Your borrowing capacity isn't set by your salary. It comes from your debt-to-income structure — monthly income measured against monthly obligations.

What counts as an obligation: principal and interest on the new loan, plus property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues, alongside existing auto loans, minimum credit card payments, and student debt. What doesn't count: utilities, most insurance premiums, and general living expenses. Those never enter the calculation.

The income side varies more. W-2 wages are straightforward. Bonuses and commissions are averaged over a period. RSUs carry their own conditions. Self-employment income is measured from tax returns, so heavy deductions make your documented income smaller than your actual cash flow. Rental income counts only in part, not in full.

This is why two borrowers earning identical salaries routinely qualify for amounts hundreds of thousands of dollars apart. The gap comes from how income is structured and what debt sits alongside it. It's also why online calculators miss — they take a salary figure and stop there.

There are ways to move the number. Paying off an installment loan with few payments left, reducing card balances, or adjusting your down payment all change the outcome. Which lever matters most depends on how your debts are structured. We work from your actual documentation to establish a figure you can rely on.