An interest-only loan is a loan in which for a set term the borrower pays only the interest on the capital; the capital remains owing. At the end of the term the borrower may renew the interest-only mortgage, repay the capital, or (with some lenders) convert the loan to a principal and interest payment loan at his option. It should be noted that some interest-only mortgages in Canada allow the borrower to pay interest-only, principal and interest, or even principal and interest plus 20% extra.

Interest-only loans are popular ways of borrowing money to buy an asset that is unlikely to depreciate much and which can be sold at the end of the loan to repay the capital. For example, second homes, or properties bought for letting to others. In the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s a popular way to buy a house was to combine an interest-only loan with an investment in the stock market, the combination being known as an endowment mortgage. The stock market crash of the late 1990s showed this to be a gamble. An interest-only mortgage in Canada can be combined with Corporate Bonds in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) where the plan holder receives a tax deduction, tax deferral, and compound interest.

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