See how much house you can afford from your income, debts and down payment. Conventional, FHA and VA loans, with taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance included.
✓ 28/36 rule & lender limits✓ Conventional · FHA · VA✓ 50 states + DC✓ Current rates
Max home price
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How Much House Can I Afford?
Lenders decide how much you can borrow by comparing your monthly debt payments to your gross (pre-tax) monthly income. This ratio is called debt-to-income, or DTI, and it comes in two forms:
Front-end ratio: your full housing payment (principal, interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues) divided by gross monthly income.
Back-end ratio: your housing payment plus every other monthly debt (car loans, student loans, credit card minimums) divided by gross monthly income.
The classic 28/36 rule keeps the front-end ratio at 28% or less and the back-end ratio at 36% or less. This calculator finds the highest home price that fits inside those limits, then shows what lenders might allow at their higher limits. Because taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance all scale with the price of the home, the calculator solves for the price directly instead of using a fixed multiple of your income.
Example: how the math works
The example uses a conventional loan, 760+ credit, 10% down, a 30-year term at the current average rate, and national average property tax and insurance.
Debt-to-Income Limits by Loan Type
Each loan program sets its own ceiling. A higher limit lets you qualify for a bigger loan, but it also leaves less room in your budget.
Loan type
Housing ratio
Total debt ratio
Source
Classic rule
28%
36%
Long-standing lender guideline
Conventional (Fannie Mae)
No fixed cap
36% manual underwriting; up to 45% with strong credit and reserves; up to 50% through Desktop Underwriter
Selling Guide B3-6-02
FHA
31%
43% baseline; automated approvals up to 46.9% / 56.9%
HUD Handbook 4000.1
VA
No fixed cap
41% guideline; higher is possible with strong residual income
VA Lenders Handbook
The calculator's "Typical lender limit" and "Stretch" rows use these figures. Lenders can set stricter rules of their own.
What Is in a Monthly Mortgage Payment?
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Principal & interest
Repays the loan and pays the lender. Set by the loan amount, rate and term. Includes any upfront FHA premium or VA funding fee that is financed.
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Property tax
Charged by your county and local districts. State averages run from about 0.29% of home value in Hawaii to 1.88% in Illinois and New Jersey.
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Homeowners insurance
Required by lenders. State averages range from under $1,000 to over $6,000 a year, with Florida, Oklahoma and Louisiana among the highest.
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Mortgage insurance
PMI on conventional loans under 20% down, an annual premium on FHA loans, and a one-time funding fee instead on VA loans.
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HOA dues
Condos and many planned communities charge monthly dues. Lenders count them in your housing ratio.
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Not included
Utilities, maintenance and repairs are not part of DTI but are part of owning. Many owners budget around 1% of the home's value per year for upkeep.
How Your Down Payment Changes the Payment
A larger down payment lowers the loan, the interest, and the mortgage insurance. Here is a $400,000 home at today's average 30-year rate under each common structure (principal, interest and mortgage insurance only, 720–759 credit):
15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgage
A shorter term costs more per month but saves a large amount of interest, and 15-year rates are usually lower. Here is a $300,000 loan at the latest Freddie Mac averages:
Property Tax and Home Insurance by State
The calculator uses these state averages until you enter your own numbers. Your actual bill depends on your county, school district, exemptions and insurer, so get quotes for the specific home.
Frequently Asked Questions
A common guideline is the 28/36 rule: spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing (mortgage principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues) and no more than 36% on all debts combined. On a $100,000 income that is $2,333 per month for housing and $3,000 for total debt payments. Your maximum price then depends on the interest rate, your down payment, local property tax and insurance costs. Enter your numbers in the calculator to see your own budget.
The 28/36 rule is a debt-to-income guideline. The first number, 28%, is the front-end ratio: your total monthly housing payment should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. The second number, 36%, is the back-end ratio: your housing payment plus all other monthly debts (car loans, student loans, credit card minimums) should not exceed 36% of gross monthly income. Lenders often approve higher ratios, but 28/36 is a conservative benchmark for a payment you can live with comfortably.
It depends on the loan. Fannie Mae allows a maximum total DTI of 36% for manually underwritten conventional loans, up to 45% with strong credit and reserves, and up to 50% when the loan is approved through Desktop Underwriter. FHA uses 31% housing and 43% total debt as its baseline, and automated approvals can go as high as 46.9% and 56.9%. VA uses 41% as a guideline and also tests residual income. Meeting a ratio does not guarantee approval; credit score, reserves and income stability also matter.
Minimums are 3% for many conventional programs, 3.5% for FHA loans (with a credit score of at least 580), and 0% for eligible VA loans. Putting 20% down on a conventional loan avoids private mortgage insurance. You also need cash for closing costs, which commonly run about 2% to 5% of the purchase price, plus a reserve for moving and repairs.
Private mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the lender on a conventional loan when you put down less than 20%. It typically costs roughly 0.2% to 1.5% of the loan amount per year depending on your credit score and down payment, and it is added to your monthly payment. You can request cancellation once your loan balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and it ends automatically at 78% under the Homeowners Protection Act. FHA loans charge their own mortgage insurance premium instead, and VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance.
FHA and VA loans usually allow higher debt-to-income ratios and smaller down payments, so they can raise your approval ceiling. But FHA charges an upfront premium of 1.75% plus an annual premium, and VA charges a one-time funding fee (2.15% for first use with less than 5% down), both of which add to the loan. With strong credit and at least 5% to 10% down, conventional financing is often cheaper per month. Run the same numbers under each loan type in the calculator to compare.
Yes. The monthly payment includes principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance (PMI for conventional, MIP for FHA) and HOA dues. When you pick a state, the calculator fills in that state's average effective property tax rate (Tax Foundation) and average homeowners insurance cost. You can override both in the advanced options with your own quotes, which is more accurate than a state average.
Rates have a large effect because interest is the biggest part of a mortgage payment. As a rule of thumb, for a 30-year loan a one percentage point increase in the rate lowers the loan amount a given monthly payment can support by roughly 10%. The calculator shows your price at rates 1 point lower to 1 point higher so you can see the sensitivity before you shop.
Official Home-Buying Resources
Check current rules, limits and rates at the source before you apply:
Estimates based on inputs provided. Actual rates vary. Not financial advice. This calculator gives approximate figures for planning only. It is not a loan offer, pre-approval or commitment to lend, and MortgageAffordCalc.com is not a lender or mortgage broker. Mortgage insurance rates are estimates, property tax and insurance use state averages, and lender rules, credit overlays and local loan limits can differ. Talk to a licensed lender and a financial professional before you make an offer.