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Printed October 2, 2026 · https://trycleartally.com/home-affordability-calculator
Estimates for educational purposes only — not financial advice. See https://trycleartally.com/disclaimer.
Home Affordability Calculator
Car, student, and credit-card minimums — not rent.
Prefilled with today's average 30-yr rate (FRED). Edit freely.
Annual, as a percent of home value.
Home price you can afford
Max, under the 28/36 rule
Max loan amount
Est. monthly payment
Principal, interest, tax & insurance
Limited by
The 28/36 rule caps your housing payment at 28% of gross monthly income (about $2,800.00/mo) and your housing plus other debts at 36% (about $3,100.00/mo left for housing after debts). This estimate uses the lower of the two and isn't a loan pre-approval.
Home Affordability Worksheet
Home price you can afford
$394,459
Estimate based on the 28/36 debt-to-income rule. Lender requirements vary; this is not a pre-approval or financial advice.
Calculated using the standard formulas described at https://trycleartally.com/methodology — for educational estimates only, not a quote or financial advice. Verify with your lender or financial institution before making decisions.
Find out how much house you can afford based on your income, monthly debts, and down payment, using the lender-standard 28/36 debt-to-income rule.
Reviewed by the ClearTally editorial team · Last updated July 16, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Part of the mortgage calculators collection — 12 tools in the order most people need them.
Today's Rates
Sources: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), Finnhub. For reference only — not a rate quote or investment advice.
How much house can I afford on my salary?
Lenders answer this with two ratios, and the stricter one wins. The front-end ratio caps your housing payment at about 28% of gross monthly income; the back-end ratio caps housing plus every other monthly debt at about 36%. Whichever produces the smaller number is your ceiling.
Example: on $120,000 a year with $500 of monthly debts, $60,000 down at 6.5% over 30 years, the 28% rule caps the payment at $2,800 while the 36% rule would allow $3,100 — so the front-end ratio binds. That payment supports a home price of roughly $418,600, made up of about $2,266 principal and interest, $384 property tax and $150 insurance. An estimate: lenders weigh credit score, reserves and loan type too.
Would paying off my debts let me buy a bigger house?
Only if the back-end ratio is what's limiting you. In the example above it is not — the 28% housing cap bites first, so clearing that $500 monthly debt moves the back-end allowance from $3,100 to $3,600 and changes the answer by nothing at all. Check which ratio the calculator reports as binding before you redirect cash at debt for this reason; when the front-end ratio is the constraint, a larger down payment or a longer term moves the number and paying off a car loan does not.
Have a price in mind already? The mortgage calculator works forward from a price to the full monthly payment, and if you're still deciding, the rent vs buy calculator weighs owning against renting.
How it works
Lenders size your budget with the 28/36 rule. Your total monthly housing payment — principal, interest, property tax, and insurance (PITI), plus any HOA — should stay under 28%of your gross monthly income (the “front-end” ratio). Your housing payment plus all other monthly debt payments should stay under 36%(the “back-end” ratio). Your affordable payment is the lower of those two caps.
From that maximum payment we subtract your insurance and HOA, then work backwards through the mortgage formula to find the largest loan the remaining amount can support, and add your down payment to get the home price.
Example:a $120,000 income is $10,000 gross per month, so the 28% rule caps housing at $2,800/mo. With $500 of other monthly debts, the 36% rule allows $3,100 for housing — so the 28% cap ($2,800) binds. At 6.5% over 30 years with a $60,000 down payment, that payment supports a home in the low-$400,000s.
Sources & further reading
FAQ
A common lender guideline: spend no more than 28% of your gross (pre-tax) monthly income on housing, and no more than 36% on all debt payments combined (housing plus car loans, student loans, credit-card minimums, etc.). Staying within both limits is a sign a mortgage is manageable.
The minimum monthly payments on debts that show up on your credit report — car loans, student loans, personal loans, and credit-card minimums. Don't include rent (it's replaced by the mortgage), utilities, groceries, or other everyday spending.
Yes. Your down payment adds directly to the home price on top of the loan you qualify for, and putting down 20% or more also avoids private mortgage insurance (PMI), leaving more of your monthly budget for principal and interest.
No. This is a quick estimate based only on income, debts, and the 28/36 rule. A lender's pre-approval also weighs your credit score, employment history, assets, and the specific loan program, so your real number may be higher or lower.
Monthly debts count against the 36% back-end ratio. When they're high enough, that rule — not the 28% housing rule — becomes the limit, leaving less room for a mortgage payment and lowering the home price you can afford.