What the Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator does
This calculator works out your debt-to-income ratio (DTI): the share of your monthly income that goes on debt payments. It gives both figures lenders look at - the front-end ratio (housing only) and the back-end ratio (housing plus every other debt) - compares them with a limit you choose, and tells you how much debt you would need to clear, or how much more income you would need, to get under it.
The definition is the one the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau uses: all your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. Indian lenders use the same idea under the name FOIR, usually on take-home pay. Everything is worked out in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
How to use it
- Enter your income before tax and say whether it is monthly or yearly. For an Indian FOIR check, enter your net (take-home) monthly salary instead.
- Enter your monthly housing payment: rent, or the mortgage principal and interest plus property tax, home insurance and any HOA or maintenance charge.
- Enter every other monthly debt payment: car or bike loan, student loan, the minimum due on each credit card, personal loans and other EMIs, and any child support or alimony you pay.
- Pick the limit to compare against - the 28/36 rule of thumb, the 43% reference point, FHA's 31/43, a 50% FOIR, or your lender's own figures.
- Read the ratio, then open "What if" to see how a new loan, paying one off, or a pay rise would change it.
Reading the results
The big number is your back-end ratio, because it is the one almost every lender checks. 33% means a third of your income is already committed to debt payments before food, bills or savings.
The front-end ratio matters mainly for mortgages. If your back-end ratio is fine but the front-end is high, the home itself is the stretch; if the front-end is fine and the back-end is high, your other debts are crowding out the mortgage.
"Room under the limit" is how much more monthly payment you could take on before reaching the limit. It is a ceiling, not a recommendation - a payment you can technically fit in can still leave too little for everything else.
The bands (low, moderate, elevated, high, very high) are plain-language labels for where the common reference points sit: 36%, 43% and 50%. They are not a credit decision.
Worked example: a US household applying for a mortgage
Gross income is $6,500 a month. Housing is $1,450 principal and interest, $260 property tax and $110 insurance: $1,820. Other debts are a $420 car loan, a $210 student loan and $95 of credit card minimums: $725.
Front-end ratio: 1,820 / 6,500 = 28.0%, right on the 28% guideline. Back-end ratio: (1,820 + 725) / 6,500 = 2,545 / 6,500 = 39.2%, which is over 36%.
At 36% the most this household can pay in total is 0.36 x 6,500 = $2,340, so it would need to cut $205 a month - clearing the student loan almost does it - or earn 2,545 / 0.36 = $7,069 a month, which is $569 more.
Against the 43% reference point the same household is within the limit, with $250 a month of room. That gap is the reason it matters which limit your lender uses.
Formulas and scoring rules
- Back-end (total) DTI
back_end = (housing + other_debt_payments) / monthly_income x 100The CFPB definition: all monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income.- Front-end (housing) DTI
front_end = housing / monthly_income x 100Housing is rent, or mortgage principal and interest plus property tax, insurance and HOA dues.- Monthly income from yearly
monthly_income = yearly_income / 12- Payments to cut to reach a limit T
cut = max(0, total_payments - T x monthly_income)- Income needed for a limit T
income_needed = total_payments / T- Largest housing payment within both limits
housing_room = min(F x income, T x income - other_debt_payments)F is the housing limit and T the total limit, as fractions. Percentages are shown to one decimal place; money is not rounded until it is displayed.
Where the common limits come from
28/36 is a long-standing mortgage rule of thumb: housing at most 28% of gross income and all debts at most 36%. No regulator publishes it as a limit; it survives because it is easy to remember and is roughly where many lenders start.
43% was a legal line in the US. The CFPB's 2013 Ability-to-Repay rule capped back-end DTI at 43% for a General Qualified Mortgage. In December 2020 the CFPB replaced that cap with a test based on the loan's price compared with the average prime offer rate, so 43% is now a reference point many lenders still quote rather than a rule. FHA's handbook uses 31% housing and 43% total for manually underwritten loans without compensating factors.
FOIR - fixed obligations to income ratio - is what Indian banks and NBFCs check. It is normally worked out on net monthly salary and includes the EMI of the loan you are applying for. The cut-off is each lender's own credit policy and commonly falls between 40% and 60%, higher for larger incomes; 50% is only a middle reference point.
What counts as debt
Count payments you are contractually obliged to make: mortgage or rent, loan EMIs, credit card minimum payments (not the full balance unless you always clear it and the lender asks for that), student loans, buy-now-pay-later instalments and court-ordered support. Leave out groceries, utilities, phone, fuel, subscriptions and insurance that is not tied to the home - lenders treat those as living costs, and including them makes your ratio look worse than the one the lender will calculate.
Limitations: what the result does not prove
- It is arithmetic on the figures you enter, not a credit decision. Lenders also weigh your credit history, savings, job stability, the property and the loan type, and they may count income or debts differently from you.
- Lender limits change and vary by product and country. The presets are reference points with their sources stated; your lender's quoted figures always win - enter them as your own limits.
- A ratio under a limit does not mean a payment is affordable. It ignores taxes beyond the gross figure, childcare, emergencies and saving; a budget is a better test of what you can live with.
- Variable-rate loans and introductory card rates change the payment, and so the ratio, over time. Use the payment you expect to make, not only today's.
Privacy: where your data goes
Everything you paste, type or drop is processed in this browser tab. It is not uploaded, logged, stored or sent to analytics. Session recording and tag-manager scripts are switched off on this page.
Standards and sources
- CFPB - What is a debt-to-income ratio? - checked 19 Sep 2026
- CFPB - Qualified Mortgage definition: General QM loan definition final rule (December 2020)
- HUD - FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1
Frequently asked questions
What is a good debt-to-income ratio?
Lower is better, and 36% or less is the traditional comfortable figure for total debts. Many mortgage lenders still treat 43% as a reference point, and some go higher with strong credit or savings. Under 20% leaves plenty of room for new borrowing.
Is the debt-to-income ratio based on gross or net income?
In the US and most lender definitions, gross income - your pay before tax and deductions. Indian lenders' FOIR is usually worked out on net take-home salary instead, so the same debts give a higher FOIR than a US-style DTI. Choose the basis your lender uses.
What is the difference between front-end and back-end DTI?
Front-end DTI counts only housing: rent or mortgage, property tax, insurance and HOA dues. Back-end DTI adds every other debt payment - car, student and personal loans, card minimums and support payments. Lenders check both for a mortgage; most other loans look only at the back-end figure.
Is 43% DTI still the maximum for a mortgage?
Not as a legal rule in the US. The 43% cap for General Qualified Mortgages was replaced by a price-based test in the CFPB's December 2020 rule. Many lenders still use 43% as a guideline, and FHA uses 43% for manual underwriting without compensating factors, but limits now vary by lender and program.
How is FOIR calculated for a home loan in India?
Add every fixed monthly obligation - existing EMIs, card dues the lender counts, and the EMI of the new loan - and divide by your net monthly income. A Rs 35,000 home loan EMI plus Rs 20,000 of other EMIs on Rs 1,20,000 take-home pay is a FOIR of 45.8%. Each bank sets its own cut-off.
Do credit card balances count in my debt-to-income ratio?
The minimum monthly payment counts, not the whole balance. If you pay your card in full every month, some lenders still count a notional minimum, usually a small percentage of the balance, so check how yours treats it. Enter whatever monthly figure the lender will use.
How can I lower my debt-to-income ratio quickly?
Clear a small loan with a high payment, pay a card down so its minimum falls, or add documented income. Use the What-if box: paying off a $400-a-month car loan on $5,000 income lowers your ratio by 8 points at once, while extending a loan's term lowers the payment but costs more interest.
Last reviewed by the A2Z.Tools team against the sources listed above.
