Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio Calculator
Enter your gross monthly income and monthly debt payments to see your front-end and back-end DTI, plus what those numbers mean for mortgage approval.
Annual salary ÷ 12. Include documented bonuses, overtime, and side income lenders can verify.
Monthly Debt Payments
Use minimum required payments, not balances. Skip utilities, groceries, insurance, and subscriptions; lenders don't count them in DTI.
How Lenders Use DTI in 2026
Debt-to-income ratio answers one question for a lender: how much of your monthly income is already spoken for? The formula is total monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. It sits alongside your credit score as one of the two numbers that decide most loan approvals, and unlike a credit score, you can compute it yourself to the decimal.
Lenders track two versions. Front-end DTI counts only housing. Back-end DTI adds every other required debt payment, and it is the number underwriting systems actually gate on. The long-standing 28/36 rule says housing should stay under 28% of gross income and total debts under 36%. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rules made 43% the traditional back-end ceiling for the most protected loan category, and FHA underwriting can approve ratios up to about 50% when compensating factors (strong credit, reserves, a bigger down payment) offset the risk.
DTI Ranges at a Glance
| Back-End DTI | Rating | What It Means for a Mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| Under 36% | Healthy | Inside the 28/36 rule. Broad program access and the best pricing your credit allows. |
| 36% to 43% | Manageable | Still under the qualified mortgage threshold. Approval likely with solid credit and savings. |
| 43% to 50% | Stretched | Past the 43% line. FHA and some conventional loans possible with compensating factors. |
| 50% and up | High | Most applications are declined. Reduce debt payments before applying. |
A Worked Example
Say you earn $72,000 a year, which is $6,000 in gross monthly income. Your monthly payments: $1,500 rent, $400 auto loan, $250 student loans, and $150 in credit card minimums.
Front-end DTI is housing only: $1,500 ÷ $6,000 = 25%. That clears the 28% guideline. Back-end DTI adds everything: $2,300 ÷ $6,000 = 38.3%. That lands in the yellow zone, over the 36% comfort line but under the 43% threshold. Paying off the credit cards and the last of the auto loan would drop the ratio to 29.2% and move the whole picture back to green.
The formula: DTI = (total monthly debt payments ÷ gross monthly income) × 100. Use minimum required payments for revolving debt, and remember lenders count the payment a new mortgage would create, not your current rent, when qualifying you for a purchase.
How to Lower Your DTI
There are only two levers: cut the debt payments or raise the documented income. On the debt side, eliminating an entire loan beats paying a little extra on several. A $300 car payment with a $2,000 balance left is the best target on most lists: a modest lump sum wipes a full $300 off your monthly obligations, which drops DTI by five points on a $6,000 income.
On the income side, lenders can only count what you can document. A raise, a second job with a track record, or verified bonus and overtime history all grow the denominator. And in the months before a mortgage application, don't open new credit: a new car lease or financed furniture adds a payment at exactly the wrong time.