$100,000 income
$600,000
most a bank could lend · 6× income
- Gross income
- $100,000
- DTI limit
- 6× income
- Most a bank could lend on income
- $600,000
One income, capped at 6× — serviceability may bring the final figure lower.
NZ borrowing calculator · 2026/27
Know what you
could borrow.
Estimates from published Reserve Bank limits and the details you enter.
Built for New Zealand.
Rates current as at 24 July 2026.
$
A year, salary or wages.
$
Leave at zero if applying alone.
$
A month, not counting the mortgage you are working out.
$
Buying as
6× income cap for owner-occupiers, 7× for investors.
$
A year, before tax.
Dependants
$
Hire purchase and buy-now-pay-later too.
$
$
Banks count the limit, not what you owe.
Student loan
Reduces income available for servicing.
Term
%
Editable default 7.00%. A buffer banks may test against — not a forecast.
Borrowing range
$500,681
$406,272 – $542,767 · a middle estimate; indicative only, not an approval or an offer of finance.
$620,681the house price this points to, with your deposit.
$3,331a month at the 7.00% stress test — how banks decide what you can borrow.
Your limit is set by what a bank thinks you can service month to month, not the income cap.
Credit card limits of $5,000 count as debt even at a zero balance.
Unused credit cards count at their full limit, so closing them frees DTI headroom.
At the middle estimate with your $120,000 deposit
- Deposit
- $120,00019.3%
- Loan
- $500,68180.7%
- Middle estimate
- $500,681
- Houses you could look at
- $526,272 – $662,767
- What's holding the number back
- What you can afford to repay
- Most you could borrow on income alone (6× cap)
- $595,000
- Money left over each month
- $3,331
- House price at the middle estimate
- $620,681
- Loan as a share of that price (LVR)
- 80.7% · over 80%
Range at a glance
Low and high scenarios vary income and expenses; the middle is the planning figure.
What's reducing your estimate
- Credit card limits of $5,000 count as debt even at a zero balance.
- At the middle estimate your deposit is under 20% — high-LVR lending is rationed and often priced higher.
What could improve it
- Unused credit cards count at their full limit, so closing them frees DTI headroom.
- A larger deposit lowers the loan needed and can move you out of high-LVR territory.
- Lower fixed outgoings directly increase the surplus a bank can capitalise into lending.
These are general observations from your inputs, not recommendations. Banks apply their own living-cost benchmarks, test rates and credit criteria.
- DTI cap
- 6× / 7× incl. card limits · RBNZ
- LVR threshold
- 80% owner-occupier / 70% investor · RBNZ
- Cost per dependant (assumed)
- $350 a month
- Debt servicing on balances and limits (assumed)
- 3% a month
- Range spread
- −10% income to −10% expenses
Checked against the official sources above by FinLab editorial on 24 July 2026.
How this borrowing power calculator works
This calculator estimates how much a bank might lend you for a home, as an indicative range rather than a single figure. Enter your income, expenses, deposit and any debts; it applies the Reserve Bank limits and a serviceability test, and shows a low, middle and high estimate.
Debt-to-income (DTI) rules cap most lending at 6 times gross income for owner-occupiers and 7 times for investors, in force since 1 July 2024. All debt counts toward it — your mortgage, car and personal loans, your student loan balance, and your credit-card limits, even at a zero balance. Banks can write a limited share of new lending above the cap.
Separately, banks test whether you could still afford repayments if rates rose. They use a stress-test rate above the advertised one — an editable default of 7.00% here — applied to your income after tax, minus your living costs and other commitments. For many buyers this serviceability test, not the DTI cap, sets the limit, so the calculator takes the lower of the two.
The estimate is shown as a range because banks vary. The low figure trims income and lifts assumed expenses, the high figure does the reverse, and the middle is the figure to plan around. Several things pull the number down: unused credit-card limits count at their full value, each dependant adds an assumed living cost, and existing loans and a student loan balance reduce the room under the cap. A larger deposit, fewer card limits and lower fixed outgoings all lift it. Some lending is exempt from the Reserve Bank limits, including Kāinga Ora First Home Loans, new builds, and refinancing that does not increase the loan. The calculator applies these as general adjustments from what you enter, so treat the middle estimate as a planning figure rather than a promise. Because these adjustments are general, two people with the same income can see very different offers, depending on their spending, their debts and the lender they approach.
Your deposit sets your loan-to-value ratio. Lending above 80% of the value — a deposit under 20% — is high-LVR and rationed, which can lower what a bank will advance. The First Home Loan is exempt from both the DTI and LVR limits. This is an estimate, not an approval or an offer of finance; banks apply their own living-cost and credit criteria, so their figure will differ.
Worked examples
Same cap. One income or two.
Both apply the same 6× debt-to-income cap. A second income lifts the ceiling because both incomes count before the cap.
$160,000 combined
$960,000
most a bank could lend · 6× income
- Your income
- $100,000
- Partner's income
- $60,000
- Combined income
- $160,000
- DTI limit
- 6× income
- Most a bank could lend on income
- $960,000
Two incomes are added first, so the same 6× rule reaches $360,000 further.
FAQRead the guides
Common questions
Short answers on DTI, LVR, credit limits and stress rates — why the estimate is a range.
Want the full detail?
Banks apply their own living-cost and income rules on top of RBNZ DTI and LVR settings. The guides explain how each rule shapes the range.
Debt-to-income rules cap most owner-occupier lending at 6 times gross income, so on $100,000 that is up to $600,000 on income alone. Your actual limit is often lower, set by what your budget can service after tax, expenses and other debts.
Debt-to-income restrictions cap most lending at 6 times gross income for owner-occupiers and 7 times for investors, in force since 1 July 2024. All debt counts, including your student loan balance and credit-card limits. Banks can write a limited share above the cap.
Loan-to-value rules mean lending above 80% of a home's value — a deposit under 20% — is rationed for owner-occupiers, and above 70% for investors. It is not banned, but banks can write only a limited share, often at a higher rate.
Yes. Banks count the full limit on your credit cards as debt, not the balance, because you could draw it at any time. A $10,000 limit you never use still counts as $10,000 of debt, so reducing or closing unused cards can lift how much you can borrow.
Banks check you could still afford repayments if rates rose, testing at a rate above the advertised one. This calculator uses an editable default of 7.00%. It is not the rate you pay; it sizes how much your income can service.
Banks differ on living-cost benchmarks, how they treat income, and the test rate they use. A single number would imply false precision, so the calculator shows a low, middle and high estimate, with the middle as the figure to plan around.
All of it: your mortgage, car loan, personal loans, hire purchase, your student loan balance, and your credit-card limits. Each reduces the room under the 6-times-income cap and the surplus a bank can lend against.
No. It is an indicative estimate, not an approval or an offer of finance. Banks apply their own criteria, so their figure will differ. Use it to plan a range, then talk to a lender or adviser for a decision.