Free calculator
Borrowing power calculator
Find out how much you could borrow for a home loan — assessed the way a lender does it, with the APRA buffer, a HEM-style expense floor, your debts, stamp duty and LMI all factored in. It runs instantly in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to us.
Estimate your borrowing power
How much a lender might assess you for — at the buffered assessment rate, with a HEM-style expense floor, your debts and your deposit factored in. Borrowing to the maximum is rarely the healthy choice.
Maximum loan
$1.08m
Assessed at 8.5%
Buying power
$1.12m
Loan + $120k deposit − costs
Monthly surplus
$8,295
Net income − assessed expenses
Repayment at max
$5,941/m
LVR 94% · LMI ~$31k
⚠ Declared expenses ($3,800/m) are below the HEM-style benchmark — lenders will assess at the floor of $4,100/m.
⚠ Loan-to-value ratio at maximum purchase is 94% — LMI of ~$31,423 applies and rate premiums are likely. Consider a lower target price.
⚠ Repayments at your maximum would be 47% of net income — above the 30% stress threshold. Buying below your maximum is strongly suggested.
Assumptions
- Assessment rate 8.49% = advertised variable + 3.0% serviceability buffer (floor 5.5%)
- 30-year principal-and-interest term
- FY2025-26 resident tax rates + 2% Medicare levy
- HEM-style household expense floor applied when declared expenses are lower
- Credit card limits assessed at 3.8% of limit per month
- HECS assessed via income-contingent repayment estimate
- Rates snapshot as of 2026-06-01 — verify with your lender
How lenders assess what you can borrow
Borrowing power is driven by serviceability: your net income minus assessed living expenses and debt commitments leaves a monthly surplus, and the largest loan that surplus can repay over a 30-year term — at the buffered assessment rate — is your capacity. Because lenders floor expenses at a HEM benchmark, assess credit-card limits in full and add the APRA buffer, the number is usually lower than people expect. This calculator makes every one of those levers visible. See our methodology & sources for the full working.
Frequently asked questions
- How is borrowing power calculated?
- Lenders take your net income, subtract your living expenses (floored at a HEM benchmark) and your debt commitments, then work out the largest loan the remaining surplus can service — at an assessment rate that adds an APRA serviceability buffer on top of the advertised rate. This calculator reproduces that process deterministically.
- What is the APRA serviceability buffer?
- APRA requires lenders to assess whether you could still afford repayments if rates rose. They add a buffer (commonly around 3%) to the advertised rate, subject to a minimum floor. Assessing at this higher rate is why your borrowing power is lower than a simple repayment calculator suggests.
- Does my credit card limit affect how much I can borrow?
- Yes. Lenders assess your total credit-card limits as an ongoing commitment even if the balance is zero, because you could draw on them at any time. Reducing or closing unused limits can lift your borrowing power.
- Should I borrow my maximum?
- Rarely. Your maximum is the most a lender might assess — not a comfortable repayment. Buying below it leaves headroom for rate rises and life. The calculator flags when repayments at your maximum would exceed about 30% of net income.
Know your limits — now know your upfront costs
Once you know how much you can borrow, estimate the stamp duty and first-home grants with our stamp duty calculator, then build a full, stress-tested plan on the planner.