Calculator
Borrowing power calculator
A quick, deliberately conservative guide to what you might be able to borrow, based on household income, living expenses, existing repayments and your deposit. It shows a range rather than a single figure, because a range is the honest way to answer this question online.
Combined before-tax income for everyone on the application, including salary and regular overtime.
Everyday costs: groceries, utilities, transport, insurance, childcare, subscriptions.
Car loans, personal loans, HECS and credit cards. Lenders assess card limits, not balances.
Savings you plan to put toward the purchase, including any grants or gifted funds.
Estimated borrowing range
$450,000 to $500,000
as a guide, assessed with a lender-style buffer over a 30 year term
- Your deposit
- $100,000
- Potential purchase budget
- $550,000 to $600,000
This range is a guide only, not a promise, a quote or a pre-approval. Every lender assesses income, expenses and liabilities differently, and your actual borrowing power can only be confirmed through a full assessment of your situation.
How it works
How lenders actually assess borrowing power
Behind every lender calculator sits the same basic logic: work out what is left of your income each month after tax, living costs and existing commitments, then work out how big a loan that surplus can service. This tool follows that logic with conservative settings, applying a buffered assessment rate over a 30 year term, the same stress-testing concept regulators require lenders to use. What differs wildly between lenders is the detail, and the detail is where borrowing power is won and lost.
1
Income, and how it is counted
Base salary is straightforward. Overtime, bonuses, commissions, rental income and ABN income are all shaded differently by different lenders: one might count 80% of your overtime, another all of it. For self-employed borrowers, presentation of the financials can change the outcome entirely.
2
Expenses, versus the benchmark
Lenders compare your declared living expenses against a household benchmark and use the higher of the 2. Declaring unrealistically low expenses does not help: bank statements get reviewed. Genuine, sustainable spending habits in the months before applying do.
3
Existing commitments
Car loans, personal loans and HECS repayments reduce your surplus dollar for dollar. Credit cards are assessed on the limit, not the balance, so a $20,000 limit you never use still drags on capacity. Tidying these up before applying is often the fastest lift available.
4
The assessment buffer
Lenders do not test your repayments at the rate you would pay. They test them at a buffered rate, currently around 3 percentage points higher, so the loan stays serviceable if rates rise. It is the single biggest reason online estimates feel lower than people expect, and this calculator builds the same concept in.
All of this is why the result above is a range and not a promise. The same household can see materially different numbers from different lenders, and knowing which lender’s assessment suits your situation is a large part of what a broker does. Ours is advice you do not pay for: some brokers charge for it, we expressly do not.
A guide only, not advice
Results from this calculator are estimates for general guidance only. They are not financial or credit advice, a quote, a pre-approval, or an offer of credit, and they do not consider your personal circumstances. Lenders assess income, expenses, liabilities and buffers differently, and your actual borrowing power can only be confirmed through a full assessment. Your full financial situation and needs will be considered prior to any offer or recommendation of a credit product. The information on this website is general in nature and does not take your personal circumstances into account.
Where to next
Turn a range into a plan
First home buyer loans
Grants, schemes and deposit options can shift what these numbers mean for a first purchase. From first chat to first key, explained in plain English.
Start hereThe home loan process
From first conversation to settlement: what happens, when, and what you need. The step-by-step guide to what comes after the calculator.
Read the guidePurchasing power calculator
Deposit plus borrowing: see what the combined figures mean as a total purchase budget, including the costs that sit on top of the price.
Check purchase budgetWant the repayment side of the equation? Try the repayment calculator, or browse all 8 tools on the calculator hub.
Borrowing power FAQs
How do lenders work out borrowing power?
Lenders start with your income, then subtract tax, declared living expenses and existing commitments to find what is left over for repayments. They then test whether that surplus covers repayments at a buffered assessment rate, currently around 3 percentage points above the actual product rate, so your capacity holds if rates rise. Each lender also applies its own policies on overtime, bonuses, rental income and self-employed income, which is why the same person gets different answers from different lenders.
Why does this calculator show a range instead of a single number?
Because a single number would be a false promise. Run the same figures through 10 lender calculators and you will get 10 different results, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars apart, driven by how each lender shades income, benchmarks expenses and buffers rates. A range is the honest way to present an online estimate. Pinning down your actual figure takes a full assessment against specific lender policies.
Do HECS, car loans and credit cards affect how much I can borrow?
Yes, all 3 reduce borrowing capacity. HECS repayments come straight off your income, and car or personal loan repayments reduce your monthly surplus. Credit cards are the one that surprises people: most lenders assess a percentage of your total card limit as a monthly commitment even if you pay the balance off in full. Closing unused cards or reducing limits before applying can genuinely lift capacity.
Is this estimate a pre-approval?
No. A pre-approval is a lender's conditional written decision after assessing your documents, credit history and full financial position. This calculator is a guide built only from the figures you enter. If you are getting ready to make offers, a pre-approval arranged through a broker is the step that lets you bid with confidence, and arranging one costs you nothing with us.
Get an answer built on your situation
An online range is a starting point. A conversation with a broker gets you lender-specific answers, a structure and a plan, and our advice costs you nothing.