How much house can you actually afford?

Because lenders don't count them, but you still have to pay for them. A household can pass every debt-to-income ratio a lender checks and still run out of money each month once real expenses are in the picture. This calculator runs a separate leftover-income test after the standard ratios, specifically to catch that case.

The lender-approval number is what a lender's debt-to-income math would generously allow. The sustainable number is what your household's actual monthly budget — after real expenses — can support without going negative. They're often different, and the gap between them is worth paying attention to.

They're three different risk tolerances, not three different formulas. Comfortable keeps housing costs low and a real cushion in your budget. Stretch allows a tighter but still break-even budget. Risky is the most a lender's ratios alone would allow, with no cushion required — which is why it's labeled risky.

Yes. Property tax and insurance rates vary enormously by state — property tax alone ranges from roughly 0.27% to 2.2% of home value per year depending on where you live. National-average calculators miss this. Every number here uses your selected state's rate, documented on the methodology page.

A typical mortgage affordability calculator or home loan affordability calculator works backward from a loan amount a lender would approve. This one works forward from your actual budget — income, debts, and real expenses — then shows both numbers side by side, so you can see where lender approval and household sustainability diverge.

Using TrueAfford's baseline assumptions — about $4,550/month in estimated take-home pay, $450/month in other debt payments, $2,750/month in living expenses (including childcare), a $30,000 down payment, and a 30-year fixed loan at Texas property tax and insurance rates — a $70,000 salary works out to roughly $110,684 at the Comfortable tier, $154,267 at Stretch, and $247,624 at the Risky ceiling, which is the most a lender's debt-to-income ratios alone would allow. The spread is deliberate: Comfortable leaves a real monthly cushion, Risky leaves none. Your own debts, expenses, down payment, and state can move these numbers a lot, so it's worth entering your actual figures into the calculator.