Debt-to-Income (DTI) Calculator — your ratio, and with a new loan

How it works

One division, applied twice. Your current ratio: DTI = monthly debt payments ÷ (annual income ÷ 12) — the definition CFPB states, with debts counted as the monthly payments themselves (mortgage or rent, auto loans, student loans, card minimums), not the balances owed. The second division adds a proposed new monthly payment to the numerator, showing where the ratio lands if you take the loan — the number a lender will see on the application. No target line is drawn on the result: lenders' limits differ by product, and the well-known 43 percent cap once tied to Qualified Mortgages was replaced by price-based thresholds, so any threshold this page drew would be someone's rule, not the rule.

Worked example

CFPB's own example is the default here: $1,500 a month for a mortgage, $100 for an auto loan, and $400 for other debts make $2,000 of monthly payments; against $6,000 of gross monthly income that is a DTI of 33 percent (CFPB). Add a proposed $450 car payment and this calculator divides again: $2,450 ÷ $6,000 ≈ 41 percent — that shifted figure is this calculator's arithmetic on CFPB's scenario, not a published value, and it is exactly the movement a lender would recompute when you apply.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as monthly debt payments?

The payments, not the balances: mortgage or rent, auto loans, student loans, personal loans, and minimum card payments — recurring obligations a lender sees. Everyday spending like groceries or utilities is not debt service and stays out of the numerator, which is why DTI can look low even when a budget feels tight.

Is income before or after taxes?

Before — the ratio uses gross income, annual income divided by 12, matching how lenders compute it. Using take-home pay would inflate the ratio relative to what any lender calculates and make the number incomparable with quoted limits.

What is a good DTI?

There is no single line: CFPB notes that different loan products and lenders have different DTI limits, and the 43 percent cap once attached to Qualified Mortgages was replaced by price-based thresholds. The useful reading is directional — the lower the ratio, the more room a lender sees — and the specific cutoff belongs to the lender quoting you.

Why show DTI with a proposed payment?

Because that is the decision the ratio actually informs: a lender underwrites the ratio as it would stand with the new loan included. Entering the payment you are considering shows the after picture — the same division with the payment added to the numerator — before you apply.

Does DTI include the loan I'm applying for?

Both views matter and this page shows both: your back-end ratio today, and the ratio with the proposed payment folded in. For a mortgage application the housing payment itself is the biggest line in the numerator, which is why the with-payment figure moves so sharply.

How is this different from a credit score?

A credit score measures repayment history; DTI measures capacity — how much of your income is already spoken for. Lenders weigh both, and neither substitutes for the other: a spotless score with a stretched ratio still reads as risk, and vice versa.

How accurate is this, and what does it exclude?

The division is exact for what you enter; the judgment is in the numerator. Lenders may count obligations you omit (alimony, co-signed loans) or use different income definitions for self-employment, and product rules differ on what qualifies. Treat the result as the standard back-end computation and expect a lender's figure to differ at the margins.