How UK lenders decide what you can borrow
Before lending, a UK lender must check that you can afford the repayments without financial difficulty. The FCA's rules (CONC 5.2A) require it to look at your income and your non-discretionary spending, such as housing, bills and existing credit, as well as your credit history.
No regulator sets a fixed ratio for personal loans, and each lender has its own scoring. So this calculator starts from your own budget: what's left after your commitments and essentials is the most you could put towards a new loan.
How the amount is worked out
Most you could repay each month = take-home pay − existing credit repayments − essential spending − money kept spare. The loan is the amount that repayment would pay off over the term at your APR, converted to a monthly rate the way UK lenders do, (1 + APR)^(1/12) − 1.
Worked example
You take home £2,600 a month, pay £150 on a credit card, spend £1,500 on essentials and want to keep £300 spare. That leaves £650 a month for a loan. At 8% APR over 5 years, £650 a month repays £32,269.19. You'd repay £39,000 in total, and 30.8% of your take-home pay would go on credit.
What else affects eligibility
Your credit score, employment, residency, age and the purpose of the loan all matter, and lenders set their own minimum incomes and maximum loan sizes. The APR you're offered can differ from the representative APR in adverts, which changes how much your repayment buys.
Many lenders and comparison sites offer an eligibility check using a soft search, which doesn't affect your credit score. A full application leaves a hard search on your file.
To check the repayment on a specific amount, use the UK loan calculator.
Borrowing in the US?
The country choices above the inputs open separate local pages. US lenders usually measure debt-to-income against your gross income, and quote a note rate divided by 12. Choosing United States opens that page and resets the inputs; amounts are not converted.
For a US loan, use the US loan qualification calculator in US dollars.
Inputs for the UK loan eligibility calculator
Monthly take-home pay
Your pay after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, plus any other regular income you can show a lender.
Existing credit repayments
What you pay each month on loans, credit cards, car finance and buy now pay later. Leave out a loan this new one will replace.
Essential monthly spending
Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities, food, travel, insurance and childcare. Lenders also count these when they check affordability.
Money to keep spare
A monthly cushion for one-off costs and price rises. Keeping some back makes the estimate more realistic.
APR
The APR you expect to be offered. The rate shown is only an example.
Term
How many years you'd repay over. A longer term lets the same repayment buy a bigger loan, at a higher total cost.
CALCULATOR QUESTIONS
UK loan eligibility calculator questions
How much can I borrow on my salary?
It depends on what's left of your take-home pay after your commitments and essentials. On £2,600 a month with £650 spare, a 5-year loan at 8% APR is about £32,269.
Is there a maximum debt-to-income ratio in the UK?
Not for personal loans. The FCA requires lenders to check affordability, but each lender sets its own limits and scoring.
Does checking my eligibility affect my credit score?
This calculator doesn't touch your credit file. Lenders' eligibility checkers use a soft search, which other lenders can't see; only a full application leaves a hard search.
Why might I be offered less than this?
Lenders also weigh your credit history, job and existing debts, and may offer a higher APR than you expected, which shrinks the loan your repayment covers.