Home Loan Eligibility Calculator

How banks actually calculate your eligibility

Every Indian bank uses a version of the Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) to decide how much you can borrow. FOIR is the share of your monthly take-home that already goes to EMIs and other fixed obligations: credit card minimums, car loan, personal loan, child's education loan, anything that shows up on CIBIL. The bank works out your spare EMI capacity and reverses it into a loan amount at their offered rate and tenure.

What FOIR limit does each major bank use?

The 50% FOIR is the textbook number, but banks adjust it based on income band and employer category. The published policies of the major retail lenders look roughly like this:

Two things to read between the lines. First, your employer matters as much as your salary. A ₹1 lakh salary at Infosys gets a different FOIR cap from a ₹1 lakh salary at an unrated SME, even from the same bank. Second, income bands matter: most banks quietly use a sliding scale, applying a higher FOIR for monthly incomes above ₹1.5 lakh and a stricter one below ₹40,000.

Roughly what loan does each salary range support?

Indicative figures, assuming a 50% FOIR, no existing EMIs, an 8.5% rate, and a 20-year tenure. A co-applicant doubles each row. Real sanctions vary by bank, employer, and tenure, but the table is a useful reality check before you start house-hunting.

Why existing EMIs matter so much

Every rupee of an existing EMI eats directly into your home loan eligibility. With a ₹1 lakh salary and ₹15,000 of existing EMIs, your spare EMI capacity drops from ₹50,000 to ₹35,000, which lops roughly ₹17 lakh off the loan you can get. The cleanest move before applying for a home loan is closing small high-interest debts: credit card balances, a personal loan with 12 months remaining, an old consumer-durable EMI. Each ₹10,000 of EMI you kill adds about ₹11–12 lakh to your home loan eligibility.

How self-employed eligibility differs

For business owners and professionals, the FOIR check is the same in spirit, but the income figure goes through more filters. Banks take the average net profit (not turnover) from your last 2 to 3 ITRs. They then haircut that by 20 to 30% to account for year-to-year volatility, and apply a slightly tighter FOIR around 40 to 45%. Business vintage matters: most banks insist on at least 2 years of continuous operation. GST returns, audited financials, and consistent monthly credits in your business current account are all weighed alongside the ITR.

One quirk worth knowing: banks like HDFC and ICICI run a separate "Loan Against Property" track for self-employed borrowers, which sometimes sanctions more than a regular home loan would. Worth asking about if you own commercial space or a second residential property.

What pushes your eligibility higher

• Add an earning co-applicant. A working spouse or parent's income clubs with yours and the bank reworks the FOIR on the combined figure. Easiest single lever.
• Close small debts before applying.Every ₹10,000 in existing EMI you eliminate frees up roughly ₹11–12 lakh of home loan eligibility. Credit card balances are the highest-yield ones to clear.
• Pick a longer tenure. A 30-year tenure has a smaller monthly EMI than a 20-year, which inflates the loan you qualify for at the same FOIR. You can always prepay later and shorten the effective tenure (no penalty on floating-rate loans).
• Fix your CIBIL. 750+ unlocks lower offered rates, which lowers the EMI on a given loan amount, which raises eligibility. Pull your free report at cibil.com first and clean up errors.
• Disclose all income sources properly.Banks count 50–75% of documented rental income, 50% of averaged annual bonus, and reimbursements where they show on Form 16. Hiding these costs you eligibility.

What to do if you've been rejected

Rejections at the eligibility stage usually come down to one of three things: a CIBIL flag (defaults, write-offs, settled accounts), FOIR already crossing the bank's cap, or income-document mismatch (different ITR vs Form 16 numbers, missing GST returns for self-employed). The right play is to ask the bank for the specific reason in writing under their grievance policy. Most banks will tell you. Once you know, the fix is usually 6 to 12 months of cleaning up: pay off the smaller debts, get CIBIL errors disputed, file consistent ITRs. Try a different bank in the meantime — FOIR caps and approved-employer lists differ, so the same application can pass at PNB and fail at HDFC.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much home loan can I get on my salary?

On a ₹1 lakh net monthly salary with no other EMIs, banks will typically sanction around ₹52 to 65 lakh at 8.5% for 20 years. The headline rule is simple: total EMIs (including the new home loan) should stay under roughly half your net take-home. Existing EMIs, the rate offered to you, and the tenure you choose all push the final number up or down.

Will a co-applicant actually increase my eligibility?

Yes, but the co-applicant has to be earning. Banks add the spouse, parent or sibling's documented income to yours and recompute the FOIR — which can almost double the eligible loan. Both names go on the loan, both are equally liable for repayment, and both can claim the Section 24(b) and 80C tax benefits proportionally if the property is jointly owned.

What is FOIR?

FOIR stands for Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio. It's the share of your monthly income that already goes to EMIs. Banks want this number to stay below 50% (some go up to 60% for high-income borrowers). The lower your FOIR before applying, the more home loan they'll sanction.

I'm self-employed. Is the calculation different?

Quite a bit. Banks look at the net profit on your last 2 to 3 years of ITRs and your audited financials, not your gross turnover. They typically discount that figure by 20 to 30% to account for variability, and apply a slightly tighter FOIR around 40 to 45%. Business vintage (2+ years operating), GST filings, and your existing net worth carry more weight than they do for a salaried applicant.

How does my age affect this?

Your age caps the tenure. Most banks insist the loan be fully repaid by 60 to 65 (for salaried) or 70 (for self-employed). A 30-year-old can get a full 30-year tenure, while a 50-year-old is usually capped at 10 to 15 years. Shorter tenure means a higher EMI, which lowers the loan amount eligible at your salary.

What CIBIL score do I need?

750+ gets you the best advertised rates. 700 to 749 will get approval but at a slightly higher rate. Below 700, you're either rejected or charged 9.5%+. Pull your CIBIL report from cibil.com (it's free) at least 6 months before applying — if there are errors, the dispute resolution process takes 30 to 45 days, sometimes longer.

Can I include my rental income or bonus?

Yes. Banks consider 50 to 75% of documented rental income (you'll need a registered rent agreement plus the income on your ITR), and around 50% of your variable pay or annual bonus, averaged over the last 2 to 3 years. Always declare these on the application properly. Inflating income is fraud, but understating it costs you eligibility.

What's the difference between eligibility and LTV?

Eligibility is what your income supports. LTV is what the property value supports — and RBI caps it: 90% of the property value for homes under ₹30 lakh, 80% for ₹30 to 75 lakh, and 75% above ₹75 lakh. Your final sanction is whichever number is smaller. A ₹2 lakh salary won't get you a 100% loan against a ₹40 lakh flat, because LTV stops at 80%.

My friend has the same salary but got a higher loan. Why?

Five usual suspects: more existing EMIs eating into your FOIR, a lower CIBIL pushing your offered rate up, a shorter tenure preference, an employer outside the bank's preferred-employer list (government and Tier-1 corporate get higher FOIR caps), or an age difference that limits your maximum tenure. It's almost always one of those.

What documents do I need to submit?

Salaried: PAN, Aadhaar, last 3 months' salary slips, last 6 months' bank statements showing salary credits, and Form 16 or your last 2 years' ITRs. Self-employed: PAN, Aadhaar, last 2 to 3 years' ITRs with computation sheets, audited P&L and balance sheet, last 12 months' business bank statements, and GST returns if applicable. KYC for any co-applicant is required separately.