How Much Home Loan Can I Get on My Salary?

On a take-home salary of ₹1 lakh a month with a ₹10,000 car EMI, you can usually borrow somewhere around ₹46 lakh over 20 years at an 8.5% rate, as long as the home is worth enough to support it. The exact number depends on three things: the share of your income the lender lets go to EMIs, the rate and tenure, and RBI's cap on how much of the property's value a lender can fund. This guide walks through each step so you can estimate your own figure before you talk to a bank. It comes from MoneyKarma, India's home loan platform with 90+ lenders. Not a lender.

Step 1: Your take-home pay sets the EMI ceiling

Lenders start with your net monthly income, the amount that actually lands in your account, and subtract the EMIs you already pay on car loans, personal loans and credit card balances. What is left is the room for a home loan EMI.

The share of income a lender lets you spend on all EMIs together is usually called FOIR, short for fixed obligations to income ratio. RBI does not set a single FOIR number. Each lender has its own policy, and the limit often moves with your income band, whether you are salaried or self-employed, and your credit score. In this guide we use 50% purely as an illustration.

That is why two colleagues on the same salary can walk out with very different offers. If one of them pays a ₹15,000 car EMI and the other has no loans, the second person has ₹15,000 more a month to put towards the home loan.

What counts as income

For salaried borrowers, lenders usually look at recent salary slips, bank statements and Form 16. Fixed pay counts in full. Variable pay, bonuses and incentives are often counted only in part, or averaged over a couple of years. Rental income from another property may be added, usually at a discount. Ask the lender how it treats each part of your pay before you rely on it.

Step 2: The EMI turns into a loan amount

Once the lender knows the EMI you can carry, the loan amount depends on two more inputs: the interest rate and the tenure.

At an assumed 8.5% a year over 20 years, every ₹1 lakh of loan costs about ₹868 a month (MoneyKarma calculation, standard reducing-balance EMI formula). So an EMI budget of ₹40,000 supports a loan of roughly ₹46 lakh.

Small changes in the rate move this number a lot. The lowest starting rate we found on 9 October 2026 was 7.00% at a public-sector bank, offered to salaried borrowers with a credit score of 800 or more (lender's published rate card, checked 9 October 2026). At 7.00% over 20 years, the same ₹40,000 EMI supports about ₹51.6 lakh, roughly ₹5.5 lakh more than at 8.5%.

Tenure matters too. Stretching the same ₹40,000 EMI to 25 years at 8.5% supports about ₹49.7 lakh instead of ₹46 lakh. You pay more interest over the life of the loan, but you can always prepay later, which we come back to below.

Step 3: RBI's LTV limit caps the loan against the home's value

Even if your income supports a large loan, a lender can only fund part of the property's value. RBI calls this the loan to value (LTV) ratio. For individual home loans from banks, the limits in the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 (as updated on 1 October 2026) are:

Housing finance companies follow the same three tiers under paragraph 58 of the Reserve Bank of India (Housing Finance Companies) Directions, 2025. We checked for any 2026 change to these tiers and found none.

Two details catch people out. First, the property value used here excludes stamp duty, registration and other documentation charges, so you pay those from your own pocket. The one exception is a home costing up to ₹10 lakh, where these charges may be added to the cost. Second, the lender values the property itself, and that valuation can come in below the price on your agreement.

On a ₹60 lakh flat, the loan can be at most ₹48 lakh at 80%. You need at least ₹12 lakh of your own money, plus stamp duty, registration and interiors on top.

A worked example

Kavya takes home ₹1 lakh a month and pays a ₹10,000 car EMI. Say her lender caps total EMIs at half her income. That leaves ₹40,000 for a home loan EMI.

• At an assumed 8.5% over 20 years, ₹40,000 supports about ₹46 lakh.
• She likes a flat priced at ₹60 lakh. The LTV cap there is ₹48 lakh.
• Her income, not the LTV rule, is the binding limit. She needs about ₹14 lakh as down payment, before stamp duty and registration.

Now suppose her credit score qualifies her for 7.00%. Her ₹40,000 EMI could support ₹51.6 lakh, but the LTV cap still stops the loan at ₹48 lakh. At that point a better rate lowers her EMI rather than raising her loan.

The 50% FOIR and 8.5% rate are illustrations. Your lender's own policy and your profile decide the real numbers.

Four ways to raise the amount you can borrow

• Close or prepay small loans first. Clearing a ₹10,000 EMI adds the same ₹10,000 to your home loan budget.
• Add a co-applicant with income. A working spouse or parent can lift the combined figure, and both of you may be able to claim tax benefits.
• Choose a longer tenure, then prepay when you can. Under RBI's Pre-payment Charges on Loans Directions, 2025, floating-rate home loans to individuals sanctioned or renewed from 1 January 2026 carry no prepayment charges.
• Check your credit score early. Correcting an error in your credit report takes time, and a better score can mean a better rate.

Salary vs loan: quick reference

At an assumed 8.5% over 20 years, with no other EMIs and a 50% FOIR used only for illustration:

These are starting points, not offers. Each figure still has to fit inside the LTV cap for the home you choose.