← All specialties
Physician · Specialty

Psychiatry mortgages, done right.

Psychiatrists earn through a mix of hospital salary, fee-for-service, and private practice. A lender that reads the mix protects your qualification.

The short answer

On the physician program's projected income of $300,000 for psychiatrists in the final year of training and the first 36 months of practice, the debt-service ratios allow roughly $1,710,000 with 20% down and no student debt, or about $1,400,000 with 10% down and $150,000 of student debt. Established psychiatrists qualify on actual income, and incorporated psychiatrists on corporate income, which is usually higher.

$300K
Projected income
Program chart, final year and 36 months after
$1.3M-$2M
Typical qualification
Attending, before incorporation uplift
10%
Down payment
Physician program, owner-occupied
01

How psychiatrists earn.

Psychiatrists commonly mix hospital salary, fee-for-service billing, and private practice. Many incorporate, particularly those with significant private practice income.

Projected income$300,000 projected income, final year and first 36 months of practice (program chart)
Typical qualificationRoughly $1,710,000 on projected income with 20% down
02

The numbers, with sources.

Nothing on this page is a guess. The projected income comes from the program chart, the qualification figures are computed from it with the same ratios a lender applies, and the income data comes from public reporting.

$300,000Projected income the program uses
Program specialty chart, "Psychiatry", final year of training and first 36 months of practice
Source: Physician projected-income program factsheet, September 2023 edition. Full schedule and rules
5 yearsResidency length
The final-year window, where the specialty figure applies, opens in the last of these years and runs 36 months past completion.
Source: Royal College, Psychiatry specialty training requirements, 60 months. Source
$315,316Average gross clinical payment per psychiatrist, 2023-2024
Gross billings before overhead, counting every physician equally whether full time or not, so take-home is lower. This is what an established practice earns; a lender uses it only once you are past the projected-income window.
Source: CIHI, National Physician Database, Payments Data 2023-2024, Table A.3.2, average gross clinical payment per physician, Canada total (released October 30, 2025). CIHI table
5,930psychiatrists in Canada, 2024
Active physicians, excluding residents and retired physicians.
Source: CIHI, Supply, Distribution and Migration of Physicians in Canada 2024, Table 1.0, physicians by specialty, Canada, as of December 31, 2024. CIHI table
What $300,000 qualifies for
20% down, no student debt$1,710,000
10% down, $150,000 student debt$1,400,000
Contract rate 4.49%, qualifying rate 6.49%, 39% GDS and 44% TDS, property tax 0.75% of price, heating $100 a month, student debt counted at 5.25% over 15 years, program insurance tiers when insured. Rounded to the nearest $10,000. Illustration, not a pre-approval.
03

What matters for your mortgage.

Blended income
Hospital salary plus fee-for-service plus private practice should be combined, not reduced to the easiest piece to document.
Private practice
Private practice billing is read differently by each lender; a physician-friendly lender uses recent billing history.
Incorporation
Psychiatrists with meaningful private practice income often incorporate and benefit from corporate-income qualification.
04

Incorporation and your qualification.

Psychiatrists with private practice income who incorporate are underqualified by standard lenders that see only the T4. Corporate-income programs read the corporation, typically lifting capacity by 50-80%.

FAQ

Psychiatry mortgage questions.

How much mortgage can a psychiatrist qualify for in Canada?01

On the physician program's projected income of $300,000 for psychiatrists in the final year of training and the first 36 months of practice, the debt-service ratios allow roughly $1,710,000 with 20% down and no student debt, or about $1,400,000 with 10% down and $150,000 of student debt. Established psychiatrists qualify on actual income, and incorporated psychiatrists on corporate income, which is usually higher.

How is private practice income treated for a psychiatrist mortgage?02

Private practice billing is read differently by each lender. A physician-friendly lender uses recent billing history rather than requiring a long track record, and combines it with salaried and fee-for-service income.

Keep reading
Self-employed physicians
How much can a physician qualify for
Incorporated physician mortgages

Prices and payment examples are estimates for planning only. Your actual numbers depend on income, down payment, debt, credit, location, and current lender pricing.

Psychiatry

A mortgage that reads your income the way it actually works.

A 30 minute call. Your billing, your corporation, your target purchase. You leave with a real number and a path.

Start the conversation
I'm a:ResidentSelf-EmployedIncorporatedInvestorRenewing
Tools & Calculators