Two Boards, Two Grids: How a Lender Reads a Two-Teacher File

A lender reads each board salary on its own employment letter and grid, then adds the two together for one combined income. Permanent grid salary at the top of the A4 category runs from 119,967 to 120,384 across the published boards, and two such salaries are read the same way, one letter at a time.

Key takeaways

• Two boards means two letters and two grids; a lender reads each on its own, then adds the income.
• Across the published grids, start of grid runs from 48,179 to 61,614 and top of grid A4 runs from 119,967 to 120,384.
• A lender qualifies the combined income against a GDS ceiling of 39% and a TDS ceiling of 44%, at the stress-tested rate.
• If one of you is occasional or LTO, that income is not a fixed grid salary, so the earnings record you can show matters.
• Gather both employment letters, recent pay stubs, and T4s from each board before you apply.

Two boards, two letters, one file

Each salary stands on its own employment letter and its own grid. A lender does not blend your two jobs into an estimate. It reads one letter, confirms the grid category and step, takes that salary, then reads the second letter and does the same. The two figures are added for one combined income on the file.

The grids differ by board. Categories run A, A1, A2, A3 and A4. QECO category and experience step set the exact number, so two teachers with the same years in can land on different lines at different boards. Take two permanent teachers near the top of the A4 category, one at the Toronto District School Board and one at the Peel District School Board. The figures below are from the published 2025-26 grids. A lender uses the exact salary stated in each employment letter, not an average of the two boards.

Across all published boards for 2025-26 there are 13 boards with grids and 22 grids published between them. Start of grid runs from $48,179 to $61,614, and top of grid A4 sits in a tight band from $119,967 to $120,384. A two-board file is read against those same published lines, one side at a time.

Why two letters matter: One letter cannot speak for both jobs. The lender needs a separate letter from each board stating category, step, status, and salary. Two letters, two grids, then one combined income.

What two grid salaries qualify for

A lender qualifies the combined income at the stress-tested rate, not the rate on the offer. For most new mortgages at federally regulated lenders, that is the contract rate plus 2 percentage points, or 5.25%, whichever is higher. Eligible uninsured straight switches at renewal can be exempt from the prescribed test, though lender approval is still required. The qualifying rate is the figure the payment is measured against before any income goes in.

Once the payment is set at that rate, a lender checks it against two ceilings. Housing costs cannot exceed 39% of income, which is the GDS ceiling. Total debt, housing plus every other payment, cannot exceed 44%, which is the TDS ceiling. Both ceilings apply to the combined income, so a second salary raises the dollar room under each one.

The examples below come from the site affordability model, with a contract rate of 4%, a qualifying rate of 6%, a 25-year amortization, $250 a month in property tax, and $100 a month in heat. They show single grid salaries at the lowest and highest published boards. In a two-board file, each income is read this way, then combined, so the capacity sits above either single line on its own.

Look at the $500 monthly debt column. At start of grid on the lowest board, a $500 monthly payment drops the figure from $190,029 to $143,256. That is what pushes the number down: car loans, lines of credit, card balances, support payments. Each one counts toward the 44% TDS ceiling and eats into the room a second salary opened up. At top of grid, where income is higher, the same $500 barely moves the figure, because the ceilings sit well above the payment.

When one of you is LTO or occasional

When one of you holds a permanent contract and the other is long-term occasional or on the occasional and supply list, the two incomes are not read the same way. A permanent salary is read straight from the grid letter, at the category and step stated. Occasional and supply income is not a fixed grid salary, so there is no single line to pull.

Daily occasional rates are set by board. Across the published grids they run from $286 to $294 a day. That rate tells a lender what a full day pays, but it does not tell the lender how many days were worked. How the income is read for qualifying depends on the lender and the earnings record you can show, so keep your pay records and T4s organized before anyone pulls your credit.

In a mixed-status household, the permanent salary usually carries the file and the second income adds to it. A letter stating LTO status and an end date reads differently from a permanent letter, so state which status applies on each side at the start. The clearer the earnings picture on the occasional side, the more predictably that income reads next to the permanent grid salary.

• $286 to $294 Daily occasional range (Across published 2025-26 board grids)
• 13 Boards with published grids (22 grids published across those boards)
• 39% / 44% GDS and TDS ceilings (Applied to the combined income)

What to gather

Collect the paperwork from both boards before you apply. Each board is a separate employer, so each needs its own set. Missing one letter stalls the whole file, since the lender cannot confirm a salary it has not seen.

• An employment letter from each board stating status, QECO category, grid step, and salary, dated recently.
• Recent pay stubs from each board, enough to show current pay.
• T4s from each board. For occasional or supply income, have them ready so the earnings record is clear.
• A short note on any debts and their monthly payments, since those set the TDS ceiling.
• For anyone on LTO, the contract start and end dates on the letter.

Run your own pair: Use the Ontario teacher salary grid tool to pull each board's figure, then the Teacher affordability calculator to test the combined income against the 39% and 44% ceilings.

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.

• OECTA York Catholic unit collective agreement 2022-2026 (Art. 6.01) (as of 2025-26)
• OSSTF District 25 (OCDSB) collective agreement 2022-2026 (as of 2025-26)
• ETFO Durham teachers salary grid 2022-2026 (as of 2025-26)
• ETFO York Region local collective agreement 2022-2026 (as of 2025-26)
• OSSTF Toronto (TTBU) collective agreement 2022-2026 (as of 2025-26)
• OSSTF District 16 (YRDSB) collective agreement 2022-2026 (as of 2025-26)
• OSFI, minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (as of 2026-01-29)
• CMHC, mortgage loan insurance for homeownership: debt service ratios (as of 2026-08-26)