Buying capacity
Borrowing power calculator
Estimate how much you may be able to borrow. Answer a few basics about your income, expenses, debts, credit card limits, dependants, and loan assumptions before a broker checks the lender view.
Borrowing power estimate
Answer a few basics.
Estimate how much you may be able to borrow, then use the result as a starting point for a broker to check policy, documents, repayment comfort, and loan structure.
About your loan
Who is borrowing?
These details shape the starting serviceability picture before a lender applies policy.
Income, expenses, and commitments
The estimate changes as income available for serviceability is reduced by expenses, debts, cards, and dependants.
Rate sensitivity
Small changes to assessment assumptions can shift the indicative range.
What lenders may still check
- Documents for income, overtime, bonus, rental, or self-employed earnings
- Living expenses, dependants, HELP/HECS, personal loans, and credit limits
- Deposit, LVR, property type, loan purpose, and mortgage insurance position
- Credit history, bank statements, policy fit, and repayment comfort
Short explanation
How to use a borrowing power calculator
Borrowing power is a first-pass range, not a promise. Lenders can treat the same income, expenses, debts, and property details differently.
How borrowing power works
Borrowing power estimates how much a lender may consider affordable after income, expenses, debts, credit limits, dependants, and a buffer rate are considered. The useful output is not just a maximum number. It is also a list of assumptions to test before you set a property budget.
This calculator converts the details you enter into a monthly serviceability picture, then estimates the loan size that may fit those assumptions over the selected term. It is useful for early planning, but it cannot replace a lender-specific assessment.
Why lender results differ
Two lenders can return different borrowing ranges because they use different policy rules, income treatment, household expense benchmarks, credit card assumptions, and assessment buffers.
Some lenders may use a benchmark if declared living expenses look too low. Some may shade overtime, bonus, commission, rental, or self-employed income. Some may treat credit limits, HELP or HECS debt, dependants, or existing liabilities more conservatively than others.
This is where a broker can help narrow the range to lenders that may fit the actual scenario.
Deposit, LVR, and property details
Borrowing capacity is only part of the buying position. Deposit, LVR, property type, location, loan purpose, and mortgage insurance can also affect lender choice.
A higher borrowing estimate does not always mean the purchase will fit the full lender assessment. A lower deposit can change LVR, potential LMI, and lender appetite, while genuine savings and account conduct may matter even when income appears strong.
Want the full explanation? Read: First home buyers
Estimate basisHow this borrowing power estimate works
Borrowing power calculators are useful when the assumptions are visible. This estimate shows the planning logic, then keeps the boundary clear: a broker still needs to check lender policy before you rely on the number.
- The calculator starts with annual household income, rental or other income, living expenses, dependants, credit limits, existing repayments, loan term, loan purpose, and a rate assumption.
- Income is converted into a monthly serviceability figure, then expenses, repayments, card-limit allowances, dependant allowances, and any investment-purpose allowance are deducted.
- The estimate uses the entered interest rate plus the assessment buffer to convert the monthly surplus into an indicative principal-and-interest loan amount over the selected term.
- The lower, midpoint, and upper figures are a planning range. They are not a lender approval and they do not reproduce any bank's proprietary serviceability model.
- A lender may apply expense benchmarks, shade irregular income, treat rental income differently, assess HELP or HECS obligations, and use different credit-card, buffer, and policy settings.
- Deposit, LVR, genuine savings, property type, mortgage insurance, valuation, documents, credit conduct, and repayment comfort still need broker review before the estimate becomes a buying budget.
Frequently asked questions
Borrowing power calculator FAQ
Is borrowing power the same as approval?
No. Borrowing power is only an estimate. Approval requires lender assessment, credit checks, documents, property details, deposit, and policy fit.
Why does this borrowing power calculator not include my deposit?
Deposit usually affects the property price, LVR, cash to complete, and possible LMI position. Borrowing power starts with serviceability: income, expenses, debts, credit limits, dependants, rate assumptions, and lender policy.
What is borrowing power?
Borrowing power is an estimate of how much a lender may consider affordable after reviewing your income, expenses, debts, credit limits, dependants, loan term, interest-rate assumptions, and policy fit.
Why do lenders calculate borrowing power differently?
Each lender can use different living expense benchmarks, income shading, debt treatment, credit card assumptions, buffers, and policy settings.
Do credit card limits affect borrowing power?
Yes. Many lenders assess credit card limits even if the card is paid off each month, because the limit can represent a future repayment commitment.
Broker check
A calculator gives you a starting number.
What a broker checks that this calculator cannot
Treat the range as a planning estimate. A broker still needs to check income treatment, debt limits, dependants, credit-card limits, property type and lender policy before you rely on it.
- Income treatmentLenders may treat overtime, commission, bonus, rental, self-employed, and casual income differently.
- Expenses and debtsCredit card limits, buy-now-pay-later, loans, dependants, and living expenses can materially change the result.
- Deposit and LVRA broker can test the range against deposit, property type, mortgage insurance, and lender appetite.
This calculator provides a general estimate only. It is not approval, not credit advice, and not a loan recommendation. Actual borrowing capacity depends on lender policy, income treatment, expenses, debts, credit limits, dependants, deposit, LVR, property type, documents, and verification.