Debt-to-income is the real gatekeeper, not your income alone
Lenders do not just look at what you make. They look at what you make against what you already owe, all of it added together against your gross monthly income. That ratio, not your salary by itself, is usually what actually caps how much house you can buy.
Two people earning the same income can qualify for very different loan amounts depending on what else shows up on their credit report. A car payment or student loan you barely notice month to month can meaningfully change this number.
Self-employed or paid on 1099? Count your income the way a lender will
On a standard loan, a lender usually uses your income after business write offs, averaged over the last two years of tax returns. If you write off a lot, the number on your tax return can sit well below what actually lands in your accounts, and that smaller number is what this math sees.
Bank statement programs work differently. They qualify you on your deposits over 12 or 24 months instead, so your affordable price can come out higher. Run this calculator once with your tax return income and once with the income your deposits support, and I will show you which loan type fits where.
This is a ceiling, not a target
The number this calculator gives you is the top of what the math allows, not what I would necessarily recommend you spend. Plenty of buyers qualify for more than they actually want their payment to be, and that is a completely reasonable place to land.
I would rather show you the real ceiling and let you decide how close to it you want to live, than quietly assume you want to max it out.
Your down payment changes the ceiling more than people expect
A larger down payment does two things at once. It lowers your loan amount, which lowers your payment, and it can improve your pricing depending on the loan type. Both of those push your affordable price up, sometimes by more than people assume from a percentage point or two of difference.
This is also where down payment assistance programs can change the math entirely for a first-time buyer. If your savings are the limiting factor rather than your income, that is worth a real conversation before you assume a number is out of reach.
Getting pre-approved is a different, more precise step
This tool works off a target debt-to-income ceiling you set yourself. An actual pre-approval runs your real credit, your real income documentation, and the specific guidelines of the loan program that fits your situation, which can move this number in either direction.
Think of this as the conversation starter, the number that tells you roughly where to start looking, before we run the real one together.