GIC calculator: what a Canadian GIC pays at maturity

What the calculator works out

It turns three inputs — the amount deposited, the term it is locked in for, and the annual rate the issuer posts — into a maturity value, which is what the deposit is worth on the day the term ends. The compounding frequency decides how much of that figure is interest. Interest compounded annually is added once a year and earns interest itself from then on; simple interest is paid on the original deposit only and never compounds, so over a five-year term it always finishes lower.

Because more frequent compounding pays more on the same posted rate, the result also carries an effective annual rate: the annual figure that produces the same maturity value once the compounding periods are counted. That is the number to compare two GICs on, since an issuer posts a lower rate for interest paid monthly than for the same term compounded annually. Interest on a non-registered GIC is taxed as income in the year it is earned, whether or not it has been paid out, and every figure here is before tax.

The rate to enter is the one the issuer posts for the term you want. Ours are read off each institution's own page and re-verified monthly.