Estimate how much you could borrow from your income, expenses and an assessment rate — then see why structure often matters more than the headline number.
How borrowing power is worked out
Your borrowing power is not a single number a bank keeps in a drawer. It is the output of a calculation every lender runs slightly differently: your income, less your living expenses and existing commitments, tested against an interest rate set deliberately higher than the one you will actually pay. That higher rate — the assessment or buffer rate — is how a lender checks you could still meet repayments if rates rose. APRA guidance has lenders adding around three per cent to the actual rate.
Use the calculator above to get an indicative figure. Enter your gross household income, your monthly living expenses, any other loan or card repayments, the rate you expect, and the term. The result is a guide to the loan size a typical lender might support — not an approval.
Why two lenders give two different numbers
The same applicant can be quoted borrowing power that differs by a hundred thousand dollars or more from one lender to the next, because the inputs are policy choices, not facts. Lenders vary on how they shade rental or overtime income, which expense benchmark (HEM) they apply, how they treat HECS or childcare, and the size of the buffer. This is exactly where getting the structure right earns its keep: the order you do things in, which lender you approach, and how the loan is built can change the number more than a small move in your income does.
Use the figure as a starting point
Treat the result as a conversation-opener, not a ceiling. If the number is lower than you hoped, there are usually levers — clearing a card, restructuring a commitment, or choosing a lender whose policy fits your circumstances. If it is higher than you expected, the question becomes whether borrowing to that limit actually serves the plan. Book a strategy session and we will run your real numbers properly.
General information only — not personal financial product or credit advice. The estimate is indicative and depends on each lender's policy, current rates and your full circumstances. AeFin is an Australian Credit Representative (CR 464548) of Finsure (ACL 384704).