Car Affordability Calculator

See a maximum vehicle price and loan payment from your take-home pay, debts, tax, fees and insurance.

Greater than 0. Up to 1,000,000,000 dollars.

Changing the period re-reads the income you typed. It does not convert it.

Changing gross or take-home re-reads the income you typed. It does not convert it.

Other than this car. 0 is allowed. Up to 1,000,000,000 dollars a month.

0 is allowed. Up to 1,000,000,000 dollars. Extra down payment is not returned as a rebate.

From 0 to 40 percent, up to 3 decimal places. 0% divides the principal by the term.

A whole number of months, from 12 to 84. The default is 60.

Your state or local rate. 0% means no sales tax. From 0 to 15 percent.

Added to the out-the-door price. 0 is allowed. Up to 1,000,000,000 dollars.

Dollars per month. Use a quote if you have one. 0 is allowed. Up to 1,000,000,000 dollars a month.

Include insurance in the 10–15% cap

Yes means the guideline covers the loan payment and insurance. No means it covers the loan payment only.

Advanced

Percent of monthly gross left for this payment after other debts. Default 36%. From 1 to 50 percent. Shown only when income is gross.

Results update as you type.

Results

Enter your numbers to see the results.

Estimates only, not a loan offer or lending advice. A common guideline is to keep the car payment (or payment plus insurance — you choose) at about 10–15% of take-home pay. This is not a lending rule. The 36% back-end debt-to-income room is a planning check against other debts, not a promise that a lender will approve you. Sales tax is whatever rate you enter (the default is 0%). The 25% used to estimate take-home from gross pay is a labeled assumption, not your actual withholding.

Last reviewed: November 5, 2026

Enter your income, other monthly debts, down payment, APR and term, then add sales tax, title or documentation fees and an insurance estimate. The tool shows how much car fits a 10% of take-home budget, a 15% budget and — when you enter gross income — the room left under a 36% back-end debt-to-income cap. The recommended figure is the stricter of the 10% cap and that DTI room (or just the 10% cap if you only entered take-home). Insurance is included in the 10–15% cap by default, so the loan payment has to share that budget with the premium. Switch the toggle if you want to treat insurance as separate.

How to use it

  1. Enter your income as monthly, annual, biweekly or weekly, and say whether it is take-home or gross.
  2. If you entered gross pay, the tool estimates take-home using the labeled 25% taxes-and-deductions assumption. Change that percent if you know a better one.
  3. Enter other monthly debt payments (not this car).
  4. Enter the down payment, APR and term in months (12 to 84; the default term is 60).
  5. Enter your state or local sales-tax rate, any title or documentation fees, and an estimated monthly insurance premium. Do not use a national average — use a quote if you have one.
  6. Leave “include insurance in the 10–15% cap” on unless you want the guideline to cover the loan payment only.
  7. Read the 10%, 15%, DTI and recommended rows: all-in cap, payment-and-interest budget, max loan, max vehicle price, sales tax, out-the-door total and the actual payment on that loan.

How it works

Worked examples

Take-home pay, insurance included (CA1).

$5,000 a month take-home, $250 of other debts, $3,000 down, 6.9% APR for 60 months, 6% sales tax, $400 of fees and $140 a month of insurance counted inside the cap. The 10% cap is $500.00 and the 15% cap is $750.00. The DTI row is hidden (“Enter gross income to see the DTI room.”). At 10%, the payment-and-interest budget is $360.00 ($500.00 − $140). Max loan is $18,224.36. Max price is $19,645.62. Sales tax is $1,178.74, out-the-door is $21,224.36 and the actual payment is $360.00. At 15%, the payment budget is $610.00 and the max price is $31,584.90. Recommended is the 10% row: $19,645.62.

Gross salary plus a DTI check (CA2).

$84,000 a year gross ( $7,000.00 a month) with the 25% take-home estimate, $500 of other debts, $5,000 down, 7.5% APR for 72 months, 6.25% sales tax, no extra fees and $125 of insurance included. Estimated take-home is $5,250.00. Caps: 10% $525.00, 15% $787.50. DTI room is $2,020.00 ($2,520.00 − $500.00). Recommended follows the 10% cap, not the larger DTI room. At 10%, the payment budget is $400.00, max loan is $23,134.89, max price is $26,479.90, sales tax is $1,654.99 and out-the-door is $28,134.89. At 15%, the payment budget is $662.50, max loan is $38,316.98 and max price is $40,768.92. The DTI row would allow a $1,895.00 payment and a $107,859.29 price — far above the guideline, which is why the page highlights the stricter recommended figure.

A 0% APR loan (CA3).

$4,000 a month take-home, 0% APR for 48 months, no tax, fees or insurance, and $0 down. The 10% cap is $400.00. Max loan and max price are $19,200.23, not $19,200.00: $19,200.23 ÷ 48 rounds half-up to $400.00, while $19,200.24 ÷ 48 = 400.005, which would display as $400.01 and miss the budget. At 15%, the cap is $600.00 and the max price is $28,800.23.

Other debts already fill the DTI cap (CA4).

$4,000 a month gross, $1,500 of other debts, $2,000 down, 7% APR for 60 months, no tax or insurance. Estimated take-home is $3,000.00. DTI room is $0.00 (36% of $4,000 is $1,440, which is already less than $1,500). The DTI / recommended message is “Your other debts already use the 36% back-end cap.” Recommended loan is $0.00 and the max price is $2,000.00 — cash equal to the down payment. The 10% comparison row still shows a $300.00 payment and a $17,150.85 price; the 15% row shows $450.00 and $24,726.14. Those rows are for comparison, not the recommendation.

Insurance that uses up the 10% cap (CA5).

$5,000 a month take-home, $550 of insurance (above the $500.00 10% cap), 6.5% APR for 60 months, no tax and $0 down, with insurance included in the rule. At 10%, the payment budget is $0.00 and the message is “Estimated insurance already uses this payment cap.” Max price is $0.00. At 15%, $250 is left after insurance so the payment budget is $200.00 and the max price is $10,221.99. Recommended follows the 10% row: no financed car at that cap.

A cap that rounds down (CA6).

$4,166.67 a month take-home, 6% APR for 36 months, no extras. 10% of $4,166.67 is 416.667, shown as $416.66 (not $416.67). 15% is $625.00. The 10% max price is $13,696.20; the 15% max price is $20,544.54.

10% vs 15% in the take-home examples

10% vs 15% in the take-home examples
Example10% max price15% max priceRecommended
CA1 ($5,000 take-home, insurance included)$19,645.62$31,584.90$19,645.62
CA3 (0% APR, no extras)$19,200.23$28,800.23$19,200.23
CA5 (insurance $550)$0.00$10,221.99$0.00
CA6 ($4,166.67 take-home)$13,696.20$20,544.54$13,696.20

FAQ

How much car can I afford?

A common guideline is 10–15% of take-home pay for the payment, or for the payment plus insurance if you leave that toggle on. On $5,000 a month take-home with $140 of insurance counted inside the cap, the 10% row supports a $19,645.62 price at the CA1 loan terms. Your other debts, the down payment, sales tax and fees all change that number.

Does insurance count toward the 10–15% cap?

Yes by default. You can turn that off to measure the loan payment alone. Sales tax and title fees are always part of the out-the-door price, with or without the insurance toggle.

What is the DTI room?

It is 36% of monthly gross income minus your other monthly debts (you can change the 36% in advanced settings). It only appears when you enter gross income. In CA2 it is $2,020.00, which would allow a much more expensive car than the 10% guideline; the recommended row still follows the 10% cap.

Why is the recommended price $0, or only my down payment?

Either insurance already uses the cap you are looking at, or other debts already use the back-end DTI cap. CA5 is the insurance case at 10%; CA4 is the DTI case, where you can still pay cash up to the $2,000 down payment.

Why does a 0% loan allow $19,200.23 instead of a round $19,200?

The payment is rounded half-up to the cent. $19,200.23 divided by 48 months still displays as $400.00, which fits a $400.00 budget. One more cent would display as $400.01.

Is the 10–15% rule something lenders require?

No. It is a budgeting rule of thumb. Lenders look at credit, the vehicle, down payment and debt-to-income, among other things. This page shows both ideas so you can see where they disagree.

Should I use take-home or gross income?

The 10–15% guideline is based on take-home. If you only know gross pay, enter it and the tool estimates take-home (default assumption: 25% taxes and deductions). Gross is also what the DTI row needs.

How do I see the payment schedule for the loan I can afford?

Use the Loan Payment calculator with the recommended loan amount, APR and term.