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MortgageSMART™by Emanate Finance
MortgageSMART™ tool
Mortgage Borrowing Power Estimator
General information only — illustrative modelling, not credit assistance or an offer of finance. Actual outcomes depend on your circumstances, lender policy, rates and fees.
How much you can borrow is decided by your surplus, not your salary.
Lenders take your income, remove tax, subtract a minimum living-cost allowance for your household, subtract every existing commitment, and then test whether what's left could still cover the repayments at a rate roughly 2 per cent higher than you'd actually pay. Whatever survives that test is your borrowing power.
Adjust the inputs below to see which of them is really holding your number down. For most households it isn't income.
Free estimate · No personal details required · Does not impact your credit score
Your indicative borrowing range
Every lender measures this differently, so a single number is misleading. Each applicant's income is taxed individually, then two assessment approaches — cautious and generous — give you the range you're likely to sit inside.
0 dependants
$95,000
Taxed individually on the 2025-26 resident scale — about $6,151 a month after tax and Medicare.
$0
Lenders shade rental income — typically counting 70% to 90% of it — and this range reflects that.
$0
Family payments, government benefits, child support or a second job. Policy on each varies widely.
$4,200
A minimum household floor applies, so between $4,200 and $4,620 a month is assessed.
$0
Repayments on any property loan that will still exist after this one settles. Most lenders assess these at a buffered rate too.
$0
$0
Assessed on the limit, not the balance — about $0 a month.
$0
Indicative borrowing range
$210,000 – $265,000
Assessed at 7.94% over 30 years. The lower end shades your non-base income harder and applies a higher living-cost floor; the upper end is closer to a lender that counts more of it. Where you land depends on whose policy fits you.
- Mid-point loan
- $240,000
- Likely actual repayment
- $1,430
- Monthly surplus assessed
- $1,531 – $1,951
- Commitments counted
- $0
A reasonable planning figure until a lender is chosen.
On the mid-point at 5.94% — what you'd really pay.
Income after tax, living costs and commitments.
Mortgages kept, loans, card limits and HECS-HELP each month.
At the assessment rate the mid-point loan would be tested at $1,751 a month — the gap to $1,430 is the buffer doing its job. If the actual figure looks comfortable but the range looks small, the constraint is usually your existing commitments, and those are often the fastest thing to change.
Illustrative estimate based on the figures you entered. Actual outcomes may vary — the assumptions behind it are at the bottom of this page.
Your next move
Somewhere around $240,000 — but whose policy fits you?
The spread above is lender policy, not maths. Take the 60-second MortgageSMART™ quiz and we'll show you which end of that range is realistic for your income type, and what would move it.
No documents · takes about 60 seconds · does not impact your credit score
What moves the number
Five things that change your borrowing power quickly
Credit card limits. Assessed on the limit, not the balance. Reducing limits you never use can lift capacity within days.
Buy now pay later and small loans. Modest repayments, disproportionate effect, because they consume surplus at the assessment stage.
Which lender you apply to. Policy on overtime, bonuses, commission, casual income, self-employed add-backs and rental income varies enormously.
Declared living expenses. Lenders apply a floor based on household size, so understating expenses doesn't help — but a genuinely tidy set of accounts does.
Loan term and structure. A longer term lowers the assessed repayment and lifts capacity, at the cost of more interest overall. That trade-off deserves a decision, not a default.
Borrowing the maximum and borrowing the right amount aren't the same question
An estimator answers "what's the ceiling?". The more useful question is what repayment still leaves you room to live, save and absorb a rate rise — and what the total cost of that loan looks like over the term.
Plenty of the files we see would have been better served by borrowing slightly less and structuring the loan properly. That's the part a capacity calculator can't tell you.
Already have a mortgage?
See what your existing loan could be doing better.
MortgageSMART™ reviews your structure, remaining term, other debts and equity together — the levers that take years off a mortgage rather than dollars off a repayment.
Two minutes · no documents · does not impact your credit score
Common questions
Borrowing power questions we're asked most
Why do lenders assess me at a higher rate than I'll pay?
Under APRA guidance lenders add a serviceability buffer — commonly around 2 per cent — to the rate you'd actually be charged, then check you could still afford the repayments. It's a stress test, not a prediction. It's also why your borrowing power moves whenever rates move, even before your own repayment changes.
Why do two lenders give me very different numbers?
Because the inputs differ, not just the maths. Lenders vary in how much overtime, bonus, commission or rental income they'll count, the minimum living expense floor they apply, how they treat HECS-HELP, how they assess credit card limits versus balances, and how they treat existing debts you're keeping. The same household can see a spread of well over $100,000 between lenders.
Do credit cards reduce how much I can borrow?
Yes, and usually by more than people expect, because most lenders assess a notional repayment on your card limit rather than your balance. A card with a $20,000 limit and nothing owing on it can still reduce your borrowing power. Reducing or closing limits you don't use is often the cheapest way to lift capacity.
Does a HECS-HELP debt matter?
It reduces your assessable surplus because the compulsory repayment comes out of your income while the balance remains. Some lenders take a more workable view than others where the debt is nearly paid out. It rarely stops an application, but it does move the number.
How accurate is this estimate?
Treat it as a starting range, not a decision. It models the figures you enter against one generic assessment approach. It doesn't apply any individual lender's policy, doesn't verify your income and isn't an approval, pre-approval or offer of finance.
What clients say
148 Google reviews · rated 5.0
Want a real borrowing range across multiple lenders?
We'll take your actual income and commitments and tell you where the useful lenders land — and what would need to change to move the number.
Video, phone or email — whatever suits you.