Debt-to-Income (DTI) Calculator

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is the share of your gross monthly income that goes to debt payments. You divide your total monthly debt by your gross monthly income, before taxes. A lower ratio means more breathing room; a higher one tells lenders that a new payment could stretch you thin.

Below 36% is generally considered healthy. From 36% to 43% is manageable but leaves less room, and many lenders start to hesitate. Above 43% is where approvals get harder, and above 50% is high risk for most lenders. The lower your DTI, the more options you have.

Front-end DTI covers only your housing payment as a share of income. Back-end DTI includes housing plus every other recurring debt: student loans, car loans, credit cards, personal loans and similar. Mortgage lenders look at both, while most personal lenders focus on back-end DTI.

Refinance lenders typically want your back-end DTI at or below 50%, and some prefer 43% or lower, though exact cutoffs vary by lender. Because refinancing replaces federal loans with a private one, a strong DTI plus steady income and good credit gives you the best rate. Check your DTI before you apply so you know where you stand.

It depends on the loan type. Federal loans are often counted using the payment reported on your credit report, or for income-driven plans the actual plan payment. Some lenders instead use a flat 1% of your outstanding student loan balance as the assumed monthly payment. Check with each lender how they treat your loans, because the difference can move your DTI by several points.

Yes. The fastest levers are paying down revolving balances such as credit cards (which lowers the minimum payment), avoiding new debt, and increasing income. Paying off a small installment loan entirely removes that payment from the calculation. Getting on or off an income-driven plan can also change how a lender counts your student loan payment.