Australian Borrowing Power Calculator
How much could you actually borrow?
Estimate your borrowing power from your income, expenses and debts. Live as you type... no credit check, no commitment. Then get your number emailed as a full personalised report.
Live as you type. No commitment, no credit check.
RBA rate update · 16 June 2026 applied
1 · What are you looking to do?
2 · Your details
Are you applying with a partner?
3 · Properties you already own
Do you currently own property?
4 · Core debts
Banks assess your limit, not your balance, at 3.8% of the limit per month, even if you pay it off each cycle.
Combined monthly repayments on personal and vehicle loans.
5 · Living expenses
I'll use average household living costs unless you enter your own.
Estimate only. Not a credit offer or pre-qualification. Subject to lender criteria, credit assessment, and a full needs analysis. Rental income and existing lending may be assessed differently by different lenders. Get in touch for advice tailored to your situation.
Two lenders, two answers
The same income can borrow very different amounts depending on the lender. Want to know where yours lands?
Behind the number
What actually moves your borrowing power.
Your borrowing power is not one fixed number. It is the output of how a specific lender reads your income, your expenses, your debts and your deposit... and every lender reads them differently.
Lenders test your repayments at an assessment rate above your actual rate (a serviceability buffer), apply a living-expense benchmark even if you spend less, and assess credit cards on their limits rather than their balances. Small structural changes... a reduced card limit, a different lender, a different loan term... can move the answer by tens of thousands.
That is why I treat the calculator as the start of the conversation, not the end. If you want the four levers explained properly, the Borrowing Power Framework walks through them in plain English... and the borrowing power explainer covers why capacity is tighter than it was three years ago.
Common questions
Borrowing power, answered.
How is borrowing power calculated in Australia?
Lenders start with your income, subtract your living expenses and existing commitments, then test what is left against an assessment rate... your actual rate plus a serviceability buffer set by APRA. The result is the repayment they believe you can sustain, worked backwards into a loan amount. Every lender runs this differently, which is why the same person gets different answers from different banks.
Why do lenders give me different borrowing amounts?
Each lender applies its own assessment rate floor, its own living-expense benchmark, and its own rules for overtime, bonuses, rental income and self-employed income. Those differences compound... two lenders reading the same payslips can land tens of thousands of dollars apart. Lender selection is one of the biggest levers on your capacity.
Does this calculator do a credit check?
No. This calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing is submitted to a lender or a credit bureau. It gives you an indicative estimate only... a real borrowing figure comes from a full assessment against a specific lender's criteria.
How can I increase my borrowing power?
The common levers are reducing credit card limits (lenders assess the limit, not the balance), clearing small debts, tidying discretionary spending in the months before applying, choosing the right lender for how your income is built, and structuring the loan term and type deliberately. Which levers apply, and how far they move your number, depends on your situation and lender criteria.
Is this the same as pre-approval?
No. A calculator estimate is a starting point. Pre-approval is a lender formally assessing your documents and conditionally agreeing to lend. If you are getting serious about buying, a pre-approval with the right lender is the next step... I can help you work out which lender that should be.
Estimates from this calculator are a guide only, are not an offer of credit or pre-approval, and do not account for your full circumstances. Any borrowing capacity is subject to individual lender criteria and a full assessment.