Calculators
Plan your budget with clarity
Run the numbers on your borrowing power and repayments. When you are ready for exact figures, we are one call away.
Understanding your borrowing power
What is borrowing power?
Borrowing power is the maximum a lender is willing to lend you, based on their assessment of what you can comfortably repay. It is not a single national figure. Every lender applies its own policy, so the same household can receive materially different answers from different lenders on the same day.
What do lenders actually look at?
Income is only the starting point. Lenders weigh your after-tax income and how reliable it is, your living expenses, any dependants, and your existing commitments. Credit cards are assessed on their limit rather than the balance, so an unused card with a high limit still reduces what you can borrow. Car loans, personal loans, buy-now-pay-later accounts and HECS or HELP debt all count. Lenders then apply a serviceability buffer, testing whether you could still meet repayments if rates rose.
Why do two people on the same salary get different answers?
Because the deductions differ. Two applicants earning identical salaries can be assessed very differently once dependants, existing debts, credit card limits and the type of income are taken into account. How a lender treats overtime, bonuses, commission or self-employed income varies from one lender to the next, and that difference alone can move a borrowing estimate by a significant margin.
How accurate is this calculator?
Treat the result as an indicative range for planning, not a decision. It works from the figures you enter and a set of general assumptions. A real assessment looks at your documents, your credit file and a specific lender’s current policy, which is what a discovery call and a pre-approval are for.
Prefer a real number for your situation? Book a free discovery call.
The calculators and tools provided are for general information purposes only. They are designed to illustrate possible scenarios and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or taxation advice. The results are based on the information you enter and certain assumptions, which may not reflect your personal circumstances. You should consider obtaining professional advice before making any financial decisions. While every effort is made to ensure the information is accurate and up to date, no guarantee is given as to its completeness or reliability.