Can I Afford a House?
Mortgage payment, the 28/36 ratios and a suggested maximum price for your income and debts.
Lenders and sensible budgets look at two ratios: housing costs as a share of income (a common guideline is 28%) and total debt payments including the mortgage (a common ceiling is 36%). This calculator works out both for the home you are considering.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Home price, Down payment, Mortgage interest rate, Loan term, Gross monthly income, Other monthly debt payments
- What you get
- Estimated mortgage payment, Housing share of income, Total debt share of income, Suggested maximum price (28/36 guidelines)
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Can I Afford a House?
- 1 Enter Home price
- 2 Enter Down payment
- 3 Enter Mortgage interest rate
- 4 Enter Loan term (years)
- 5 Enter Gross monthly income
- 6 Enter Other monthly debt payments — Car loans, credit cards, student loans — minimums.
- 7 Press Calculate. You get Estimated mortgage payment, Housing share of income, Total debt share of income, Suggested maximum price (28/36 guidelines), and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 8 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A $320,000 home with a $64,000 down payment
30-year mortgage at 6% on an $8,500 gross monthly income with $350 of other debt payments.
You enter
- Home price
- $320,000.00
- Down payment
- $64,000.00
- Mortgage interest rate
- 6%
- Loan term
- 30 years
- Gross monthly income
- $8,500.00
- Other monthly debt payments
- $350.00
You get
- Estimated mortgage payment
- $1,534.85
- Housing share of income
- 18.1%
- Total debt share of income
- 22.2%
- Suggested maximum price (28/36 guidelines)
- $516,005.28
Principal and interest come to about $1,535, roughly 18% of gross income and comfortably inside the 28% guideline; total debt payments sit near 22%. The 36% ceiling would carry a price near $516,000 with this down payment, so at $320,000 the numbers are not the constraint.
A $420,000 home with a small down payment
10% down, 30-year mortgage at 6.5%, $6,800 income and $700 of other debt payments.
You enter
- Home price
- $420,000.00
- Down payment
- $42,000.00
- Mortgage interest rate
- 6.50%
- Loan term
- 30 years
- Gross monthly income
- $6,800.00
- Other monthly debt payments
- $700.00
You get
- Estimated mortgage payment
- $2,389.22
- Housing share of income
- 35.1%
- Total debt share of income
- 45.4%
- Suggested maximum price (28/36 guidelines)
- $318,552.51
The payment of about $2,389 is roughly 35% of gross income and total debt payments reach 45%, both above the common guidelines. The same income supports a price near $319,000, so this home is out of reach on these numbers.
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Frequently asked questions
What do the front and back ratios mean?
The front ratio is the mortgage payment as a share of your gross income; a common guideline is to keep it at or under 28%. The back ratio adds your other monthly debt payments to the mortgage, with a common ceiling around 36%. These are rules of thumb from lending practice in some countries, not laws or universal standards — lenders elsewhere apply different tests, and a lender’s own affordability check is the one that decides.
Why is my suggested maximum price so much higher than the home I am looking at?
Because that figure is a ceiling, not a recommendation. It solves the 36% back-ratio limit back into a loan amount at your rate and term, then adds your down payment — so it says “this is the most a lender using that guideline might stretch to”. It ignores property taxes, buildings insurance, service charges, maintenance and closing costs, all of which push the real ceiling lower.
Should I enter gross or net income?
Gross, because that is how the 28/36 ratios are normally quoted and how lenders describe them. If you want a stricter personal test, enter your net income instead: the ratios will come out higher and the suggested price lower, which is a more cautious version of the same calculation.
Does the payment include taxes, insurance and fees?
No. The estimated payment is principal and interest on the loan, calculated from the home price minus your down payment. In many countries the monthly housing cost also includes property tax, buildings insurance, mortgage insurance and a service charge, and there are one-off purchase taxes and legal fees at completion. Add those where they apply to you.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.