Borrowing Capacity Calculator: How Much Can I Borrow?

Lenders' own serviceability models commonly allow a low-debt borrower with stable income around 5 to 6 times gross household income, less for anyone with dependants, car loans or large card limits. This calculator follows the same method: what is left of your after-tax income once living costs and other debts are paid services the loan at your rate plus 3%, and the result is capped at 6 times gross income. A couple on $200,000 with no other debts and no children comes out at roughly $1.05 million to $1.2 million for rates between 5.5% and 7%; two dependants bring that nearer $940,000. A broker or pre-approval tells you a particular lender's figure.

APRA, the banking regulator, expects lenders to check that you could still make repayments if your rate were at least 3 percentage points higher. On a 6% loan you are assessed at 9%. On a 30-year principal and interest loan that cuts the amount you can borrow by about a quarter compared with assessing at the actual rate. Investment loans usually carry a higher rate, so enter the rate you have been quoted for the loan you want.

Yes, by the limit rather than the balance. Lenders commonly count 3.8% of the total limit as a monthly repayment even if you clear the card every month, so a $10,000 limit counts as $380 a month. At a 9% assessment rate that is roughly $47,000 less you can borrow. Reducing or closing unused cards before you apply is one of the easiest ways to lift capacity.

HEM, the Household Expenditure Measure, is a benchmark of typical living costs by income, location and household size. Lenders assess your expenses at the higher of what you declare and the benchmark, so understating spending does not raise your borrowing power. The HEM tables themselves are licensed and not published, so this calculator uses an approximate benchmark that rises with household income, a second adult and each dependant, and assesses the higher of that and what you enter.

Lenders count only part of the rent, typically 70% to 80%, to allow for vacancies and costs. This calculator counts 80% of the annual rental income you enter for serviceability, while tax is worked out on the full amount, which is how the tax office treats it.

Since February 2026 APRA has limited how much new lending banks can write at a debt-to-income ratio of 6 or more, to 20% of their new loans. A DTI of 6 means total debt of six times gross income. The calculator caps the loan at 6 times gross income, shows your DTI including the new loan, and says when that cap, rather than your surplus, is what limits you.

No. It applies standard serviceability rules, but each lender has its own policy on bonus and overtime income, self-employed income, debt treatment and expense floors. Pre-approval from a lender or broker is the only way to know your exact limit before you make an offer.