DTI (Debt-to-Income Ratio)

Your monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. The primary qualification metric for most mortgage programs.

DTI measures your ability to repay. Front-end DTI is housing payment (PITIA) ÷ gross monthly income. Back-end DTI adds all other monthly debts (cars, credit cards, student loans). Conventional loans typically cap back-end DTI at 45-50%; FHA goes to 55%+ in some scenarios. Self-employed borrowers calculate income from tax returns (or via bank statement programs that skip the DTI math).

Example

$2,500 housing payment + $800 other debts = $3,300 ÷ $9,000 income = 36.7% back-end DTI

Related terms

PITIA

Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance + HOA dues. The full monthly housing payment used in DTI calculations.

Qualified Mortgage (QM)

A category of mortgages meeting CFPB safety standards: limits on points/fees, no risky features, and a verified ability-to-repay analysis.

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