Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio Calculator

Your inputs

Enter monthly payments as they appear on statements. Use minimum payments for credit cards, not the balance.

Enter gross income as

Gross monthly income

Before tax and deductions, for everyone on the application.

Housing payment

Rent, or the full mortgage payment: principal, interest, property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA dues (PITI).

Car loan payments

Student loan payments

Credit card minimum payments

Other debt payments

Personal loans, child support, alimony, other monthly obligations.

Results

Back-end DTI (all debts)38.7%Between 36% and 43%: many lenders still approve, often with conditions

Front-end DTI (housing only): 26.7%
Total monthly debt payments: $2,900
Gross monthly income: $7,500
Housing room to 28%: $100
Total room to 36%: -$200
Total room to 43%: $325
Total room to 50%: $850

Debt payments take 38.7% of gross income. Getting back to 36% would mean cutting monthly payments by $200, or earning $556 more a month before tax.

Loan type	Front-end	Back-end	How it usually works
Conventional mortgage	28%	36%; up to 45%–50%	The 28/36 rule is the classic benchmark. Automated underwriting can approve higher back-end ratios with strong credit and reserves.
Qualified mortgage (general)	—	43% (former cap)	The old hard 43% limit was replaced by a price-based test, but many lenders still use 43% as a reference point.
FHA loan	31%	43%; higher with compensating factors	Manual underwriting uses 31/43. Automated approval can go above 50% for some borrowers.
VA loan	—	41% guideline	Residual income, the cash left each month after major expenses, matters as much as the ratio. Higher ratios are allowed when residual income is strong.
Auto and personal loans	—	Often 36%–50%	Varies widely by lender and credit score.

Loan type

Front-end

Back-end

How it usually works

Conventional mortgage

28%

36%; up to 45%–50%

The 28/36 rule is the classic benchmark. Automated underwriting can approve higher back-end ratios with strong credit and reserves.

Qualified mortgage (general)

—

43% (former cap)

The old hard 43% limit was replaced by a price-based test, but many lenders still use 43% as a reference point.

FHA loan

31%

43%; higher with compensating factors

Manual underwriting uses 31/43. Automated approval can go above 50% for some borrowers.

VA loan

—

41% guideline

Residual income, the cash left each month after major expenses, matters as much as the ratio. Higher ratios are allowed when residual income is strong.

Auto and personal loans

—

Often 36%–50%

Varies widely by lender and credit score.

How to use the debt-to-income calculator

Gross income. Enter it monthly or annually, before tax. Include salary, regular bonuses and other income a lender could verify; for a joint application, combine both incomes.
Housing payment. Your rent, or for a home you own or plan to buy, the full monthly mortgage payment including property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA dues. Lenders call this PITI.
Other debt payments. Car loans, student loans, credit card minimums and anything else you must pay each month. Use the required minimum shown on each statement, not what you choose to pay.

The results show both ratios and, for each common limit, how many dollars a month you have left or how far over you are. The table under the chart sums up how typical loan programs treat DTI.

The formula

Front-end DTI = Housing payment ÷ Gross monthly income
Back-end DTI = (Housing payment + all other debt payments) ÷ Gross monthly incomeHousing payment is rent, or principal, interest, property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA dues on a mortgage. All figures are monthly; gross income is before tax.

The room to each limit is the payment you could add, or would have to remove, to sit exactly on it:

Room = Limit × Gross monthly income − Current paymentsFor the 28% limit the current payments are housing only; for 36%, 43% and 50% they are all debt payments. A negative number means you are over the limit by that amount.

A worked example

With $7,500 of gross monthly income, housing of $2,000 takes 26.7% of income: the front-end ratio. That is $100 a month under the 28% guideline.

Adding the car loan ($450), student loan ($300) and card minimums ($150) brings total payments to $2,900, a back-end DTI of 38.7%. That is over the 36% guideline by $200 a month, though still $325 inside 43% and $850 inside 50%.

What moves the ratio most

Change	Back-end DTI
Example as entered	38.7%
Car loan paid off	32.7%
Gross income of $8,100	35.8%
Buying a home with a $2,600 payment	46.7%

Clearing the car loan brings the example under 36% at once, while it would take a raise to $8,100 a month to get the same result from the income side. Removing a whole payment usually beats paying down a large balance, which leaves the monthly payment on most installment loans unchanged.

Typical limits by loan type

Lenders use DTI to judge whether a new payment fits, but there is no single legal cutoff. Conventional loans start from the 28/36 rule and often stretch to the mid-40s with good credit and cash reserves. FHA loans use 31/43 under manual review, with higher ratios possible through automated approval. VA loans pair a 41% guideline with a residual-income test, which looks at the dollars left each month after major expenses rather than a percentage. The table in the calculator lists these as typical guidelines; programs and individual lenders differ.

What this calculator does not include

Lender-specific rules. Each lender sets its own limits and may count income or debts differently, such as counting a small percentage of a student loan balance as the payment when the loan is deferred.
Taxes and living costs. DTI uses gross income and ignores everyday spending, so a ratio a lender accepts can still be tight in practice.
Credit score and savings. These often decide how high a ratio a lender will allow.

Treat the result as a first check before you apply, and use your lender’s figures for a final decision.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate debt-to-income ratio?

Add up all your monthly debt payments, including rent or the mortgage payment, and divide by your gross monthly income before tax. With $2,900 of payments on $7,500 of income, the back-end DTI is 38.7%. The front-end ratio uses the housing payment alone.

What is a good debt-to-income ratio?

The classic guideline is 28% for housing and 36% for all debts together. Many lenders approve back-end ratios up to 43%, and some programs go to 50% for borrowers with strong credit or large savings. Below 36% generally leaves comfortable room in the budget.

Is DTI based on gross or net income?

Gross income, before tax and payroll deductions. That makes the ratio look lower than it feels: 36% of gross pay is often closer to 45% or 50% of take-home pay. Our salary after tax calculator shows how big that gap is for your income.

What counts as debt in a DTI calculation?

Recurring obligations that appear on your credit report or court orders: mortgage or rent, car loans, student loans, credit card minimum payments, personal loans, child support and alimony. Utilities, phone bills, insurance (other than the part included in the mortgage payment) and groceries are not counted.

How can I lower my DTI quickly?

Pay off a small loan entirely, since removing a whole payment helps more than shrinking a balance. Paying down credit cards lowers the minimum payment too. Adding a co-borrower's income, or documenting regular income you left out, raises the denominator.