What fits your life?
Your chosen repayment, estimated take-home income and real household spending.
Your figuresRaynor Decision Lab · the income gate
Why can the same income produce three borrowing answers?
Enter figures you are likely to know. See how three unnamed lender types may treat the same income, debts and target loan differently.
Live exampleSet the loan, then add the household figures below
Your life3 lender typesConfirmed
Best lender-type room+$502
↔Worst lender-type room-$86
No named lenders. No live rates. No hidden policy model. No approval claim.
Add income, costs and debtsBefore the numbers
Three questions that sound similar, but are not
What changes by lender type?
Rate buffers, floors and the share of extra income included in the test.
Public rule plus broad policy rangesWhat has been assessed?
The borrowing limit a broker or lender gives after checking the full scenario.
Enter it, this tool does not invent itYour figures
Start with numbers you can find
Gross income is before tax. Card limits are on your statements. Open Advanced only if you have a better figure to replace an estimate.
Loan and comfort
Example
The loan amount you want to put through each lens.
Example
Use a rate you have seen or discussed. This tool does not fetch live rates.
Example
Your own monthly ceiling. This is different from a lender maximum.
Example
Optional. Enter a current broker or lender assessment if you have one.
Income
Gross income before tax
Applicant 1
Example
Use gross income before tax. Choose the frequency shown on the figure you know.
Example
Optional. Overtime, bonus, commission, rent or another source. The lender types count different shares of it.
Debts
Limits and monthly repayments
Example
Add up the limit on every card, even cards never used. Lenders assess the limit, not the balance.
Example
For example, a car loan, personal loan or buy now pay later repayment.
Card commitment used: $760 a month at 3.80% of the total limit.
Household spending
Example
Your regular household spending, excluding the debts entered above and the new home loan repayment.
AdvancedUse a known figure instead of an estimate
Bank buffer and lender-type floorsOfficial rule
APRA's 3 percentage point buffer anchors the two bank examples. The non-bank buffer, floors and income shares are broad policy observations. There is no single buffer override.
Example
Repayment term used in every repayment illustration.
Example
Optional. Enter a figure from an assessment. No HEM table is built into this tool.
Example
Optional. Payslips beat estimates. This replaces the tax estimate in the budget maths.
Example
Optional. Replaces the household HELP estimate. HELP is still shown from gross income for comparison.
Example
A common assessment approach. Individual lenders vary.
What moved the result
For the typical bank, the biggest pressure is existing commitments
Choose a lender type above. Each line is a monthly effect, not a borrowing-capacity promise.
1
$1,260 / monthExisting commitments
The estimated or overridden HELP amount, loan repayments and assessed card commitment.
2
$1,240 / monthHigher assessed repayment
Repayment at 9.20% instead of 6.20%.
3
$300 / monthHigher expense comparison
The entered comparison figure is higher than declared living costs.
4
$80 / monthExtra income not included
90% of the extra monthly income is included for this lender type.
Show the working
The selected lender type becomes one visible equation
The equation below follows the typical bank assumptions selected above.
EstimateCombined monthly take-home: $8,948
Based on each applicant's gross income using the 2026 to 2027 resident tax table, 2% Medicare levy and LITO.
ATO resident tax rates, reviewed 5 August 2026EstimateHELP repayment, estimated from income: $0 a month
Gross salary stands in for ATO repayment income, which may also count fringe benefits, investment losses and reportable super.
ATO study and training loan repayment thresholds, reviewed 5 August 2026Income included$9,668Take-home used plus 90% of extra income
−Living costs used$3,500Higher entered figure wins
−Other commitments$1,260HELP, loans and card-limit commitment
−Typical bank repayment$4,914Higher of buffer rate or floor
=Monthly room-$6Illustration only
Lender-type assumptions
APRA confirmed in May 2026 that its mortgage serviceability buffer remains at 3 percentage points. Lenders still apply their own policies. The owner confirms these figures against broking software before merge.
Floors and income shading are broad teaching assumptions, not live lender policy or a lender ranking. The owner confirms these figures against broking software before merge.
APRA mortgage serviceability settingsTax and take-home estimate
The 2026 to 2027 resident table includes the legislated 15 cent bracket from 1 July 2026. The estimate also applies the Medicare levy and LITO assumptions shown in the method. The owner confirms these figures against broking software before merge. The Medicare estimate is 2% of taxable income and ignores the low-income reduction and Medicare levy surcharge. LITO cannot reduce income tax below zero.
ATO resident tax ratesHELP estimate
The 2026 to 2027 marginal repayment table was published on 30 June 2026. Gross salary is used as a simplified stand-in for repayment income. The owner confirms these figures against broking software before merge.
ATO study and training loan repayment thresholdsCards and repayment maths
The illustration uses 3.8 per cent of total card limits each month. Individual lenders vary and the factor is editable. The owner confirms these figures against broking software before merge.
Repayments use standard principal and interest mathematics over the entered term. Fees, rate changes and loan features are excluded.
Moneysmart mortgage calculator guidanceYour assumptions
The interest rate is not fetched from a lender or treated as current. Income, expenses, debts, term, target loan and any professional limit come from the fields above. They remain in this browser.
Deliberately not included
No lender ranking, named lenders, HEM table, property policy or approval decision is built in. Tax and HELP estimates use public ATO formulas and remain simplified illustrations.
The connected vision
One Decision Lab, four different questions
Each tool should hand one confirmed figure to the next instead of pretending to answer everything.
CashCan I complete the purchase?Cost to Complete
CapacityWhy does my number move?You are here
PathwayHow could Help to Buy change it?Help to BuyMoveShould I buy first or sell first?Planner in reviewTake the assumptions with you
A useful result should improve the next conversation
Copy or print all three lender-type rooms, then confirm the figures that actually control the decision.
This tool provides general information using figures and assumptions you can replace. It does not calculate lender borrowing capacity, recommend a credit product, assess eligibility or provide an approval. Lender policy, verification, tax, HELP, living-cost treatment, security and your full circumstances may change the result. Confirm a current borrowing limit with a broker or lender before making a purchase decision.
Method reviewed 5 August 2026. Results are not stored or sent.