Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator

Lenders rely on your debt-to-income ratio when deciding how much you qualify to borrow in a mortgage.

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Last updated 04/28/2025

Your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, plays a big role in how much you can borrow and whether you qualify for a mortgage.

DTI is the percentage of your pretax, or gross income, that goes toward paying debt each month, including a projected mortgage payment if you're applying for a home loan.

Calculate your debt-to-income ratio

Maximum debt-to-income ratio to buy a house

Lenders consider two types of ratios — a front-end DTI and a back-end DTI. The front-end DTI is your projected mortgage payment divided by your gross, or pretax, income. The back-end DTI is your projected mortgage payment, plus all your other monthly debt payments, divided by your gross income.

The DTI calculator gives a figure for the back-end DTI, which gives a fuller financial picture.

An ideal back-end DTI is under 36%. It's possible to qualify for a mortgage with a higher DTI, but you'll likely pay more interest, and your options for qualifying will dwindle with a DTI approaching 50% or more.

» MORE: What is a good debt-to-income ratio?

How debt-to-income ratio is calculated

Here's the formula for calculating DTI:

Your monthly debt payments / Your monthly gross, or pretax income = DTI

Debts that are included in DTI

Monthly payments for the following are included in the calculation when you're applying for a mortgage:

Alimony.
Car loans.
Child support.
Co-signed loans.
Credit cards.
Estimated mortgage (including property tax, home insurance, mortgage insurance).
Personal loans.
Student loans.

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Nerdy Tip

Include the monthly minimum due on credit cards in the DTI calculator, even if you typically pay more than the minimum.

Costs that are not included in DTI

DTI does not include costs for other items in a typical budget such as:

Car insurance.
Cell phone.
Food.
Health insurance.
Utilities.

How to lower debt-to-income ratio

Lowering your DTI will improve the odds of qualifying for a mortgage at the best available interest rates. Here are some tips for approaching it.

Avoid increasing expenses if you get a raise or take on a second job. The income boost will lower DTI, but only if you avoid taking on more credit card or other debt.
Use a salary raise or windfall to pay down debt.
Reduce expenses if you can, and use that extra money to pay down debt.

What the nerds think

How can you lower your DTI?

The easier-said-than-done way to lower your DTI is to increase your income. But (and this can be a big but) — for that to work, you can't increase your debt. We're trying to improve the ratio, not maintain it!When I've gotten raises, I try to be really cautious about "lifestyle creep," or spending more money because you have more money. Keeping the budget you had when you had less cash can lower your DTI and potentially help you build up savings for a down payment.