How Much Can I Borrow on a $100k Salary in Australia?
Updated 2 September 2026 · 5 min read
Quick answer: a $100,000 salary is only one part of a lending assessment. A useful borrowing estimate needs your household costs, dependants, card limits, other debts and loan assumptions. A generic range cannot show whether a particular lender will approve you.
Why two people on $100k can get different results
- One applicant may have a car loan or unused card limits while another has none.
- Childcare, rent, insurance and other household costs can change the available repayment surplus.
- Some income types are shaded or need a history before a lender will use them in full.
- The lender's assessment rate and policy may differ from the advertised home-loan rate.
Build a useful estimate
Enter your base income first, then add regular commitments and realistic living expenses. Test a second, more cautious version if your circumstances could change. BorrowPower applies a 3 percentage-point serviceability buffer for scenario planning, consistent with APRA's current minimum standard for ADIs, but it cannot replicate every lender policy.
Useful comparison: run your current position, then rerun it with a future repayment such as car finance or higher childcare costs. The difference tells you more than a generic salary range.
What to check alongside borrowing power
- Use the deposit planner to keep duty, LMI and purchase costs separate from your deposit.
- Use the repayment estimator at more than one interest rate.
- Confirm whether a lender will accept all of your income and the loan type you want.
- Get personal financial or credit advice if you need a recommendation.
Use the Borrowing Power Calculator for a transparent scenario, then check repayments and plan purchase costs.
Sources and review
Last reviewed 2 September 2026. See APRA's APS 220 standard and BorrowPower's data and methodology for the assumptions and their limits.
General information only — not financial, credit, tax or legal advice. A calculator result is not a quote or approval.