How Much House Can You Afford?
This works backward from income and the debts you already pay. The 28/36 split is a teaching rule. A lender can, and often does, use a different one.
Written for Equidwell and last checked in October 2026. We build the calculators on this site. We are not a lender, and this page is not advice for your loan.
How this calculator works
- Front-end maximum is 28% of gross monthly income.
- Back-end maximum is 36% of gross monthly income minus the monthly debts you enter.
- The calculator uses the lower of those two amounts.
- It then solves for a home price after the tax rate, insurance estimate, and PMI assumption.
Why debt can matter more than income
Same salary, different house. A car payment, a student loan, or a card minimum eats the 36% room before the mortgage is even added.
If debts are the tighter limit, the result says so. If they already use up the 36% guideline, the estimated housing payment is zero. That is the math running out of room, not a lender telling you no.
Sources
Common questions
Will a lender approve this price?
Not necessarily. Credit, reserves, loan type, and the lender's own ratios can all differ from 28/36.
Are taxes and insurance included?
Yes. The tax field is a rate you should replace with the local rate, and insurance is an annual dollar estimate.
Does a down payment under 20% change the price?
In this model, yes. PMI is estimated at 0.50% of the loan per year, which uses part of the housing payment and lowers the price.
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Longer guides on these topics are linked from the guides library.