About this tool
This borrowing power calculator gives a quick, honest estimate of how much an Australian bank might lend you for a home. Enter your pay before tax (and a second person’s, if you are buying together), any rent or other income, dependants, living costs, other loan repayments and the total of your credit card limits. The answer updates as you type and is shown as a range, because no two banks assess you the same way.
It works the way lenders broadly do. Your take-home pay is worked out with the ATO’s 2026–27 resident tax rates and the Medicare levy, and any HELP repayment is taken off. Living costs are the higher of your own figure and a floor, the way banks use a benchmark. Card limits count as a monthly repayment even when the balance is zero. What is left is tested at your interest rate plus the 3 percentage point buffer APRA, the banking regulator, expects (rules checked 8 October 2026), and turned into the loan those repayments could pay off.
Unlike broker calculators, it asks for no name, email or phone number, nothing is sent anywhere, and the working is shown line by line. It is general information only, not financial advice and not a loan offer.
How to use Borrowing Power Calculator (Australia)
- Choose Just me or Two of us, then type each person’s pay a year before tax and tick the study loan box if it applies.
- Fill in rent or other income, dependants, living costs a month, other loan repayments and your credit card limits.
- Set the interest rate and loan term, and add your deposit if you want to see a price range.
- Read “You might be able to borrow”, then check “How it was worked out” to see each line of the sum.
- Change anything under “Assumptions you can change”, press Reset to go back, or press Copy summary.
One person on $120,000 a year, living costs of $2,500 a month, no debts, 6% over 30 years: take-home is about $7,590 a month, leaving $5,090. Tested at 9%, that repays about $632,000, so the range shows $568,000 to $632,000, with repayments of about $3,789 a month at 6%.
Features
- One or two applicants, each with their own pay and HELP or HECS study loan.
- Take-home pay from the ATO’s 2026–27 tax rates, Medicare levy and compulsory HELP repayments.
- Living costs: uses your figure or an editable floor that rises with each dependant, whichever is higher.
- Credit card limits counted at an editable 3% a month, and rent counted at an editable 80%.
- APRA’s 3 percentage point serviceability buffer added to your rate, with the tested repayment shown.
- A low-to-high range instead of one false-precise number.
- Debt-to-income ratio, with a warning at six times income, where APRA limits bank lending.
- Optional deposit to show the price range you might look at, and a copyable summary.
Tips and good to know
- Cancelling or lowering credit card limits you don’t use can raise your borrowing power more than paying a balance off.
- Be honest about living costs. Banks check bank statements, and they use their own benchmark when your figure is lower.
- If you are buying a new or off-the-plan home, ask your lender: APRA’s debt-to-income limit does not apply to loans for new dwellings.
- Leave room for stamp duty, legal fees and lenders mortgage insurance. Your deposit pays those as well as the price.
- Being able to borrow an amount is not the same as being comfortable repaying it. Try a higher rate to see how much room you’d have.
Frequently asked questions
Are my figures uploaded or stored?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved. There is no form asking for your name, email or phone number.
Is it free? Are there any limits?
Yes, it is free with no sign-up and no limit on how many times you use it.
Does it work on a phone, iPhone or offline?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android and desktop browsers, and keeps working without the internet once the page has loaded.
Why is the answer a range and not one number?
Each bank sets its own living-cost benchmark, card loading, rent shading and extra rules. The top of the range is the full calculation with your figures; the bottom is 10% lower by default for a stricter bank. Your lender could still land outside it.
What is the 3% serviceability buffer?
APRA, the banking regulator, expects banks to check you could still repay if rates rose by at least 3 percentage points. Its release of 28 May 2026 kept the buffer at 3 points, so a 6% loan is tested at 9%.
Is the living-cost floor the bank’s HEM figure?
No. HEM, the Household Expenditure Measure many banks use, is licensed and not published. The floor here is our own rough assumption, labelled as one, and you can change it.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is general information to help you plan. It does not know your full situation or any bank’s policy. Speak to a lender or licensed mortgage broker before you rely on a figure.
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