How income works7 min read

QECO Upgrade: When Your New Category Counts for a Mortgage

By Emily MudrickUpdated 10 November 2026

The short answer

A QECO upgrade raises your pay only from the effective date your board's collective agreement sets, and only after the paperwork reaches the board. Several agreements use September 1 and January 1 dates with fixed deadlines. A lender counts the higher salary once your board letter or pay stub shows it, not when the course ends.

Key takeaways

An upgrade has four stages: finish the course, have it recorded, get a revised QECO Statement of Evaluation, and submit it to your board.
Board agreements set the pay date. Simcoe County ETFO uses September 1 or January 1 with a November 30 intent form and a June 30 paperwork deadline.
The TDSB secondary agreement pays a change from September 1 if written notice arrives by December 15, or from January 1 if it arrives by June 1.
A lender counts the new category when your board letter or pay stub shows the higher salary. A finished course alone is not new income on paper.
On the Halton elementary 2025-26 grid at step 5, one category up is worth roughly $20,000 to $23,000 of estimated borrowing room.

How does a QECO upgrade move through the system?

The path runs through three offices, and each one has its own clock. First you finish the work: a degree, a set of degree-credit courses, or Additional Qualification courses. The Ontario College of Teachers accredits AQ and ABQ courses and, once you complete them, records them on your Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

Next, QECO evaluates your updated record against its chart and issues a revised Statement of Evaluation. QECO's General Education Chart lists 34 routes to the five categories and says each route must be met exactly as described before a category is granted. Last, you send the statement to your board, and your board changes your pay under the rules in your collective agreement.

A mortgage file sees only the last step. Until the board pays the new category, the lender sees your old salary.

When does the new category show up on your pay?

Three published agreements show how much the timing rules differ. Each one ties the pay change to fixed dates and to paperwork reaching the board.

From each board's 2022-2026 collective agreement. Your own board's agreement sets your dates.
Board and panel	When the higher category is paid	What has to happen first
Simcoe County elementary (ETFO), Article 12.02	September 1, or January 1	For September 1: coursework done by August 31. For January 1: coursework done by December 31. In both cases the online Intent to Change form is in by November 30 and QECO documents reach HR by June 30. Otherwise the change applies September 1 of the next school year.
TDSB secondary (OSSTF), L6.6 and L6.7	Retroactive to September 1, or to January 1	Written notice by December 15 for a change effective September 1, or by June 1 for one effective January 1. Pay does not change until proof is submitted, and proof is due within one month of receiving it.
Peel elementary (ETFO), L23.05	September 1 of the school year	A verified copy of the original Statement of Evaluation reaches HR on or before June 30 of that school year. Peel also says there is no advancement on the salary schedule without a QECO Statement of Evaluation.

Simcoe's agreement also places new hires at A1, step 0 until placement documents arrive, then adjusts pay back to the hire date if the documents come within one calendar year.

When will a lender count the higher salary?

A lender needs income it can verify. For a permanent teacher that is the board employment letter and a recent pay stub. Both show your category through the salary attached to it.

That means three moments matter. The day the course ends changes nothing on paper. The day your revised statement reaches the board starts the clock under your agreement. The first pay period at the new rate, or an HR letter confirming the new category and its effective date, is when the higher salary becomes something a lender can read.

If your upgrade is approved with a retroactive date, the catch-up money may arrive as a lump sum. Treat that as a one-time payment in your own planning, and ask the lender how it treats it. The new annual salary on the letter is the figure that carries forward.

What is one category worth in a mortgage?

The Halton elementary grid for 2025-26 gives a fair picture. At step 5, A1 paid $77,427, A2 paid $81,378, A3 paid $85,976 and A4 paid $89,919.

Using a qualifying rate of 6.00 per cent, a 25-year amortization, the 39 per cent gross debt service limit, $3,000 a year of property tax and $100 a month for heat, with no other debts, those salaries support illustrative maximums of about $338,600, $358,700, $382,000 and $402,100. Each category step up added roughly $20,000 to $23,000 of borrowing room in this example.

OSFI sets the qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages at the greater of the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25 per cent. These are estimates on stated assumptions, not approvals. Debts and condo fees lower them.

How should you time an upgrade around a purchase?

If your upgrade will be paid from September 1 or January 1 and your closing is after that date, ask HR when a letter showing the new category can be issued.
If you need the higher salary to qualify, plan on the letter, not the course completion date. Missing a board deadline can push the pay change to the next September.
If you qualify comfortably on your current salary, there is no need to wait. Apply on the salary you have and let the upgrade add room later.
Keep copies of your OCT record, your revised QECO statement and the board's receipt. They answer most lender questions about a recent change.

What to do this week

Read the salary or qualifications article in your own collective agreement and note its dates.
If you finished courses this year, check that they appear on your Certificate of Qualification and Registration.
Apply to QECO for a re-evaluation if you have not, and submit the statement to HR the day it arrives.
Ask HR for an updated letter once the new category is in your pay.

General information for Ontario teachers, not advice on your own file. Lender and insurer rules vary. Confirm your dates with your board and QECO.

Sources and dates

Figures in this guide come from the sources below. Each entry shows the date the source published it, or the date it was accessed when the source does not state one. After the review date, treat any number as a starting point and check the source.

First published 10 November 2026. Updated 10 November 2026. Source dates are listed above.

FAQ

Common questions

When does a QECO category change take effect on my pay?+

On the date your board's collective agreement sets, once the paperwork arrives. Several agreements use September 1 or January 1, with deadlines for an intent form, written notice or the Statement of Evaluation. Check your own agreement.

I finished my AQ in August. Can a lender use my higher category now?+

Not until the board pays it or confirms it in writing. A lender reads your employment letter and pay stub, and they show the old salary until HR processes the change.

What happens if I miss my board's deadline?+

Under some agreements the change moves to a later date. In Simcoe County ETFO, for example, a change that misses the conditions applies September 1 of the next school year.

How much more can I borrow after moving up a category?+

On the Halton elementary 2025-26 grid at step 5, one category up added roughly $20,000 to $23,000 of estimated borrowing room, using a 6.00 per cent qualifying rate and the 39 per cent gross debt service limit with no other debts.

Keep reading

How a salary-grid increase affects a mortgage estimateSee an example of how a confirmed raise changes estimated borrowing capacity.The Ontario teacher salary grid, explained: categories, steps and what boards payFind your category and step, read a board grid and check the year it covers.What to include in a teacher mortgage employment letterA clear checklist to share with your board HR team.