Mortgage affordability and payment calculator
Affordability is set by two separate limits: the monthly payment your income supports at a lender's debt-to-income ceiling, and the cash you can bring to closing. This calculator estimates the full monthly cost of a price — including your state's published property tax rate, insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues — and works backwards from your income to the purchase price it supports.
Quick answer: How much house can you afford with assistance?
Your affordable price is set by gross income, existing monthly debts, the rate, taxes and insurance — not by how much you have saved. Assistance changes the cash you need at closing, not the income test. Clearing one small monthly debt often raises your price ceiling more than another month of saving does.
TL;DR
- Debt-to-income sets your ceiling; assistance solves the cash problem.
- Property taxes and insurance move the ceiling more than most buyers expect.
Quick questions
- Does an assistance second reduce what I can afford?
- A repayable second does, because its payment counts in your ratios. Deferred and forgivable seconds usually don't.
Published Last updated
- Reviewed September 2026
Payment and affordability
Property tax defaults to the published statewide effective rate for the state you pick. Every figure is an estimate for planning only — not a quote, a pre-approval, or a commitment to lend.
Estimated monthly payment
Estimated cash to close after $15,000 of assistance and a 3% closing-cost allowance: $11,000.
What price does your income support?
Debt-to-income ceilings vary by loan type, automated underwriting result and compensating factors; assistance programs frequently set their own, lower ceiling. Mortgage insurance is illustrated at a common FHA annual rate and is not a quote. Your actual rate depends on credit, loan type, occupancy, property type and market pricing at the time you lock.
Affordability is two numbers, not one
There is the payment a lender will approve, and there is the payment you can live with. Underwriting only produces the first one. It works from gross income and a debt-to-income ceiling, and it has no view on your childcare bill, your savings rate or the fact that your income is variable.
The calculator above shows both sides on purpose: the full monthly cost of a specific price on the left, and the price your income supports at a chosen ceiling on the right. Buyers who plan around the conservative setting and then get approved for more keep the option open. Buyers who plan around the maximum have no room when the insurance quote arrives high.
- Qualifying payment — set by gross income, documented debts and the loan type's ceiling.
- Comfortable payment — set by your actual take-home, savings goals and non-debt costs.
- Cash to close — a separate constraint entirely, and the one assistance actually solves.
- Reserves — money left after closing, required by many assistance programs and worth keeping regardless.
Where assistance changes the math and where it does not
Down payment assistance moves the cash-to-close constraint. It does not raise your qualifying payment, and a repayable second lowers it, because the second-lien payment counts in your debt-to-income ratio like any other obligation.
That distinction is why the tools on this site are separated. If your obstacle is the payment, more assistance will not fix it and a lower price or less other debt will. If your obstacle is the cash, assistance can be decisive — a buyer who is $18,000 short and otherwise qualified is exactly who these programs exist for.
Why the same price costs different amounts in different states
On a $400,000 home, Colorado's 0.55% effective property tax rate produces about $2,200 a year. Florida's 0.86% produces about $3,440. New Jersey's 2.23% would produce roughly $8,900 — over $550 a month of qualifying payment before a dollar of principal.
Insurance compounds it. Coastal wind exposure in Florida and wildfire exposure along Colorado's Front Range both push premiums well above the national average, and lenders escrow the full annual premium. Quote insurance early in the process; an insurance surprise has ended more contracts recently than rate movement has.
Affordability questions
How much house can I afford on my income?
Most underwriting works backwards from a debt-to-income ceiling: your total monthly debts, including the new housing payment, divided by gross monthly income. A 43% ceiling on $7,500 of income leaves $3,225 for everything, and your car loan, student loan and credit card minimums come out of that before the mortgage does.
Does down payment assistance increase how much house I can buy?
Not directly. Assistance reduces the cash you need at closing, not the payment you have to carry — and a repayable second actually adds a payment. Assistance widens which homes you can reach, not how expensive a payment you qualify for.
What is included in the monthly payment besides principal and interest?
Property tax and homeowners insurance are escrowed with the payment, mortgage insurance applies below 20% down on most loan types, and HOA dues are counted in qualifying even though they are paid separately. Together these regularly add 30% or more on top of principal and interest.
What debt-to-income ratio do lenders allow?
It depends on the loan type and the automated underwriting decision. Conventional loans commonly run to 45% to 50% with strong compensating factors, FHA files frequently approve above 50% with reserves and residual income, and assistance programs often impose their own lower ceiling on top.
Why does the calculator use a different property tax rate for each state?
Property tax is the single largest state-driven variation in a mortgage payment. The tool applies the published statewide effective rate — the median tax paid against the median home value — rather than a national placeholder, because a 0.55% state and a 2.2% state produce completely different qualifying payments on the same price.
Should I use gross or net income?
Gross — qualifying ratios are always calculated on income before tax. That is also why the qualifying maximum can feel higher than what your budget actually supports, and why the conservative 36% setting exists in this tool.
How does a car loan affect what I can buy?
Roughly speaking, every $100 of monthly debt payment removes about $15,000 to $18,000 of purchase price at current rates. A $500 car payment is often the difference between qualifying and not.
Do student loans in deferment still count?
Usually yes. Most loan types require a payment to be counted even when the loan is deferred or on an income-driven plan, typically the documented payment or a percentage of the balance. The exact treatment varies by loan type, so a deferred balance is not a zero.
How much do closing costs change what I can afford?
Closing costs and prepaid items typically run 2% to 5% of the price. They do not affect the qualifying payment at all — they affect whether you have the cash to reach the closing table, which is precisely the gap assistance is designed to close.
Is mortgage insurance permanent?
On conventional loans it comes off once the loan reaches the required equity threshold. On FHA loans with a low down payment, the annual mortgage insurance premium is generally for the life of the loan, and removing it requires refinancing into a conventional loan.
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a planning estimate built on the figures you enter. Rate, mortgage insurance, tax assessment, insurance premium and HOA dues are all property- and borrower-specific, and only a full application with documented income produces a real number.
What is the difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved?
A pre-qualification is a conversation about stated figures. A pre-approval means a lender has collected and reviewed income, asset and credit documentation and run it through automated underwriting. Sellers in competitive markets take the second seriously and largely ignore the first.
Can I use this if I am buying in a state you are not licensed in?
Yes — the calculator is educational and works anywhere. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC originates residential mortgage loans only in Florida and Colorado, so outside those states we cannot take an application or advise on your specific transaction.
Ready to see which programs fit you?
Answer 10 quick questions and see the down payment assistance programs worth checking..
September 2026 Affordability and Payment Assumptions Review
We reviewed published statewide effective property tax rates, common debt-to-income qualifying ceilings by loan type and the mortgage-rate environment used for illustration relevant to this page. No material changes requiring substantive revisions were identified this month. The information and sources shown here remain current as of our latest review.
- Checked: published statewide effective property tax rates
- Checked: common debt-to-income qualifying ceilings by loan type
- Checked: the mortgage-rate environment used for illustration
Current data & page updates
- Page last reviewed
- September 4, 2026
- Page last substantively updated
- September 4, 2026
- Next scheduled review
- October 4, 2026
- Current monthly review
- September 2026
- Live data feed
- No
Licensing & Disclosures
Simply Approved Mortgages LLC | NMLS #2620881
Florida Mortgage Broker License #MBR7685 | Colorado Mortgage Company Registration
Simply Approved Mortgages LLC is a mortgage broker and is not a direct lender. We arrange residential mortgage loans in Florida and Colorado.
Eligibility, terms, conditions, and availability vary by borrower, property, lender, loan program, and state. Not all products or programs are available in all states. All loans are subject to lender underwriting and approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.