How to use the debt-to-income ratio calculator
- Enter your gross income before tax, and choose per month or per year. Include all income a lender can verify, for everyone on the application.
- Enter your housing payment: rent, or the full mortgage payment including property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA dues. If you're applying for a mortgage, use the new payment.
- Enter your monthly car loan or lease payments and student loan payments.
- Enter your credit card minimum payments, not the full balances.
- Enter any other debts, such as personal loans, child support or alimony.
- Read your back-end ratio, your front-end ratio, and how both compare with common lender limits.
How DTI is calculated
Lenders use gross income, before tax and deductions, and count only recurring debt payments. Everyday costs such as groceries, utilities, phone bills and car insurance are not debts and stay out of the ratio. When people say "DTI" without a qualifier, they usually mean the back-end ratio.
Worked example
The defaults are a gross income of $6,000 a month, a $1,500 housing payment, a $350 car payment, $200 of student loans and $100 of credit card minimums:
- Front-end ratio: 1,500 ÷ 6,000 = 0.25, or 25.0%
- Total monthly debts: 1,500 + 350 + 200 + 100 = $2,150
- Back-end ratio: 2,150 ÷ 6,000 = 0.3583, or 35.8%
- Under the 28/36 rule, the housing limit is 28% × $6,000 = $1,680, and total debts can reach 36% × $6,000 = $2,160, so there is $10 a month of room
If the same debts were set against a $90,000 salary ($7,500 a month), the ratio would drop to 28.7%.
Common lender limits
| Guideline | Housing | Total debts |
|---|---|---|
| 28/36 rule of thumb | 28% | 36% |
| Conventional, manually underwritten | – | 36%, up to 45% |
| Conventional, Desktop Underwriter | – | 50% |
| FHA, manually underwritten | 31% | 43%, up to 50% |
| VA | – | 41% guideline |
| Former qualified mortgage cap | – | 43% |
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide B3-6-02 (version dated April 2, 2025) sets a 36% maximum for manually underwritten loans, up to 45% when credit score and reserve requirements are met, and 50% for loans run through its Desktop Underwriter system. HUD's FHA manual underwriting standards start at 31% and 43%, rising to 37% and 47% with one compensating factor and 40% and 50% with two, as set out in its December 2013 Federal Register notice and carried into the FHA handbook. VA's standard is 41%, but a higher ratio is allowed when residual income is at least 20% above VA's guideline (38 CFR 36.4340). The 43% figure was the debt-to-income cap in the federal qualified mortgage rule until the CFPB replaced it with a price-based test in a rule that took effect in 2021, but many lenders still treat 43% as a benchmark.
Lowering your ratio
You can bring DTI down from either side. Paying off a small loan entirely removes its payment from the calculation, which often helps more than paying down a large balance. Paying credit cards down lowers the minimum payment. Adding a co-borrower's income, or waiting for a raise, increases the denominator. Avoid taking on new car loans or financing right before applying for a mortgage. If several high-rate debts are pushing you over a limit, the debt consolidation calculator shows whether one lower payment would help.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good debt-to-income ratio?
A back-end ratio of 36% or less is widely seen as comfortable, and many lenders prefer housing at 28% or less of gross income. Ratios up to 43% to 50% can still qualify for some mortgages, usually with strong credit or savings. Lower is always safer for your budget, whatever a lender will approve.
Do lenders use gross or net income?
Gross income, before taxes, retirement contributions and other deductions. That's why a 36% DTI can feel tighter than it sounds: on take-home pay, the same debts take a larger share.
Is rent included in DTI?
Rent counts as your housing payment if you are applying for a car loan or personal loan. When you apply for a mortgage, lenders use the new mortgage payment instead, since the rent will stop. Enter whichever applies to the loan you're applying for.
Does DTI affect my credit score?
No. Credit scores don't use your income, so DTI is not part of them. Credit utilization, the share of your card limits you use, does affect your score, and paying cards down helps both numbers.
Related calculators
- Home Affordability Calculator — How much house your income supports under the 28/36 rule, with your debts and down payment.
- Mortgage Calculator — Your full monthly housing cost, including property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA fees.
- Debt Consolidation Calculator — Compare up to four debts with one consolidation loan: monthly payment, total interest, payoff time.
- Student Loan Calculator — Monthly student loan payment, total interest and payoff time, with extra payments or a debt-free goal.
Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not financial, tax or legal advice. See our disclaimer.