Do Ontario teachers get paid in the summer, and does it change your mortgage?

A permanent Ontario teacher earns an annual salary for a 194-day school year, so whether it is paid over 10 months or 12 does not change the number a lender uses. Occasional and LTO teachers are paid only for days worked and get nothing over the summer, which is why lenders qualify them on a two-year average of T4 income. The unpaid summers are already inside that average, so they are only counted once.

Ontario school boards run a 194-day school year under the Education Act, which lands at roughly ten months of work. What happens to your pay in July and August depends entirely on your status, and so does how a lender treats it. The "do I even get paid in summer" worry is real, but for mortgage qualification it is mostly a non-issue once you know how income is read.

Who gets paid in July and August

Permanent teachers: the annual salary is the number

Your annual base salary is the qualifying figure. A 10-month pay schedule and a 12-month pay schedule describe the same annual amount, just delivered on a different calendar. Lenders qualify on the annual salary stated in your board employment letter, so the unpaid summer is not subtracted. If a loan officer tries to reduce a permanent teacher's income because "summer is unpaid", that is simply wrong.

Occasional and LTO teachers: the average already handles it

Non-permanent teachers are paid for the days they work, in arrears, with no pay over the summer. That is exactly why lenders use a two-year average of your T4s and Notices of Assessment. The unpaid summers are already inside those totals, so there is no second deduction for them. An occasional teacher who earned $46,000 and $52,000 across two years qualifies on $49,000, and no further haircut applies for July and August.

Do not let anyone gross up or gross down your income for the summer twice. It is counted once, inside the average.

Employment insurance over the summer

Federal EI rules generally bar teachers from regular benefits during a non-teaching period such as the summer break. The Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles sets out three exceptions: the teaching contract has terminated, all teaching in the qualifying period was on a casual or substitute basis, or the claimant qualifies through work in another occupation. Daily occasional teachers often fit the second exception. An LTO whose assignment is expected to resume in September usually does not fit the first.

For the mortgage itself, EI benefits are generally not counted as qualifying income, so a summer claim neither helps nor hurts your number. It does show up on your Notice of Assessment, so disclose it rather than leaving a gap the lender has to ask about.

Benefit eligibility is Service Canada's call, not a lender's. Confirm your own situation with them rather than relying on staffroom advice.

Timing a purchase around the summer

• Permanent teachers can close in July or August without any income issue. The employment letter still states the annual salary.
• Occasional and LTO teachers closing in summer should expect the lender to look at the most recent full school year rather than the current pay stubs, which will show nothing.
• A signed assignment for September, if you have one, is worth including even if the lender does not ask. It answers the continuity question before it is raised.

Sources and dates

Figures in this guide come from the sources below. Each entry shows the date the source states, or the date it was read when the source gives none. After the review date, treat any number as a starting point and check the source.

• Ontario Regulation 304, School Year Calendar, Professional Activity Days (Education Act) (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Employment Insurance Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles, chapter 14 section 3, disentitlement and relief conditions for teachers (accessed 2026-08-26)
• Employment Insurance Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles, chapter 14 section 2, teaching and non-teaching period defined (accessed 2026-08-26)

Common questions