How Much House Can I Afford

Start from income, not from the listing

Mortgage calculators start with a house price and ask what you pay. Shoppers actually start with a paycheck and ask what they can bid. “How much house can I afford” is that reverse problem: income and debts in, a price cap out. This house affordability calculator uses the same PITI pieces as the mortgage page—principal, interest, tax, insurance, PMI, HOA—but it solves for price.

The result is a ceiling for browsing, not a bid. If a listing is 15% over the number, you either need more down payment, a lower rate, less other debt, or a different house.

How the cap is calculated

Gross monthly income is annual household income divided by 12. Housing budget is that figure times your housing ratio (28% by default). Total-debt budget is income times the DTI cap (36% by default) minus other monthly debts. The allowed PITI is the smaller of those two rooms. Insurance and HOA are treated as fixed dollars. Tax is a percent of price. Principal-and-interest (and PMI under 20% down) scale with price. The page algebraically finds the price that uses the full PITI budget.

PMI is estimated at 0.5% of the loan per year when down payment is under 20%, matching the mortgage calculator so the two pages do not argue. Property tax defaults to 1.1% of price—a U.S. round number, not your county millage.

How to use it like a U.S. buyer

Enter combined W-2 income if you are buying with a partner. Leave bonuses out unless they have a two-year history a lender would count. Put the car payment and student-loan minimum in other debts even if you plan to pay them off—until they are gone, they are in DTI.

Then open the mortgage calculator and drop this page’s price in as the listing. Confirm PITI matches. Then open take-home pay for your state. A 28% gross housing ratio can still feel tight in California or New York after tax. If you already own and want extra principal math, that is the payoff calculator, not this one.

Worked example

An $80,000 household with $400 in other monthly debts, 20% down, 6.5% for 30 years, 1.1% tax, and $1,800 insurance lands near a $287,000 home in this model. PITI is about $1,867—right on the 28% front-end cap. The 36% back-end room is larger, so housing is the binding constraint.

Raise other debts to $1,000 and the back-end cap starts to bite: allowed PITI falls, so the house price falls with it. That is the whole point of entering the car note.

What this will not do

It will not underwrite FHA, VA, USDA, or jumbo overlays. It will not add closing costs, discount points, or cash-to-close. It will not know that a condo’s HOA is $450. Put the real HOA in the field.

Credit score changes the rate more than this page can guess. Shop the rate, then paste it here. KindCalc is not a lender.

Typical examples

Frequently asked questions

How much house can I afford on my income?

A common conservative sketch is that PITI stays at or under 28% of gross monthly income, and PITI plus other debts stays under 36%. This calculator solves for the home price that hits the tighter of those two caps after down payment, rate, tax, insurance, and PMI.

What is the 28/36 rule?

Front-end DTI is housing cost divided by gross monthly income (often capped near 28%). Back-end DTI adds car loans, student loans, and card minimums (often capped near 36%). Lenders may allow 31/43 or higher with strong credit; the buttons on this page switch those presets.

Does this use take-home pay or gross pay?

DTI in underwriting is almost always gross income. Your checking account lives on take-home. Run the paycheck calculator next to this page so a 28% gross housing number still leaves groceries after tax.

Why does 10% down lower the price I can afford?

A smaller down payment means a larger loan, more principal-and-interest, and PMI in this model until you reach 20% equity. Those extras consume the same PITI budget, so the house price has to fall.

Is this a pre-approval?

No. A lender will pull credit, count overtime differently, haircut bonuses, and use the county tax bill—not a 1.1% placeholder. Use this to screen listings before you apply.