The debt-to-income ratio: Your ticket to loan approval and lower rates

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Your path to loan approval and/or a favorable interest rate.

© Annap/stock.adobe.com, © AndreyPopov—iStock/Getty Images; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Unless you’re independently wealthy, major purchases—like cars and homes—will involve taking on some type of debt. However, that debt is going to follow you around. Every time you apply for a loan in the future, whether it’s a small personal loan or a large mortgage, the lender will want to know how much debt you have relative to your income.

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) measures your monthly debt payments relative to your monthly income. It can have a big impact on whether you get approved for a loan and the interest rate you end up with—determining how much the loan will cost you. Let’s take a look at this measure of your debt, including how to calculate the debt-to-income ratio and its effect on your finances.

Your debt-to-income ratio is expressed as a percentage of your monthly debt payments in comparison to your monthly gross income. If you have a DTI of 25%, it indicates that a quarter of your monthly pre-tax income is being used to make minimum payments on your debts.

Your DTI doesn’t usually include extra money you put toward debt repayment. Instead, your DTI compares your gross (pre-tax) income and the minimum payments you’re required to make as you maintain your accounts in good standing.

Calculating your debt-to-income ratio is fairly straightforward. Start by looking at your gross income. Next, add up all your minimum payments. Divide the total of your minimum payments by your gross income and multiply that by 100 to get your DTI.

For example, suppose you make $48,000 a year ($4,000 a month). You have the following loans with the following monthly payments:

Your monthly debt payments add up to $990. If you divide $990 by your gross monthly income of $4,000, you get 0.2475. Multiply that by 100 for a DTI of 24.75%. If you round up, you can estimate that your debt-to-income ratio is 25%.

Your debt-to-income ratio can affect your loan and credit approval as lenders try to determine whether you’ll be able to make payments. If your DTI is too high, a lender might be reluctant to loan you more money, concerned that your debt payments will become too much for your budget.

If you’re approved despite a high debt-to-income ratio, you could wind up paying a higher interest rate. You’ll likely pay more overall for the loan. But by lowering your DTI, you can increase your chances of getting a loan in the future—and save money on interest charges.

There are different guidelines when it comes to debt-to-income ratios and what’s considered attractive to a lender. For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggests that renters limit their DTI to 15% to 20%, because rent payments aren’t included in debt-to-income calculations. On the other hand, because a mortgage is included in the calculation, the CFPB recommends that homeowners keep their DTI to 36%.

This doesn’t mean that lenders won’t provide you funding if you exceed these numbers. For example, according to the government, a “qualified mortgage” can be issued to those with DTIs of up to 43%. Some lenders will provide you with loans even when you have a DTI above 50%—but be prepared to pay a very high interest rate.

Your DTI is also used for what’s known in mortgage lending circles as the 36/28 qualifying ratio. Although you can get approved for a home outside this metric, the reality is that you’re more likely to get the lowest mortgage rates and best terms if you meet the requirements.

Basically, the 36/28 ratio states that your mortgage should be no more than 28% of your gross monthly income, while your total debt payments (including the new mortgage payment) shouldn’t exceed 36% of your gross monthly income. So, in our earlier scenario, your mortgage payment shouldn’t be more than $1,120 of your $4,000 monthly income. And because 36% of $4,000 is $1,440, that leaves you only $320 of other debt payments to meet this qualifying ratio.

In our example, adding a mortgage without paying off some of the other debt would push the DTI above 50%.

Simply put, there are only two ways to reduce your DTI:

Because the debt-to-income ratio measures your debt payments relative to your income, you need to change the numbers involved. If you put extra money toward your debts and pay down your balances, your DTI will be lower. Plus, paying down certain debts—like credit cards—can improve your credit score.

Increasing your income can also reduce your DTI. Using our example from above, adding a mortgage would create a situation where total debt payments are $2,110. On a $4,000 monthly income, that’s a DTI of 52.75%. If you can increase your income by $1,000 per month, your debt-to-income ratio would be 42.2%, putting you within range to get a qualified mortgage—although you’ll likely miss out on the best terms that come with a 28/36 qualifying ratio.

Of course, we can’t just wave a magic wand and make our income go up. But if financial independence and avoiding a debt trap are your goals, perhaps it’s time to look at a side hustle, or maybe even a career change.

Paying down some debt and reducing your DTI can make you more attractive to lenders and other financial services providers, meaning you might qualify for lower rates, which can help you whittle down the debt pile even faster.

It’s important to consider your debt-to-income ratio, but make sure you also understand some of the nuances.

Your DTI is figured based on your gross monthly income; it doesn’t account for taxes and other withholdings from your paycheck. If you rely too heavily on DTI to measure your financial health, you could move backward. After all, your actual spending ability is based on your net income—meaning what’s left after taxes. So, although you might be making $4,000 per month, maybe $600 is being withheld for taxes and other items. That leaves you with $3,400 in take-home pay. If you base your DTI on your net income instead of gross, suddenly your DTI with $990 in debt payments is about 29% instead of 25%.

As you plan your budget and manage your debt, consider the different ways of using your debt-to-income ratio as a measure of financial health. Lenders might be looking at your gross income, but you’ll be in a better place if you make money decisions based on your net income.