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Surgical · Specialty

Surgery mortgages, done right.

Surgery has the longest training path in medicine, which makes the fellowship-offer and projected-income tools especially powerful for surgeons buying before attending status.

The short answer

On the physician program's projected income of $300,000 for surgeons 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 surgeons qualify on actual income, and incorporated surgeons on corporate income, which is usually higher.

$300K
Projected income
Program chart, final year and 36 months after
5-7+ yrs
Typical training length
Where projected income matters most
$3M+
Incorporated qualification
On corporate income plus dividends
01

How surgeons earn.

Surgeons earn through fee-for-service billing and hospital appointments, and most attendings incorporate. Training is long (often 5-7 years plus fellowship), so projected income and signed offers matter more here than in most specialties.

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, "General Surgery", 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, General Surgery specialty training requirements. Source
$521,768Average gross clinical payment per surgeon, 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
2,254surgeons 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.

Long training, projected income
A surgical resident or fellow can qualify on projected attending income years before attending status, which is the single biggest tool for surgeons buying during training.
Signed fellowship or staff offer
A signed offer is the strongest profile: full attending income can be used before the first attending paycheque lands.
Subspecialty variance
Surgical incomes range widely by subspecialty. Projection and qualification scale with the specific field.
04

Incorporation and your qualification.

Attending surgeons typically incorporate. Corporate-income qualification reads the corporation rather than the modest T4, lifting capacity by 50-80% for established surgeons.

FAQ

Surgery mortgage questions.

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

On the physician program's projected income of $300,000 for surgeons 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 surgeons qualify on actual income, and incorporated surgeons on corporate income, which is usually higher.

Can a surgical resident buy a home before becoming an attending?02

Yes. Given surgery's long training, projected income and a signed fellowship or attending offer are especially valuable. They let a surgical resident or fellow qualify at attending capacity well before the first attending T4.

Keep reading
Mortgages for residents
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.

Surgery

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