This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.