GIC calculator

How this calculator works

• Terms of a year or less earn simple interest, counted by the day on a 365-day year, paid at maturity. A 90-day GIC earns 90/365 of a year's interest.
• Terms over a year compound once a year on each anniversary and pay at maturity. On an odd term such as 18 months, the days after the last anniversary earn simple interest on the accrued balance, which is how the interest actually posts.
• Interest paid out yearly, twice a year or monthly is simple interest on your deposit, shown as equal payments. Issuers post a lower rate for these options; the calculator uses whatever rate you give it and never invents the reduction.
• The prefilled rate is the best one on our boards for the term and account you pick, across every bank, credit union and trust company we track, with the date we observed it. It is a starting point, not a quote: the institution's own minimum deposit, eligibility and current rate apply.
• Results are before tax, assume the GIC is held to maturity, and use the calendar maturity date; an issuer pays on the next business day when that date falls on a weekend or holiday.

Day-count conventions differ a little between issuers (some count 366 days in a leap year), which is worth cents on a short term and nothing on whole years. The method sentence under every result says exactly what was done, so you can check it against your own statement.

Using a GIC in a savings plan

Match the term to the date you need the money, not to the highest rate on the board. A non-redeemable GIC does not open early because plans changed, and the cashable kind pays less for the flexibility; short vs long terms and cashable vs non-redeemable set out the trade.

If you do not know the date, ladder. Splitting a deposit across one-, two-, three-, four- and five-year terms gives you a maturity every year at the longer-term rate, and the calculator's "same deposit at the best rate for each term" strip shows what each rung pays today. GIC laddering walks through it.

Put the GIC inside the right account. In a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA the interest is not taxed as it accrues; in a non-registered account it is taxable income each year, including on a compounding GIC that has not paid you yet. Registered GICs covers how buying one works, and interest income and taxes covers the rest.

Keep each institution under the deposit-insurance limit. CDIC covers $100,000 per depositor per category at a member institution, including interest, so a $100,000 five-year GIC is over the limit before it matures. Credit unions are insured provincially, on their own terms. See insuring more than $100,000 and the deposit insurance guide.

Decide what happens at maturity before maturity week. Left alone, many institutions roll a matured GIC into a similar term at whatever they post that morning. What happens at maturity explains the choices, and a rate alert set ahead of the date does the watching.

How Canadian GICs pay interest

1. The term decides the method. Bank disclosures say it plainly: for terms of one year or less, simple interest is calculated and paid at maturity; for terms over one year, compound interest is calculated annually and paid at maturity.
2. Taking interest out costs rate. A GIC that pays monthly or semi-annually is simple interest on the original deposit, and the posted rate is lower. CIBC's posted terms, for example, take 0.25 points off for monthly payment and 0.125 for semi-annual; Oaken posts three rates for the same one-year GIC. How GIC interest is paid goes through the options.
3. Day counts vary by issuer. Some accrue daily on a 365-day basis; some use 365 or 366 depending on the year; some count the days in the term. The differences are cents.
4. Minimum deposits are real, commonly $500 to $1,000 and higher for some products. The prefilled rate shows the product's minimum when the institution reports one. GIC minimum deposits has the detail.
5. Deposit insurance covers principal and interest up to $100,000 per category at a CDIC member, and since April 30, 2020, terms longer than five years as well. TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, FHSA, RESP and RDSP deposits are each a separate category.
6. Interest is taxable income outside a registered account, reported each year as it accrues.

Frequently asked questions

How is GIC interest calculated?

Multiply the deposit by the annual rate and by the fraction of a year the money is held. For a term over a year, do that once a year, adding each year's interest to the balance before the next year's calculation. The year-by-year table above shows exactly that for your inputs.

Is 4% a good GIC rate?

Only relative to what the same term pays elsewhere on the same day. The spread between the best rate and a big bank's posted rate for the same term is usually the better question, and the GIC boards show it for every term.

What is the best GIC rate in Canada right now?

For a one-year non-registered GIC on our boards it is 4.05% (StellerVista Credit Union), as of Oct 18. Every other term, and the registered lanes, are on the GIC boards, which update with each data delivery.

Does a GIC compound monthly?

Rarely. Most Canadian GICs compound annually, and a GIC that pays monthly is paying simple interest out rather than compounding it. A savings account is the product that typically calculates interest daily and pays it monthly.

Do I pay tax on GIC interest?

In a non-registered account, yes, as ordinary income in the year it accrues, even for a multi-year GIC that pays at maturity. Inside a TFSA the interest is tax-free; inside an RRSP or FHSA it is sheltered until withdrawal.

Can I cash a GIC early?

A non-redeemable GIC, no. A cashable or redeemable GIC, yes, after any closed period and usually at a lower rate or with reduced interest. The product name tells you which you hold.

What happens when my GIC matures?

The deposit plus interest is paid out or rolled over according to your instructions, and without instructions many institutions renew it automatically. Decide before the maturity date; this guide covers the options.

Sources

Issuer disclosures and regulator pages read on 2026-10-18. The prefilled rates come from our own data, not from these pages.

• CIBC GIC calculator, fine print: simple interest at one year or less, annual compounding beyond, payment-frequency rate reductions, next-business-day maturity.
• Tangerine: when GIC interest is paid: daily accrual on a 365/366 basis.
• Oaken Financial GIC rates: separate posted rates by payment option; registered GICs compounded annually.
• Bridgewater Bank: GIC interest calculation: a worked example of paid-at-maturity against paid-annually.
• CDIC: how deposit insurance works and the 2020 and 2022 changes.
• Bank of Canada investment calculator: annual compounding as the reference convention.