How to use
- Enter the monthly rent. Include only what you want in the ratio. Utilities are in the rent number only if you type them there.
- Enter gross monthly income, before tax.
- Press Calculate. The hero is the percent.
- If you also pay a car or a card, use the debt-to-income page and put rent in the housing box.
How it's calculated
Percent = rent ÷ gross monthly income × 100.
Income has to be greater than zero. A rent of zero is zero percent, which is a valid input.
Worked example
Rent of $1,800 and gross income of $6,000 is 30 percent. The same rent on $5,000 of income is 36 percent. Nothing on the page changes those results into an approval.
Assumptions
Monthly rent and monthly gross income. A landlord who uses annual figures can multiply both numbers by 12 and the percent stays the same. Other debts, utilities you left out, and a guarantor are not in the formula.
FAQ
Is 30 percent a rule?
It is a figure people repeat. This page does not use it as a limit. Thirty percent is only what the example happens to be.
Should income be after tax?
Gross, before tax, because that is the denominator this ratio usually uses. If you want a different denominator, type that income and know you changed the question.
How do roommates work?
Type your share of the rent and your own income, or the whole rent and the whole household income. Do not mix one person's income with the whole rent unless that is the question.
Where do other debts go?
On the debt-to-income calculator. This form has no box for them.