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Use a calculator

Enter your numbers, select Calculate, then read the results below or beside the inputs.

Calculators can appear on a company's own website or on a page the company hosts for you. The company sets the colours, starting values and links, so a calculator can look different from site to site. The steps below stay the same.

Enter your numbers​

  1. Find the fields under Inputs. Each field has a label. Some have a hint under the label.
  2. Change the starting values to your own. Each field starts with a suggested value that you can replace.
  3. Type amounts, rates and lengths of time in the way your language writes them. For example, 1,234.56 in English and 1 234,56 in Canadian French mean the same amount. You can paste an amount that includes a currency symbol.

A field checks your entry when you leave it. A message appears under the field if the value is missing, outside the allowed range, or has too many decimal places. The message goes away as soon as the value is valid.

Run the calculation​

Select Calculate to run the calculation.

  • If a field has an error, nothing runs. Focus moves to the first field that needs a fix.
  • While the calculation runs, the button is off and shows a spinner. Your entries stay in place.
  • If you change an entry after you see a result, the result dims and shows "Results out of date, press Calculate to update". Select Calculate again to refresh it.
  • If the calculation fails, you see a message and a Try again button. Your entries stay in place. If the calculator is not available, the page says so and has no retry button.

Read the results​

Results appear in this order:

  1. The main figure. A screen reader reads it aloud when the calculation finishes.
  2. A chart, when the calculator has one. The chart has a text description.
  3. A detail table, when the calculator has one. The table holds the same figures as the chart, in text form. Some tables have a monthly and a yearly view, and a Show schedule button. Long tables have Previous and Next buttons.

Amounts use your language's number and currency format. Results are estimates that depend on the numbers you enter. See What the disclaimer means.