Home buying

Home affordability calculator

Work backwards from income and debts to the biggest purchase price that fits your target debt-to-income ratio.

Gross annual income$Include BAH and BAS — VA lenders count tax-free allowances (often grossed up).Monthly debt payments$Car, student loans, minimum card payments.Down payment$Interest rate%

Target debt-to-income · VA guideline41%

Advanced — term, tax, insurance

TermProperty tax rate%Insurance / yr$

Maximum home price at 41% DTI

$378,000

$378,000 loan · $2,824 / month all-in

Principal & interest$2,327
Property tax$347
Insurance$150

Monthly income

$8,000

Max housing payment

$2,830

41% of income − debts

Front-end ratio

35%

housing ÷ income

The VA's benchmark back-end DTI is 41%; lenders go higher with residual income to spare. Ready to price a specific house? Open the VA loan calculator with this price loaded.

How affordability is calculated

We take your target DTI share of monthly income, subtract existing debt payments, and solve for the loan whose principal, interest, tax and insurance fit inside what's left. Add your down payment and round down to a clean price. Move the DTI slider to see how much a conservative ratio changes the answer, then price the house in the VA loan calculator.

Questions

Home affordability FAQ

What DTI do VA lenders allow?

The VA's guideline is 41% back-end DTI (all debts including the new mortgage). Lenders routinely approve higher when residual income — what's left after housing, debts and taxes — exceeds the VA's regional tables.

Does BAH count as income for a mortgage?

Yes. BAH and BAS are stable, documented income; because they're tax-free, many lenders gross them up by 15–25% when calculating ratios. Enter your full monthly cash — basic pay plus allowances — as annual income here.

Should I max out what the calculator says?

Usually not. The figure is a lender's ceiling, not a budget. Leave room for PCS moves, a deployment, or renting the house out later — many military buyers plan for the payment to be covered by BAH at the next station's rate.

Mission-ready lodging

House-hunting on TDY?

A crashpad gives you a furnished base of operations while you learn the neighborhoods — then buy with the VA loan calculator's numbers in hand.

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