Mortgage Affordability Calculator — Roughly What Could You Borrow?

Lenders typically offer around 4 to 4.5 times annual income, adjusted for your outgoings. Enter income and deposit below for a realistic borrowing RANGE and the price bracket it puts you in — on screen, no signup. It's deliberately a range, not a single number: every lender weighs outgoings, credit and stress tests differently, so a point figure would be false precision. A planning figure, not a lender decision.

No signup. The 4–4.5× income rule of thumb lenders start from — a planning range, not a lender decision.

This check runs on screen, no signup. The full property report is £9.99 Lite / £24.99 Complete — one report, one price, no subscription.

How lenders really decide

The 4–4.5× income multiple is where lenders start, not where they finish. From there they deduct the effect of committed outgoings (loans, cards, childcare), consider dependants and credit history, and stress-test whether you could still pay if rates rose. That's why two households with the same income can be offered different amounts — and why this page shows a range and calls it a planning figure.

Worked example

A couple with a £62,000 combined income and a £40,000 deposit, with modest commitments: 4–4.5× income gives a borrowing range of about £248,000–£279,000, suggesting a search bracket around £288,000–£319,000 once the deposit is added. Significant monthly commitments pull the range down — the calculator deducts them from income before applying the multiple.

What lifts or lowers your multiple

  • Committed outgoings — the biggest lever after income itself; clearing a car loan or card balance before applying can move the offer.
  • Credit history — thin or damaged files reduce both the multiple and the products available.
  • Deposit size — a lower loan-to-value doesn't change the income multiple much, but it unlocks cheaper rates and more lenders.
  • Dependants and childcare — counted as ongoing costs in most affordability models.

General education, not advice — a broker or lender applies the real rules to your file.

What this cannot tell you

This is not a Decision in Principle: only a lender can give one, after a credit check. It also can't see your credit file or apply any lender's actual stress rates. Use the range to set your bracket, then before you fall for a house at the top of it, work out the stamp duty and the monthly cost of actually owning it.

Frequently asked questions

As a rule of thumb, 4–4.5 times gross annual income: £40,000 supports roughly £160,000–£180,000, and a £62,000 joint income roughly £248,000–£279,000. Lenders then adjust for monthly commitments, dependants, credit history and their own stress tests — which is why the calculator gives a range, not a promise.
Usually yes — the multiple applies to combined gross income, so two incomes raise the range directly, and combining deposits improves your loan-to-value, which can also unlock better rates. Enter the second applicant's income in the calculator to see the combined range.
Because the honest answer IS a range. Every lender weighs outgoings, credit history and stress tests differently, and the same applicant can be offered meaningfully different amounts by different lenders on the same day. A single figure would be false precision — the range sets your search bracket; a lender sets the number.
No. A Decision in Principle (or Agreement in Principle) comes from a lender after a credit check and is their provisional statement of what they'd lend you. This calculator is the arithmetic before that step — use it to set the bracket you search in, then get a DIP before you offer.
Yes. Affordability rules mean committed outgoings — loans, credit card balances, childcare — can pull the multiple a lender applies below 4×. The calculator deducts your annualised monthly commitments from income before applying the multiple, which is a simplified version of the same effect.

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Mortgage CalculatorStamp Duty CalculatorBuying Costs CalculatorTrue Cost of Owning a House

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