How do you calculate debt-to-income ratio?

Add up your monthly debt payments, divide by your gross monthly income before taxes, and multiply by 100. For example, $2,000 in debts on $6,000 of income is about 33%.

What is a good debt-to-income ratio?

Lower is better. Fannie Mae's standard limit for manually underwritten conventional mortgages is 36%, and many borrowers aim to stay at or below that level.

What is the maximum DTI for a conventional mortgage?

For loans sold to Fannie Mae, up to 45% for manually underwritten loans that meet credit score and reserve requirements, and up to 50% for loans underwritten through Desktop Underwriter.

What debts count in DTI?

Usually recurring monthly debt payments, such as your housing payment, car loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments and personal loans. Each lender sets the exact list.

Does DTI use gross or net income?

Gross monthly income, which is your pay before taxes and deductions.

What is the maximum DTI for an FHA loan?

For manually underwritten FHA loans the standard is 31% for housing and 43% for all debts. With a 580+ score HUD allows up to 37/47 with one compensating factor and 40/50 with two.

What DTI do VA loans allow?

VA's standard is 41% or less. Higher ratios can be approved with compensating factors, and no extra justification is needed if residual income is at least 20% above VA's guideline.

What is the difference between front-end and back-end DTI?

Front end uses only the housing payment; back end uses housing plus all other monthly debts. $1,500 housing and $2,200 total debts on $6,000 income give 25% and 36.67%.

Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator: What DTI Do Lenders Allow?

Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is your total monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income, times 100. The CFPB’s example: $1,500 mortgage + $100 auto loan + $400 other debts = $2,000 on $6,000 gross income, a DTI of about 33%. For conventional mortgages sold to Fannie Mae, the maximum total DTI is 36% for manually underwritten loans, up to 45% with qualifying credit score and reserves, and 50% for loans run through Desktop Underwriter. Other lenders and loan types set their own limits.

This debt to income calculator divides monthly debt payments by gross monthly income and shows the ratio as a percent. Lenders often call this DTI. Use it to understand how heavy your fixed debts look against income before you apply for new credit.

The tool does not approve or deny loans. Different lenders count debts differently.

DTI limits in dollars on a $6,000 monthly income

DTI limit	Where it applies	Max monthly debts on $6,000
36%	Fannie Mae, manually underwritten	$2,160
45%	Fannie Mae, manual, with credit score and reserve requirements met	$2,700
50%	Fannie Mae, Desktop Underwriter (DU)	$3,000

Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-02; CFPB: What is a debt-to-income ratio? (last reviewed 28 August 2023), which notes that “different loan products and lenders will have different DTI limits.” Debts include the new housing payment for mortgage DTI.

Worked example

Example with defaults: debts $1,500 and income $6,000. DTI = 25 percent.

Input	Value
Monthly debt payments	$1,500
Gross monthly income	$6,000
DTI	25%

FHA and VA Debt-to-Income Limits

FHA (manually underwritten): the standard maximum is 31% front end / 43% back end. With a credit score of 580 or higher, HUD allows 37/47 with one compensating factor (cash reserves, minimal housing payment increase, or residual income), 40/40 with no discretionary debt, and 40/50 with two factors. Scores of 500-579 or no score stay at 31/43 (HUD Handbook 4000.1). Loans approved by FHA’s automated scorecard follow its findings instead.

VA: the standard is 41% or less. A higher ratio needs documented compensating factors, unless residual income beats VA’s guideline by at least 20% (38 CFR 36.4340).

Limit	Ratio	Max monthly payments on $6,000 income
Housing payment (front end)	31%	$1,860
All debts (back end)	43%	$2,580
All debts, 1 compensating factor	47%	$2,820
All debts, 2 compensating factors	50%	$3,000
VA standard (all debts)	41%	$2,460

What usually counts as debt

Common inclusions are minimum credit card payments, auto loans, student loans, personal loans, and housing payments when a lender asks for back end DTI. Utilities and groceries are living expenses, not debt payments, in most DTI definitions.

New loan payments: when testing a purchase, add the estimated new payment into debts to see the post close DTI.
Cosigned debts: some programs count cosigned loans even when someone else pays. Ask how your lender treats those lines.

Front end versus back end

Front end focuses on housing costs versus income. Back end includes housing plus other debts. This tool returns a single total (back-end) ratio; for the front-end ratio, enter only the housing payment. Build the sum that matches the question you are asking.

Example: gross income $6,000 a month. Debts: mortgage payment incl. taxes and insurance $1,500, car loan $350, student loan $250, credit card minimum $100. Front end = $1,500 ÷ $6,000 = 25%. Back end = $2,200 ÷ $6,000 = 36.67%. Run the calculator twice: once with 1500, once with 2200.

Gross income

Use gross pay before tax when that is what the lender requests. Self employed income may need averaged figures from tax returns. Do not invent income.

Commercial lending context

Lower DTI can improve comfort in underwriting conversations, but credit scores, reserves, and loan type still matter. Treat thresholds you read online as examples, not promises.

Common mistakes

Using take home pay when the form asks for gross
Leaving out a car payment
Including one time bills that are not recurring debt

Self employed income

Lenders may average two years of returns. Enter the income figure your lender will actually use, not a single strong month.

Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator