House Affordability Calculator

The biggest mistake Indian homebuyers make is walking into a bank after falling in love with a flat, rather than before. You pick the property, you get emotionally attached, and then the loan officer tells you the number you qualify for is ₹15 lakh short of the asking price. That conversation is painful, and it is entirely avoidable.

This house affordability calculator India helps you reverse the process. You start with your income and down payment, and the calculator tells you the maximum property value you can afford, the loan you can qualify for using the same FOIR method banks use internally, your estimated EMI, stamp duty and registration charges broken down by state, and how sensitive your budget is if interest rates move by half a percent or more. The result is not a rough estimate. It is the same calculation a loan officer would run before sanctioning your file.

Most EMI calculators in India ask you to enter a loan amount and spit out a monthly figure. That is a useful tool for confirming a quote. It is not a useful tool for deciding whether to buy a home in the first place. The problem is that those calculators do not account for what a bank actually considers before approving you.

Banks in India use a method called FOIR, Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio. Every bank caps the total of all your monthly EMIs including the new home loan at a fixed percentage of your gross income. SBI and most public sector banks cap this at 50%. HDFC and private banks can stretch to 55 to 65% for high earners. The word "Fixed Obligation" includes not just the home loan you are applying for but also your car loan, personal loan, education loan, and any credit card EMI that is running. If you already have ₹20,000 in existing EMIs and your income is ₹80,000, only ₹20,000 of your available FOIR budget is left for a home loan at 50% FOIR. That changes your maximum eligible loan amount dramatically.

This calculator does that deduction properly. It takes your gross income, applies the FOIR you set on the slider, subtracts your existing EMIs, and calculates the maximum home loan EMI you are actually eligible for. Then it works backwards using the reverse EMI formula to find your maximum loan and maximum property value. That is how much home you can genuinely afford, not just how much a bank might lend you on a good day with a generous officer.

For anyone who wants to understand what is happening under the hood, here is the exact method:

Step 1: Available EMI capacity
Maximum EMI for home loan = (Gross monthly income × FOIR percentage) minus existing monthly EMIs

Step 2: Maximum loan from EMI (reverse EMI formula)
Max Loan = EMI × [(1 + R)^N minus 1] divided by [R × (1 + R)^N]
Where R = annual interest rate divided by 12 divided by 100, and N = tenure in months

Step 3: Apply RBI LTV limits
Loans up to ₹30 lakh: banks can lend up to 90% of property value (10% minimum down payment)
Loans between ₹30 lakh and ₹75 lakh: maximum LTV is 80% (20% minimum down payment)
Loans above ₹75 lakh: maximum LTV is 75% (25% minimum down payment)

Step 4: Maximum property value
Max Property = whichever is lower between (Max Loan divided by LTV) and (Max Loan plus your available down payment)

The second check in Step 4 is important and often overlooked. A bank might technically approve you for a ₹70 lakh loan, but if your down payment is only ₹10 lakh, the maximum property you can buy is ₹80 lakh, not ₹93 lakh (which would be 75% LTV on a higher property). Your cash in hand sets a real ceiling alongside the bank's income-based ceiling.

These numbers come directly from this calculator. You can verify them by entering the same inputs above.

Example 1: Salaried couple in Bengaluru, combined income ₹1.2 lakh
Monthly income: ₹1,20,000 (combined with co-applicant) | Existing EMIs: ₹15,000 | Down payment: ₹25 lakh | Rate: 8.75% | Tenure: 20 years | FOIR: 50% | State: Karnataka

Example 2: First-time buyer in Delhi, single income ₹75,000
Monthly income: ₹75,000 | Existing EMIs: ₹0 | Down payment: ₹15 lakh | Rate: 9% | Tenure: 20 years | FOIR: 50% | State: Delhi (male buyer)

Notice in Example 2 that the buyer needs ₹18.74 lakh in cash, not ₹15 lakh. The stamp duty and registration charges in Delhi added ₹3.74 lakh that must come from the buyer's own funds. Banks do not finance these charges. This is the kind of gap that blindsides first-time buyers at registration.

One of the most commonly searched questions in India is "how much home loan can I get on my salary." The answer depends on your existing obligations, the state you are buying in, and the interest rate on offer. The table below uses 8.75% interest, 20-year tenure, zero existing EMIs, and 50% FOIR. These are conservative, realistic assumptions for a first-time buyer approaching a public sector bank.

These are starting estimates with zero existing EMIs. If you already have a car loan at ₹12,000 per month, subtract that from the "Max EMI" column before reading your property budget. Enter your exact numbers in the house affordability calculator above to get figures specific to your situation.

To compare what your monthly payment would look like after purchase, use our home loan EMI calculator to run different tenure and rate combinations side by side.

Six inputs, and the result is ready in under a second. Here is exactly what to enter and why each field matters.

Employment type: Salaried income is treated differently from self-employed income. If you are self-employed, banks average your last three years of ITR income, then often apply a 20 to 30% haircut before calculating FOIR. If your declared income in ITR is ₹80,000 per month but your business turnover suggests only ₹60,000 is stable, the bank uses ₹60,000. Selecting self-employed triggers a warning in the results reminding you that your bank's actual figure may be 15 to 25% lower than this estimate.

Monthly take-home income: Enter your in-hand salary after all deductions including PF, professional tax, and TDS. Not your CTC. Not your gross salary. The figure on your salary credit SMS. Banks verify this through six months of bank statements, so enter the real number.

Co-applicant income: This is one of the most underused levers in home loan planning. Adding a working spouse as co-applicant increases the income base, which directly increases your FOIR-based EMI capacity, which directly increases your eligible loan amount. A ₹60,000 take-home with a spouse earning ₹40,000 gives a combined ₹1 lakh base, potentially adding ₹20 to 30 lakh to your eligible loan compared to applying alone.

Existing monthly EMIs: Include everything that is currently running: car loan, personal loan, education loan, any credit card EMI you are servicing. Even a ₹5,000 monthly EMI reduces your home loan eligibility by approximately ₹5 to 6 lakh. Many borrowers underreport this and then face rejection or a lower sanction than expected.

Down payment available: Enter only the cash you have set aside specifically for the home purchase and can liquidate without affecting your emergency fund or other financial goals. Do not include money you might be able to arrange in the next year. Be conservative here. This is the number that determines the LTV cap in Step 4 of the calculation.

Interest rate: If you have already received a quote from a bank, enter that. If not, use 8.75% as the base estimate for a salaried applicant with a CIBIL score above 750 approaching a public sector bank in 2025. Rates from SBI and Bank of Baroda typically start around 8.5 to 8.75%. HDFC and ICICI typically start around 8.75 to 9.25% depending on the loan amount and applicant profile.

State: Stamp duty and registration charges are the most commonly ignored costs in home buying budgets. They are state-specific, must be paid entirely from your own funds (no bank funds these), and can add 5 to 9% on top of the property value depending on where you buy. Maharashtra Mumbai buyers pay 6% stamp duty plus 1% registration. Tamil Nadu buyers pay 7% plus 1%. The calculator uses 2025 government notification rates for all states listed.

FOIR slider: Default is 50%, which is the standard for most public sector banks. If you have a strong relationship with a private bank and earn above ₹1 lakh per month, some banks will stretch to 55 or 60%. Do not set it above 55% unless you have confirmation from your bank that they will use a higher FOIR for your profile.

The property price is what gets advertised. What you actually pay is meaningfully higher. Before finalising any property, add these costs to your budget and make sure you have the cash available, because none of them can be financed through your home loan.

Stamp duty: Ranges from 4% to 9% depending on your state, whether you are male or female, and whether the property is residential or commercial. Women buyers in Delhi pay 4% while men pay 6%. In Karnataka, the rate depends on the property value and sits around 5% for most residential transactions above ₹45 lakh. This calculator uses current 2025 rates. You can verify the exact rate for your state on the official IGRS (Inspector General of Registration and Stamps) portal of your state.

Registration fee: Almost universally 1% of the transaction value across Indian states. Some states like Maharashtra have a cap of ₹30,000 on registration fees for residential properties, which makes the effective rate lower for higher-value properties.

GST on under-construction properties: If you are buying from a builder whose project is still under construction and does not have an occupancy certificate, GST applies at 5% of the agreement value for regular housing and 1% for affordable housing (under ₹45 lakh in non-metros). Ready-to-move properties with an occupancy certificate are not subject to GST. This is not included in this calculator because it applies only to specific transaction types, but budget for it if your purchase qualifies.

Home loan processing fee: SBI charges 0.35% of the loan amount plus GST. HDFC charges up to 0.5% plus GST. On a ₹50 lakh loan, this is ₹17,500 to ₹25,000 plus 18% GST. Not a massive number but it needs to be in your budget.

Legal and valuation charges: Banks appoint their own advocate and valuer before sanctioning a home loan. These charges typically range from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 depending on the bank and the property's location. They are non-refundable even if your loan is not sanctioned.

Society charges and maintenance deposit: Many new housing societies collect 6 to 24 months of maintenance in advance at possession. On a mid-range apartment in Pune or Hyderabad, this can be ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh depending on the project. Ask the builder before you sign.

As a practical rule, budget 10 to 12% above the property value for all of these charges combined. On a ₹60 lakh property, that is ₹6 to ₹7.2 lakh in additional cash that must come from you.

To understand how your monthly budget will look after the purchase, our income and expense planner can help you map your post-EMI cash flow to make sure you still have room for savings and emergencies.

Home loans in India are predominantly floating rate, which means your EMI or tenure changes when the RBI adjusts the repo rate. Since 2022, the RBI has raised rates by 250 basis points and then held them. The rate environment ahead is uncertain. Understanding what a rate change does to your total repayment before you sign is not optional, it is essential.

On a ₹50 lakh loan for 20 years, moving from 8.75% to 9.50% adds ₹2,421 per month to your EMI and ₹5.9 lakh in total interest over the loan tenure. Moving from 8.75% to 10% adds ₹4,065 per month and ₹9.8 lakh more in interest. This is why the rate sensitivity table in this calculator matters. A loan that is comfortable at 8.75% should also be manageable at 9.5% before you commit to a 20-year obligation.

For a detailed breakdown of your amortisation schedule including how much of each EMI goes to principal versus interest in every month of the loan, use our EMI calculator which shows a full month-by-month repayment table.

Longer tenure means lower EMI. That is the only advantage. The cost of that lower EMI is a dramatically higher total interest payment. Here is a direct comparison on a ₹50 lakh loan at 8.75%:

The difference between a 20-year and a 30-year tenure on a ₹50 lakh loan is ₹4,814 per month in EMI but ₹35.7 lakh more in total interest paid. If your income allows you to manage the 20-year EMI without discomfort, the shorter tenure is almost always the better financial decision.

One practical middle path: take the longer tenure initially to keep EMIs manageable, then make annual prepayments whenever you receive a bonus or increment. For floating-rate home loans in India, RBI guidelines prohibit banks from charging prepayment penalties on individual borrowers, so there is no penalty for doing this.

Use our SIP calculator to estimate how much you could grow a prepayment corpus by investing a fixed amount monthly while the loan is running, then make a lump sum prepayment every 2 to 3 years to cut the tenure.

Adding a working spouse as a co-applicant is the single most effective way to increase your home loan eligibility without changing anything else about your financial profile. Most banks include 80 to 100% of the co-applicant's income when calculating the combined FOIR base. This increases the maximum available EMI, which directly increases the maximum loan.

On a ₹80,000 primary income with 50% FOIR and no existing EMIs, the maximum EMI is ₹40,000. At 8.75% for 20 years, this supports a loan of roughly ₹42.2 lakh. Adding a spouse with ₹50,000 income brings the combined base to ₹1,30,000. The maximum EMI at 50% FOIR is now ₹65,000, supporting a loan of approximately ₹68.6 lakh. The co-applicant added ₹26.4 lakh to the eligible loan amount.

Female buyers also benefit from stamp duty concessions in several states. In Delhi, women pay 4% stamp duty versus 6% for men, a saving of ₹2 lakh on a ₹1 crore property. Maharashtra offers a 1% concession to female buyers, Haryana charges 5% for women versus 7% for men. If you are buying jointly with a spouse, making the woman the primary applicant in these states is worth the paperwork.

Details on which states offer which concessions are updated on NoBroker's official state property portal pages, which are worth checking before registration since concessions occasionally change with state budgets.

Home loan tax benefits in India are real and meaningful, but they apply only under the old income tax regime. If you have opted for the new regime, these deductions are not available to you.

Section 24(b): Interest paid on a home loan is deductible up to ₹2 lakh per year for a self-occupied property. For a loan where the first-year interest is ₹4 lakh, you can claim ₹2 lakh as a deduction. At the 30% tax slab, this saves ₹60,000 in income tax in that year.

Section 80C: Principal repayment on a home loan is deductible up to ₹1.5 lakh per year, but this limit is shared with other 80C investments like PPF, ELSS, and life insurance premiums. If your existing 80C investments already use up the full ₹1.5 lakh limit, the principal repayment adds no additional deduction.

Section 80EEA: First-time homebuyers purchasing a property with a stamp duty value not exceeding ₹45 lakh can claim an additional ₹1.5 lakh deduction on home loan interest under Section 80EEA, over and above the ₹2 lakh under Section 24(b). This benefit was available for loans sanctioned up to March 2022. Check the current Finance Act or consult a CA for eligibility on new sanctions.

Section 80C on stamp duty: Stamp duty and registration charges paid in the year of purchase are deductible under Section 80C up to the ₹1.5 lakh limit. This is claimable only in the year of payment.

The tax saving estimate in this calculator uses Section 24(b) and Section 80C together at a 30% slab, which is a reasonable estimate for mid-to-senior salaried professionals. For a precise calculation of your post-home-loan tax liability in both regimes, use our income tax calculator with your full income and deduction profile.

The Reserve Bank's LTV guidelines mean that at minimum, you need 10% of the property value in cash before a bank will sanction a home loan. In practice, 20 to 25% is more realistic because a 90% LTV loan is only available for properties below ₹30 lakh, and most urban properties in metros are above that threshold.

If your target property is ₹60 lakh, you need at least ₹12 lakh (20% at 80% LTV). Add stamp duty and registration at 6% for Maharashtra or 7% for UP, and the total cash requirement reaches ₹15.6 to ₹16.2 lakh. If your current savings rate is ₹15,000 per month, you are looking at 86 to 90 months to accumulate this, without any investment growth. Investing that ₹15,000 monthly into a balanced mutual fund or RD during the accumulation period can shorten the timeline meaningfully.

Use our SIP calculator to model how long your monthly savings will take to reach your target down payment at different expected return rates.