How It Works
Front-end DTI is your housing payment alone divided by your gross monthly income. Back-end DTI adds in all other recurring debt payments. Both are exact division — there's no estimation involved once you enter accurate numbers.
Lenders use back-end DTI as one factor (among several, including credit score and reserves) when evaluating loan applications, and many people also use it informally to gauge how much of their income is already committed to debt.
Formula
- Housing — Your monthly rent or total mortgage payment (PITI)
- OtherDebts — All other required monthly debt payments
- Income — Your gross (pre-tax) monthly income
Example
Example inputs: $7,000/mo gross income, $1,800/mo housing, $600/mo other debts.
Result: Front-end DTI: 25.71%. Back-end DTI: 34.29% — at or below the commonly cited 36% comfort benchmark.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a 'good' DTI?
There's no universal cutoff, but 36% or below back-end is commonly cited as comfortable, and 43% is the standard ceiling for most Qualified Mortgages under CFPB rules. Some loan programs allow higher DTI with compensating factors like strong credit or large reserves.
Does DTI include groceries, utilities, or insurance?
No — DTI is specifically about debt obligations (loans, minimum credit card payments, housing), not general living expenses, even though those affect your real budget too.
How can I lower my DTI?
Either increase income, pay down or pay off existing debts, or reduce the housing payment you're targeting — this calculator can show the effect of any of those by changing the inputs.
This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice.