How Much Mortgage Can You Get on a $100k Salary?

It's the question almost every buyer asks: with a $100,000 salary, how big a mortgage can I actually get? There's no single magic number — it depends on your debts, down payment, interest rate and the stress test. But lenders follow a clear formula built around two ratios. Here's how it works, with a worked example you can adapt to your own numbers.

Key takeaways

• Lenders size your mortgage using two ratios: GDS (housing costs) and TDS (all debts).
• Aim for a GDS at or under 39% and a TDS at or under 44% of your gross income.
• You must also pass the stress test: qualify at the greater of your rate + 2% or 5.25%.
• Existing debts like car loans and credit cards directly shrink how much mortgage you qualify for.
• These are guidelines — your real number depends on rate, down payment, property taxes and heating costs.

The two ratios lenders use

Lenders don't lend off your salary directly — they lend off what you can comfortably carry. They measure that with two debt-service ratios, both based on your gross (pre-tax) income. For a deeper dive, see what is your debt-to-income ratio.

• GDS (Gross Debt Service): your housing costs — mortgage payment, property taxes, heating, and half of any condo fees — as a share of gross income. Aim for 39% or less.
• TDS (Total Debt Service): all of the above plus your other debt payments — car loans, credit cards, lines of credit — as a share of gross income. Aim for 44% or less.

Whichever ratio is more restrictive sets your limit. Someone with significant car payments or credit-card balances will often be capped by TDS, not GDS.

What the ratios allow on $100k

A $100,000 annual salary is roughly $8,333 of gross income per month. Applying the ratio ceilings gives you a maximum amount you can put toward debt each month.

Other debts eat into your limit

Under TDS, every other monthly payment reduces what's left for housing. If you have a $500/month car payment, that's $500 less per month available for your mortgage — which can lower your maximum loan substantially.

Then comes the stress test

Passing the ratios isn't enough. With a federally regulated lender, your mortgage must also clear the stress test: you have to qualify at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or the 5.25% benchmark floor. In practice this means the lender runs your GDS and TDS using a higher 'qualifying' rate than the one you'll actually pay — so the mortgage you qualify for is smaller than your real payment alone would suggest. Full details in what is the mortgage stress test.

A worked example

Here's how the pieces fit together for a hypothetical buyer earning $100,000 with no other debts.

Get your real number

Because rate, down payment, taxes and heating all move the answer, the only way to get a precise figure is to run your own numbers. Use the HOMEH affordability calculator or read how much house can I afford in Canada.

Two buyers on the identical $100,000 salary can qualify for very different mortgages — the one with no car loan, no credit-card balance and a bigger down payment will always come out ahead. Before you shop, it's worth getting a pre-approval so you know your true ceiling.

Stretch your budget with HOMEH

Your salary sets your borrowing power, but cashback adds to your buying power. HOMEH gives eligible buyers the industry's highest Cashback Rebate — which can boost your down payment, cover closing costs, or pay down debt that's dragging on your TDS. Sellers list for 1%, or free when they also buy with HOMEH within 6 months, or $395 + HST with a Mere Posting.

Add cashback to your numbers

See how much you could get with the HOMEH cashback calculator, and learn the details in how HOMEH cashback works.