Debt-to-income calculator
DTI is total monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Lenders use it alongside credit and assets, and each loan program sets its own limit. This result uses the site planning bands shown below. Enter your payments and income; share the URL to save the scenario.
How DTI is calculated here
This tool uses the back-end view: housing payment plus other required monthly debts, divided by gross monthly income before taxes. Every field is your input — we do not pull credit reports or state program limits.
Use the minimum payment shown on each statement for revolving accounts unless you know your underwriter will use a different figure. For a purchase, housing should be the payment you expect after closing, not today's rent unless rent will continue.
DTI = (housing + cards + auto + student + other) ÷ gross monthly income
How to read your ratio
The percentage is a planning number. A lower ratio generally means more room for a housing payment, but approval depends on the full file — assets, credit history, and program rules we do not quote here.
Run the scenario twice: once with today's debts and once with a paid-off account removed. That shows which balance removal helps most. Pair with the payoff planner to see how long paying that account takes.
Marginal or high ratios should trigger payoff planning before an application — not an automatic assumption that you cannot buy. Bad ratios with no path to lower payments mean fixing cash flow first.
- Include alimony or child support only if you would disclose it on an application.
- Exclude utilities, groceries, and voluntary savings — DTI is obligated debt only.
- Recalculate after each card you pay off during a buying timeline.
When to use this calculator
Run DTI before you set a price range or tour homes. Run it again after using the utilization or payoff tools to see whether your work changed the ratio enough to matter for your goal.
If the ratio is elevated, read debt and buying a home for ordering paydowns — then return here with updated payments.
Keep a permalink for each milestone — after paying off a car loan, after closing a card, or after a raise changes your gross income — so you compare like-for-like decisions instead of guessing.
Worked example with your current inputs
Your inputs total $1,150 in monthly debt payments against $7,500 gross income → DTI 15.3%.
Breakdown you entered: housing $0, card minimums $450, auto $420, student loans $280, other $0.
Remove one payment in the tool to see which debt moves the ratio most — that is often the best payoff target before house-hunting.
Result
Your numbers work. See what you qualify for.
Have your numbers handy — here is a link to this exact scenario.
Link to this exact scenario:
DTI = total monthly debts ÷ gross monthly income = $1,150 ÷ $7,500 = 15.3%