Chase
Its affordability guidance considers income, debts, down payment, interest, taxes, and insurance. It describes the 28% housing / 36% total debt rule as one budgeting approach.
Read Chase’s affordability method ↗MAKE ROOM FOR HOME
Know your buying power.
Keep your breathing room.
See how income, debts, assets, and everyday life shape the home you can afford.
Two different questions
What price fits a lender’s income ratios? And what payment fits your life? This calculator helps you explore both.
Educational estimate · No credit checkYOUR FINANCIAL PICTURE
Start with your numbers
Income that can support the loan
Add each source for every person applying for the mortgage. Use income before taxes. Lenders must verify that income is eligible and expected to continue.
Monthly income selected for qualification$0
Which income amount should I enter?
Employment: salary before deductions. For self-employment, use a lender-adjusted qualifying amount, not business revenue. Variable pay usually needs a documented history.
Retirement: pension, annuity, Social Security, and regular retirement distributions can be considered subject to documentation and applicable continuance rules. Unrealized investment gains are not monthly income.
Rental: enter the lender’s net qualifying rental income after adjustments and property expenses. Put a net rental loss under debts. Do not count the property payment twice.
Partly tax-free income: split the taxable and verified tax-free portions into separate rows. Do not mark an entire Social Security payment tax-free unless that is documented.
You may choose whether to disclose support income. Only select it here if you want it included. This tool collects amounts, not names or account information.
An adjustment for qualifying ratios. It does not create extra money to spend.
Monthly debt obligations
Use required monthly payments, not outstanding balances. Include obligations for all borrowers and any others your lender requires.
Total monthly debt payments$0
A few details matter
Do not include current rent or a mortgage being fully replaced by this purchase. Include a mortgage you will keep. Credit cards use the qualifying minimum payment; groceries and purchases belong in the budget. A deferred or zero-payment student loan may still require a qualifying payment: confirm it with the lender.
Give each asset one job
Assign separate amounts to purchase funds, reserves, or a dedicated retirement income pool. Split an account into rows if it serves more than one purpose. Use available amounts after relevant taxes, penalties, or lender valuation adjustments.
Purchase funds$0
Separate reserves$0
Assets entered$0
Held back from purchase funds as your emergency cushion. Separate reserve rows remain untouched too.
Your planning target, not a universal lender requirement. Lender reserve rules vary by transaction.
Optional: eligible retirement assets as qualifying income
Fannie Mae has a specific method for eligible employment-related assets with unrestricted access. This illustration divides net eligible assets by the loan’s term in months. It applies only to conventional scenarios here.
Maximum loan-to-value: 80% when the age condition is met; otherwise 70%. All owners of jointly held assets must be borrowers. This calculator covers an owner-occupied purchase.
Assign the assets to “Dedicated income pool” above. Lender verification is still required. For a dedicated income pool, enter the eligible balance before the penalties and required reserves deducted above. Do not deduct an amount twice. The hypothetical income is not spendable cash. Ordinary savings and property equity do not automatically qualify.
Illustrated monthly asset income at evaluated price$0
The loan and the full cost of home
For a U.S. owner-occupied home purchase with a fixed-rate mortgage. Replace example rates and costs with lender quotes and local figures.
Enter 0 to use total DTI only.
6.5% starts as an example, not a current quote. Use the note rate, not APR.
Default assumptions: 5% conventional, 3.5% FHA, 0% VA. Actual eligibility and required down payment can differ.
0 means no limit check. Enter your lender’s applicable county/program limit. Jumbo and partial VA entitlement need separate review.
Recurring housing costs
Account for reassessment, exemptions, local levies, and special tax districts. The 1.1% starting value is an example.
Illustrative 0.6%; replace with a quote. Applied only when initial LTV exceeds 80%.
0.55% is an example for some 30-year loans. Term, loan size, and down payment can change the rate. Enter the lender’s rate. Monthly MIP uses starting base balance as an approximation.
Upfront loan fee
Cash needed at closing
Example: 3%. Includes lender/title fees, escrows, prepaid tax and insurance. Excludes the down payment and upfront loan fee.
Applied to ordinary closing costs only, capped at those costs. Allowed credits and concessions vary by program; excess credits cannot fund the down payment here.
VA residual income estimate
VA also reviews actual income left after taxes, housing, debts, and required obligations. A 41% DTI is a benchmark; it is not an automatic approval or denial.
California is West. Full state mapping is in the linked federal rule.
Once selected, the base regional residual guideline also constrains the price estimate. Gross-up amounts are excluded. DTI over 41% is flagged for lender review; a 20% residual cushion is shown separately. No military-base adjustment is assumed. This is not a complete VA underwriting analysis.
A payment that fits your life
Add household take-home income to activate this check. Use actual cash received after taxes and payroll deductions. Include all household spending outside the proposed mortgage.
Include actual benefit payments and planned withdrawals. Do not use lender gross-up or hypothetical asset income as take-home pay.
Food, healthcare, childcare, transportation, memberships, and other spending. Exclude debt payments entered earlier, proposed housing costs, and utilities below.
Additional saving beyond amounts already deducted from take-home income.
1% starts as a planning example. Adjust for the home’s condition and HOA coverage. Maintenance and utilities affect your budget, not ordinary lender DTI.
Make the cushion yours
The budget ceiling leaves your entered savings goal intact. Add extra breathing room to living expenses or the savings goal if you want money left over beyond the listed costs. It does not estimate your income taxes.
THE RESEARCH BEHIND THE MATH
How lenders look at the same numbers
Reviewed October 14, 2026. These are public methods and guidelines. This tool does not reproduce a lender’s proprietary underwriting system or imply an affiliation.
Rocket Mortgage
Prequalification uses information the borrower supplies about income, assets, debts, and down payment. More formal reviews verify financial information; the estimate is not a guarantee.
Read Rocket’s prequalification guide ↗Bank of America
Its public approach considers pre-tax income, existing debt, and savings. It also encourages a household budget that includes ownership costs and other financial goals.
Read Bank of America’s affordability guide ↗Navy Federal
Its qualification calculator uses income, monthly debt, down payment, term, and rate, with optional taxes, insurance, and HOA dues. Its approval stages involve different levels of document review.
Read its qualification calculator ↗Compare its approval stages ↗Which ratios does this calculator use?
| Assumption | Housing ratio | Total DTI | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative budget | 28% | 36% | A planning rule described by Chase; not a universal underwriting limit. |
| Conventional manual baseline | No separate cap here | 36% | Fannie Mae’s manual baseline. Other eligibility requirements still apply. |
| Conventional expanded review | No separate cap here | 45% | May be allowed for manual underwriting with required credit and reserves. |
| Conventional automated maximum | No separate cap here | 50% | Fannie Mae DU maximum. Selecting it does not predict a DU approval. |
| FHA manual baseline | 31% | 43% | A baseline planning assumption. Automated findings and compensating factors can differ. |
| VA benchmark | No separate cap here | 41% | VA also reviews residual income. Exceeding 41% is not an automatic denial. |
| Custom | Your input | Your input | Use lender-specific guidance for your scenario. |
The housing ratio includes principal, interest, property tax, insurance, mortgage insurance, HOA, and ongoing assessments. Total DTI also includes other qualifying debts.
Tax-free income and gross-up
Fannie Mae generally adds 25% to documented qualifying tax-free income. This tool starts FHA at a 15% illustration and VA at 0% until a lender supplies a tax-equivalent adjustment. All are editable.
Gross-up affects the qualifying ratio only. VA residual income and the household budget use actual money, without this adjustment.
Fannie Mae income rules ↗HUD income underwriting guidance ↗VA tax-free income provisions ↗Assets can have different roles
Cash can pay for closing. Eligible remaining assets can support reserves. Under Fannie Mae’s specific employment-related asset method, net eligible assets divided by the loan term can support qualifying income.
The optional method requires unrestricted access and eligibility review. Cash used at closing and required reserves are excluded from its income calculation. Home equity and an ordinary bank balance are not automatically qualifying income.
Fannie Mae employment-related asset method ↗FHA and VA upfront charges
The FHA illustration uses a 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium. The annual MIP rate is editable because loan term, loan amount, and down payment affect it.
VA purchase funding fees use first/subsequent use and down payment bands. A confirmed exemption makes the fee zero. VA has no monthly mortgage insurance in this tool. Financing an upfront fee increases the principal and interest payment.
HUD mortgage insurance schedule ↗VA funding fee and exemption rules ↗Rental and retirement income
Rental underwriting can adjust rents for vacancy, expenses, property payment, and management history. The calculator asks for the lender-adjusted net amount rather than assuming all rent qualifies.
Income from finite benefits or assets may need documented continuance. If retirement will reduce income, the lender may need to use the lower expected amount.
Fannie Mae rental guidance ↗Fannie Mae income continuance ↗What a lender still needs to verify
- Credit history, qualifying score, and lender-specific restrictions.
- Income documentation, variable-income history, and whether each income source can continue.
- Ownership, source, liquidity, and permitted use of down payment and reserve funds.
- Program and county loan limits, required down payment, appraisal, and property/condo eligibility.
- For VA: Certificate of Eligibility, entitlement, funding fee status, residual income, and any required spouse obligations.
- For FHA: credit-dependent eligibility, annual MIP, property approval, and underwriting findings.
Prequalification and preapproval terminology varies by lender. This calculator issues neither a lender letter nor a credit decision. It does not contact lenders or submit an application.