See your payment, payoff date and interest for both parts of your loan
Canada student loan calculator for the two parts of most student loans: the federal Canada Student Loan, which charges no interest, and the provincial or territorial loan, which may charge interest depending on where you live. Enter both balances and choose your province or territory. It shows your monthly payment, payoff date and total interest for each part, and how much an extra monthly payment saves. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
This calculator gives estimates only. Your loan statement and the National Student Loans Service Centre are the final word.
Most students in Canada get one loan with two parts. The federal part is a Canada Student Loan from the Government of Canada. The provincial or territorial part comes from the government where you live. You may repay both through one account, but each part follows its own rules.
The federal part has charged no interest since April 1, 2023, and that change is permanent. Interest charged before that date is still owed. After you leave school, you get a 6-month non-repayment period with no payments. The standard repayment period is 114 monthly payments, and you can ask to stretch it to up to 174.
The provincial or territorial part is different in each place. Some charge no interest. Others charge interest based on the prime rate, the base rate banks use for loans. The table below shows each one.
Last reviewed: October 2026
| Province or territory | Interest on the provincial part | When interest starts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 0% (since February 19, 2019) | No interest. | Official source |
| Alberta | Prime (CIBC prime), floating or fixed | No interest for the first 12 months after you leave school. Repayment and interest start after that. | Official source |
| Saskatchewan | Prime | Interest starts when repayment starts, 6 months after you leave school. | Official source |
| Manitoba | 0% | No interest. | Official source |
| Ontario | Prime + 1% | Interest is charged during the 6-month grace period and added to your loan. | Official source |
| Quebec (own program) | Prime + 0.5%, or a fixed rate agreed with your bank | Interest starts the month after your full-time studies end, including the 6-month grace period. | Official source |
| New Brunswick | 0% (since November 1, 2022) | No interest. Interest charged before November 1, 2022 is still owed. | Official source |
| Nova Scotia | 0% for graduates who live in Nova Scotia | No interest if you qualify. If you do not qualify, use the rate on your loan statement. | Official source |
| Prince Edward Island | Not confirmed. Check your loan statement | Not confirmed. Repayment of the provincial part starts 12 months after you leave school. | Official source |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 0% (new provincial loans were replaced by grants on August 1, 2015) | No interest. | Official source |
| Yukon | No territorial student loan (the Yukon Grant is not repaid) | Not applicable. | Official source |
| Northwest Territories (own program) | Prime − 1% by law; 0% is available through a repayment incentive | Not confirmed. Check your loan statement. | Official source |
| Nunavut (own program) | Not confirmed. Check your loan statement | Not confirmed. Payments start after a 6-month grace period. | Official source |
Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut run their own student aid programs and do not take part in Canada Student Loans. If you are from one of these places, your federal balance is usually 0, unless you have Canada Student Loans from studying while living in another province.
The biggest difference is when interest starts. In Ontario, interest is charged on the Ontario part during the 6-month grace period and added to your loan, so you start repaying a little more than you borrowed. In Quebec, interest starts the month after your full-time studies end. In Saskatchewan, interest starts when repayment starts. In Alberta, the first 12 months after you leave school are interest-free, and repayment of the Alberta part starts after that. This calculator follows each of these rules.
Say you leave school in Ontario with $20,000 in federal loans and $10,000 in Ontario loans, the prime rate is 4.45%, and you choose the standard 114 months.
If your payments are too high for your income, you can apply for the Repayment Assistance Plan. If you qualify, your payment is lowered based on your family income and family size, and it can be $0. You apply online through the National Student Loans Service Centre, and you can apply at any time during repayment. To gather and combine the documents you need, see Merge Canada Student Loan Documents. See the official Repayment Assistance Plan page and try the official Loan Repayment Estimator.
If you paid interest on a government student loan, you can claim it on line 31900 of your tax return. It is a non-refundable tax credit, so it lowers the tax you owe. The credit is worth the lowest federal tax rate: 14.5% for 2025 and 14% for 2026. Only the student who is responsible for the loan can claim it, even if someone else paid. If you do not need the credit this year, you can carry it forward for up to 5 years. Interest on bank loans, lines of credit, loans from another country, or student loans combined with other loans does not count. Because federal loans no longer charge interest, the credit now mostly applies to interest on the provincial part. See the CRA line 31900 page and the Department of Finance report on the credit rate.
Some workers can have part of their federal loan forgiven if they work in an eligible rural or remote community. The program covers family doctors, family medicine residents, nurses and nurse practitioners, and since December 31, 2025 also dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, psychologists, early childhood educators, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, midwives and physiotherapists.
You must work for a full year (12 months in a row) with at least 400 hours of in-person service, and your loan must be in good standing. Amounts for other jobs and the full rules are on the official Canada Student Loan Forgiveness page.
The federal part is repaid in equal monthly payments with no interest. The provincial part uses the standard loan formula, payment = balance × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n), where r is the yearly rate ÷ 12 and n is the number of months. Payments are rounded up to the next cent, so the last payment is a little smaller. Interest during a grace period is worked out as simple interest and added to the balance when repayment starts, as Ontario and Quebec do. Federal payments start 6 months after you leave school. Extra payments go to the provincial part first, then to the federal part. Real loans can differ slightly, because lenders count interest by the day and prime rates change. All math runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Rates and rules last reviewed October 2026. Prime rates and provincial rules change, so check your loan statement. This tool is for planning and education, not financial advice.
Planning your budget after school? These free, private calculators can help:
Yes. The Government of Canada stopped charging interest on Canada Student Loans on April 1, 2023, and the change is permanent. Interest charged before April 1, 2023 is still owed. The provincial or territorial part of your loan may still charge interest, depending on where you live.
You have a 6-month non-repayment period after you finish school, leave school or drop below full-time studies. You do not have to make payments during those 6 months. Your first payment is due after that.
The standard repayment period for a Canada Student Loan is 114 monthly payments, about 9.5 years. You can ask to stretch it to up to 174 monthly payments, which lowers each payment but takes longer to finish.
Ontario (prime + 1%), Alberta (prime), Saskatchewan (prime) and Quebec (prime + 0.5%) charge interest on the provincial part, and the Northwest Territories charges prime − 1% unless you qualify for its 0% repayment incentive. British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador charge 0%, and Nova Scotia charges 0% for graduates who qualify. Check your loan statement for your exact rate.
Yes, if you paid interest on a government student loan. You can claim it on line 31900 of your tax return as a non-refundable tax credit. Only the student who is responsible for the loan can claim it, and unused amounts can be carried forward for up to 5 years. Interest on bank loans and lines of credit does not count.
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