How much can you
borrow?

Your borrowing capacity is set by serviceability, not just income. Lenders take your after-tax income, subtract your living expenses, existing debt repayments, and a margin against your credit card limits, then check whether the surplus can cover the new loan repayment assessed at your interest rate plus APRA's 3.0 percentage point buffer. As a rough guide in early 2026, a single applicant on $95,000 with no debts can typically borrow around $440,000 to $480,000, and a couple on a combined $160,000 around $800,000 to $900,000 — but the exact figure swings heavily with your expenses, dependents, HECS debt, and credit card limits. This calculator estimates it from your real numbers.

Since October 2021, APRA has required Australian lenders to assess every new mortgage at an interest rate at least 3.0 percentage points above the actual product rate. So if your loan rate is 6.2%, the bank tests whether you could still afford the repayments at 9.2%. The buffer exists to make sure borrowers can cope if rates rise. It is the single biggest reason your borrowing capacity is lower than a simple repayment calculation suggests — this tool applies the full 3.0pp buffer to the assessment.

Heavily. Lenders don't just take your word for your spending — they apply the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM), a benchmark of minimum reasonable living costs that scales with your income, location, and number of dependents. If your declared expenses are below the HEM floor for your household, the lender uses the higher HEM figure. Every $500/month of assessed expenses reduces a 30-year borrowing capacity by roughly $60,000 to $70,000. Cutting discretionary spending in the months before you apply genuinely lifts how much you can borrow.

Yes — and it's the limit, not the balance, that counts. Lenders assess roughly 3.8% of your total credit card limits as a monthly commitment, even if you pay the card off in full each month and owe nothing. A $20,000 combined card limit is assessed as about $760/month of commitment, which can cut your borrowing capacity by $80,000 or more. Reducing or cancelling unused card limits before you apply is one of the fastest ways to lift your capacity.

A HECS-HELP debt reduces your net (after-tax) income because compulsory repayments are withheld from your pay once you earn above the threshold (around $54,435 for 2025-26), at 1% to 10% of income depending on how much you earn. Lenders treat that repayment as a reduction in serviceable income. On a $90,000 salary, an outstanding HECS debt can lower your borrowing capacity by $30,000 to $50,000. Note: from 1 June 2025 the government changed how some lenders treat HECS for serviceability — many now disregard it if the debt will be cleared within 12 months. This calculator includes the HECS repayment in net income when you tick the box.

No. Borrowing capacity is an estimate of the maximum a lender might lend based on your income and commitments. A pre-approval (conditional approval) is a lender's formal indication, after reviewing your documents and credit file, that they're willing to lend up to a stated amount subject to conditions — but it's still not a guarantee, and it doesn't account for the property valuation. This calculator gives you a capacity estimate to plan with; it is not a loan offer, pre-approval, or financial advice.

No — this tool estimates serviceability (how much repayment your income can support), not the deposit side. Your actual purchase price is the lower of your borrowing capacity and what your deposit allows at the lender's maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR). If you borrow more than 80% of the property value, you'll usually pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Use the Richify LMI Calculator and Stamp Duty Calculator to model the deposit and upfront-cost side alongside this capacity estimate.

Because each lender uses its own HEM benchmark, its own assessment of overtime and bonus income (many shade casual or variable income to 80%), its own treatment of HECS and childcare, and its own floor rate. Two lenders can differ by $100,000+ on the same applicant. The figure here uses standard, conservative assumptions (full HEM-style expenses you enter, the 3.0pp APRA buffer, 3.8% of card limits) to give a realistic mid-range estimate — a broker can tell you which specific lenders assess your situation most generously.

Yes — Richify is available to download in Australia on the App Store and Google Play, and it is free to start. The app tracks your income, loans, super, ASX shares, and property in one place, so you can see how a new mortgage would move your net worth before you commit. Felix and the specialist AI agents are built for Australians, with HECS, super, and CGT logic baked in.