How much can I afford to borrow?

This calculator estimates how much you can afford to borrow. You enter your income and living expenses. It takes the amount you have left over, and calculates the size of loan you could repay with that amount. In calculating the size of the loan, it assumes interest rates are a little higher than they are right now - to leave a buffer in case rates go up in future.

Default living expenses.

• Banks typically lend you what you could afford to repay if you only have the bare minimum living expenses. If you tick "Use default living expenses", the calculator follows the practice of a number of large banks and uses the Henderson Poverty Index - in other words it assumes you only need enough money to stay just above the poverty line.
• You can get a more realistic estimate of what you can afford to borrow if you remove the tick from "Use default living expenses" and enter your own living expenses amount.

Interest rate rises

• Banks typically lend you what you could afford to repay if interest rates were about 1.5% or 2.0% higher than they are now.
• You can get your own estimate of what you can afford by moving the slider to a different interest rate increase.

But remember:

• Different lenders calculate things differently. There's no guarantee that any given lender will offer to lend you the figures calculated here.
• The results don't include any fees such as upfront fees, ongoing service fees, transaction fees or exit fees.
• If your income, expenses, interest rates or other circumstances change in the future, then there's no guarantee you'll be able to afford the loan amount calculated here.
• Calculators can't give you advice on what to do; you need to make your own decision. If you need advice then find yourself an independent financial planner.
• Although we've tested our numbers and we think they look correct, we can't promise they are perfect.