Total DTI
Total monthly obligations ÷ Gross monthly income × 100
Housing obligations plus the recurring monthly debts included in the calculator.
Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is monthly debt obligations divided by gross monthly income, multiplied by 100. This calculator shows a housing-only front-end ratio and a total back-end ratio; Canadian mortgage mode estimates Gross Debt Service (GDS) and Total Debt Service (TDS).
Enter income before taxes and the monthly housing and debt payments that apply to your U.S. or Canadian planning estimate.
Region
Choose the country for currency labels and the mortgage-planning method used in the housing ratio.
Income
Use income before taxes and other deductions.
Use gross income before taxes, not take-home pay. Monthly mode takes monthly amounts; Annual mode divides both income fields by 12. Housing and debt fields remain monthly. Whether additional income qualifies for a loan depends on the lender and program.
Housing
Choose whether you are reviewing your current rent or a mortgage / planned-home payment.
Enter the monthly mortgage payment used for planning. Leave any housing field blank if it does not apply.
Other Monthly Debts
Enter recurring monthly debt payments. Leave a field blank if it does not apply.
For a planning estimate, enter required monthly credit card payments, not card balances.
A HELOC or other line-of-credit monthly payment can go under Other recurring debt when applicable; lender treatment may differ.
Ordinary spending such as groceries, utilities, phone, internet, and discretionary purchases is not entered as a debt payment here.
Planning estimate: This calculator is for planning and informational purposes only. Actual lender, insurer, and loan-program treatment of income, housing costs, debts, and qualifying payments may differ. The result is not a mortgage approval or eligibility decision.
🧮 How debt-to-income ratio is calculated
DTI uses gross income, not take-home pay. The basic calculation compares monthly obligations with gross monthly income. The exact obligations a lender uses can differ from this planning estimate.
Can DTI be over 100%? Yes. It can exceed 100% when the monthly obligations included here are greater than gross monthly income. FigureNorth does not cap DTI at 100%.
Housing Ratio
Monthly housing obligations ÷ Gross monthly income × 100
Often described as a front-end housing measure in U.S. mortgage discussions.
Estimated GDS — Canada
(Mortgage payment + property tax + heating + 50% condo fee) ÷ Gross monthly income × 100
Used only in Canada mortgage mode.
Estimated TDS — Canada
(Estimated GDS housing obligations + other monthly debt) ÷ Gross monthly income × 100
Used only in Canada mortgage mode.
📋 What debts count in debt-to-income ratio?
For this planning calculator, count housing and the recurring monthly debt payments you enter below. Ordinary living bills are not debt payments here; a lender may apply different rules to a particular obligation.
Recurring payments entered here
- Housing obligations
- Credit card minimum payments
- Vehicle loan or lease payments
- Student loan payments
- Personal loan payments
- Child support / alimony
- Other recurring debt, such as a line of credit or HELOC payment
Ordinary expenses not entered here
- Groceries
- Utilities
- Phone and internet
- Ordinary day-to-day transportation costs
- Discretionary spending
- Income taxes and payroll deductions
⚖️ Front-End vs Back-End DTI
Front-end DTI is monthly housing obligations divided by gross monthly income. Back-end DTI adds recurring monthly debts to housing before dividing by that income; definitions used for mortgage qualification can vary.
Housing ratio / front-end
The housing ratio looks only at housing obligations relative to gross income. For a U.S. mortgage-planning estimate, this page includes the mortgage payment, property tax, home insurance, HOA or condo fees, and mortgage insurance entered above.
Total DTI / back-end
Total DTI adds the recurring monthly debts entered in the calculator to housing obligations. Lenders can apply more specific rules to individual debts, income sources, and qualifying payments.
Does rent count? This calculator includes current rent in Rent mode for a personal housing-and-debt view. Mortgage underwriting may instead use the proposed qualifying housing payment; do not assume current rent and a proposed mortgage are always counted together.
🇨🇦 GDS and TDS Calculator Method for Canada
Gross Debt Service (GDS) divides housing obligations by gross income; Total Debt Service (TDS) adds other monthly debt before dividing by gross income. This Canadian mortgage estimate uses the entered mortgage payment, property tax, heating, and 50% of condo fees for housing. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) lists 39% GDS and 44% TDS as insured-mortgage limits, not a guarantee of approval here.
Heating
Included
Property tax
Included
Condo fee
50% included
CMHC's qualifying interest rate is the greater of the contract rate plus two percentage points or 5.25%. This page does not calculate a qualifying payment or mortgage stress test. Enter a known qualifying payment if appropriate; lender, insurer, and loan-program treatment can differ.
📊 What is a good debt-to-income ratio?
There is no universal DTI cutoff. As a specific U.S. example, Fannie Mae generally limits manually underwritten total DTI to 36%, or up to 45% when specified credit-score and reserve requirements are met. Its Desktop Underwriter casefiles allow up to 50%; government-backed loans follow their own agency rules. These are not FigureNorth pass/fail thresholds.
The calculator reports a percentage without an approval score. Lenders also review qualifying income, credit, reserves, loan structure, and other underwriting factors.
↘️ How to lower your debt-to-income ratio
DTI falls when recurring monthly debt payments decrease, qualifying gross income increases, or both. Reducing existing payments, avoiding unnecessary new monthly debt, and documenting eligible income can change the ratio; lender rules still decide what counts.
🧾 Worked examples
These three estimates compare a U.S. mortgage DTI, Canadian GDS/TDS, and current rent with the same calculation rules used above.
US mortgage example
- Gross monthly income
- $7,500
- Housing obligations
- $2,850
- Other monthly debt
- $450
- Total obligations
- $3,300
- Housing ratio
- 38.0%
- Total DTI
- 44.0%
- Remaining gross income
- $4,200
Housing = $2,200 mortgage + $400 property tax + $150 home insurance + $100 HOA.
Canada mortgage example
- Gross monthly income
- CA$9,000
- Mortgage + tax + heat
- CA$3,200
- 50% of CA$500 condo fee
- CA$250
- Housing obligations
- CA$3,450
- Other monthly debt
- CA$500
- Estimated GDS
- 38.3%
- Estimated TDS
- 43.9%
- Remaining gross income
- CA$5,050
The condo-fee line shows the portion included in this Canadian planning method.
Current rent example
- Gross monthly income
- $5,000
- Monthly rent
- $1,600
- Other monthly debt
- $500
- Housing ratio
- 32.0%
- Total debt ratio
- 42.0%
- Remaining gross income
- $2,900
This is a current-debt planning example, not a mortgage-underwriting qualification result.
📚 Methodology and sources
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) defines the basic DTI ratio. Fannie Mae describes U.S. mortgage debt and income treatment; the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) describes insured-mortgage GDS/TDS inputs. This is a planning calculation, not a lender decision.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
General DTI definition: monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income.
View official source →Fannie Mae Selling Guide
U.S. mortgage guidance for debt-to-income ratios and qualifying monthly obligations.
View official source →Fannie Mae Selling Guide — Monthly Debt Obligations
Treatment of credit cards, student loans, leases, and other recurring debts.
View official source →Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Canadian GDS/TDS methodology, including property tax, heating, and treatment of condo fees.
View official source →Calculation version: Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator V1 · Last reviewed: October 2026 · Maintained by: FigureNorth Editorial Team. Review status: planning calculator based on cited public guidance; actual lender, insurer, and loan-program treatment may differ.
❓ Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator FAQ
What is a debt-to-income ratio and how do I calculate it?
Debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, compares recurring monthly debt obligations with gross monthly income. Divide the monthly obligations included in the calculation by gross monthly income and multiply by 100 to express the result as a percentage.
Should I use gross income or net income for DTI?
Use gross income before taxes and other deductions. If you choose Annual income in this calculator, both the main income field and the optional additional-income field should be annual amounts.
What debts and bills count in debt-to-income ratio?
This planning calculator counts housing and recurring payments such as credit cards, vehicle loans or leases, student and personal loans, child support or alimony, and other debts. Groceries, utilities, phone and internet bills, and ordinary spending are not entered as debt payments here. Lender treatment can differ.
Do I use my credit card balance or monthly payment for DTI?
For a U.S. planning estimate, enter the required monthly payment, not the full balance. For CMHC-insured Canadian mortgage calculations, unsecured lines of credit and credit cards are assigned a monthly amount of at least 3% of the outstanding balance; enter the appropriate lender or CMHC-style amount rather than assuming the statement minimum is sufficient.
Do student loans count in debt-to-income ratio?
Yes, enter the applicable recurring student-loan payment. A lender may calculate a qualifying payment differently when a loan is deferred or reports a zero payment; this calculator does not determine that payment for you.
Does rent count in debt-to-income ratio?
This calculator includes current rent in Rent mode for a personal housing-and-debt view. For a proposed mortgage, lenders may instead use the qualifying housing payment for that loan; do not automatically count both current rent and the proposed mortgage. Lender rules vary.
What is the difference between front-end and back-end DTI?
Front-end DTI, or the housing ratio, divides housing obligations by gross monthly income. Back-end DTI divides housing plus recurring monthly debts by gross monthly income. Mortgage programs may define qualifying income and obligations differently.
What is considered a good debt-to-income ratio?
There is no universal approval cutoff. As one U.S. example, Fannie Mae generally caps manually underwritten total DTI at 36%, allows up to 45% with specified credit-score and reserve requirements, and permits up to 50% for Desktop Underwriter casefiles. Other loan programs have different rules; this calculator does not judge eligibility.
Does debt-to-income ratio affect your credit score?
DTI itself does not directly affect a credit score because income is not part of that score. DTI compares monthly debt payments with gross income; credit utilization compares revolving balances with available revolving credit. Debt information can influence both measures in different ways.
What are GDS and TDS in Canada?
Gross Debt Service (GDS) divides housing obligations by gross income; Total Debt Service (TDS) adds other recurring debt. This Canadian mortgage estimate includes the entered mortgage payment, property tax, heating, and 50% of condo fees in housing. CMHC's 39% GDS and 44% TDS limits are insured-mortgage reference points, not an approval decision from this calculator.