Two applicants with identical earnings may qualify for different mortgage amounts.

Two acronyms you may not hear very often are GDS and TDS, which stand for Gross Debt Service and Total Debt Service.   Even though we may not see them as often, these ones are a huge part of your home-buying qualification, since lenders use these two ratios to decide exactly how much money they will allow you to borrow.

 

Gross Debt Service calculates your housing costs in relation to your income this way:

Mortgage Payment + Property Taxes + Heating Costs + 50% of your Condo Fees

Annual Income

 

Total Debt Service adds in any other debt, like credit cards, car payments, and other loans to the calculation.

Housing Expenses (per GDS) + Credit Card Interest + Car Payments + Other Loan Expenses

Annual Income

 

The standard, average numbers lenders look for are 32% for GDS, and 40% for TDS. (Household expenses representing < 32% of total annual income, and total debt load is < 40% of your income.)  Lenders express this as 32/40.

Excellent credit score, stable/high income, and higher down payment may allow ratios up to 39/44.

CMHC allows a maximum of 35/42 on insured mortgages [as of July 2020].

Plug your numbers into this calculator to see what the lender will see when they process your application!