The calculator below computes the Fixed Obligations to Income Ratio (FOIR) that every Indian bank uses internally to decide whether your loan goes through. Plug in your net take-home, the EMIs and rent you already pay, and the new loan EMI you’re considering. The widget tells you whether your combined obligations cross the bank’s typical 50-55% cap, and the maximum EMI the bank will sanction given your income.
If your FOIR comes out above the cap, you have three honest options: extend the new loan tenure, get a co-applicant whose income gets pooled with yours, or close out an existing loan first. The calculator helps you simulate each in seconds.
How FOIR is calculated
The formula every bank uses is straightforward:
FOIR = (Total fixed monthly obligations / Net monthly income) × 100
Inputs:
- Net monthly income = take-home (gross minus PF, professional tax, TDS). Variable pay and one-off bonuses are usually excluded; banks count only stable monthly income.
- Fixed obligations = sum of all existing EMIs (home, car, personal, gold, education) + monthly rent + minimum credit card payments + any standing fixed commitments.
The proposed new loan EMI gets added to the obligations to compute the post-loan FOIR. Banks compare this number against their internal cap and decide.
Bank-specific FOIR caps (typical 2026 ranges)
Different lenders use different caps depending on income bracket and product:
| Lender / product | Typical FOIR cap |
|---|---|
| SBI home loan, salaried | 50-55% |
| HDFC home loan, salaried | 50-60% |
| ICICI home loan | 55-65% |
| Bajaj Finserv personal loan | 50-65% |
| Tata Capital home loan | 50-60% |
| Axis Bank home loan | 50% |
| Bank of Baroda home loan | 60% (income > ₹1.2L), 50% (lower) |
| LIC HFL home loan | 50-65% |
| Kotak personal loan | 50% |
Higher-income applicants (₹1.5L+ net monthly) usually get the upper end of the range; lower-income applicants get capped lower because the absolute residual income matters as much as the ratio. Banks call this “ability-to-repay analysis” and have internal credit risk models that factor in family size, dependants, location cost-of-living, and credit score on top of the raw FOIR.
Worked example: ₹75K net income, ₹10K existing EMI, ₹22K new EMI
A typical situation for someone with one car loan considering a home loan.
- Net monthly income: ₹75,000
- Existing EMIs (car loan): ₹10,000
- Proposed home loan EMI: ₹22,000
FOIR = (10,000 + 22,000) / 75,000 × 100 = 32,000 / 75,000 × 100 = 42.67%
At 42.67%, this is comfortably below the 50-55% bank cap. The home loan should sail through approval if the credit score is decent and documentation is clean.
What’s the maximum new EMI the bank would allow at a 55% cap?
Max new EMI = (55% × 75,000) − 10,000 = 41,250 − 10,000 = ₹31,250
So the bank could go up to ₹31,250/month for the new loan. At a 8.5% home loan rate over 20 years, that’s roughly ₹36 lakh principal. The home loan eligibility is therefore around ₹36 lakh given the current obligations — useful number to walk into a sanction conversation with.
How obligations stack against income
Same ₹75K income, varying existing obligations + new loan combinations:
| Existing EMI | New EMI | Total obligations | FOIR | Verdict (55% cap) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹0 | ₹30,000 | ₹30,000 | 40.00% | ✓ Comfortable |
| ₹10,000 | ₹30,000 | ₹40,000 | 53.33% | ✓ Just within |
| ₹20,000 | ₹30,000 | ₹50,000 | 66.67% | ✗ Above cap — likely rejected |
| ₹15,000 | ₹25,000 | ₹40,000 | 53.33% | ✓ Just within |
| ₹0 | ₹45,000 | ₹45,000 | 60.00% | ⚠Over cap |
| ₹5,000 | ₹35,000 | ₹40,000 | 53.33% | ✓ Just within |
Notice that the absolute new-EMI ceiling depends entirely on what’s already on your plate. If you have ₹15K of existing obligations, your new home loan EMI capacity drops by exactly that amount.
How to improve your FOIR before applying
If your FOIR is borderline, four practical levers in order of speed:
- Pay off the smallest obligation first. Closing a ₹5K personal loan EMI immediately frees up 6.7% of FOIR room (on ₹75K income). Fastest if you have liquid savings.
- Add a co-applicant. Spouse’s salary gets added to net income, sometimes parents’ (depends on bank). This is the most common workaround — banks do it routinely for couples.
- Increase tenure. Stretching a new home loan from 20 to 25 years reduces EMI by ~7%. Costs more interest in the long run, but unblocks approval today.
- Use a lower rate or fixed-step product. Some banks offer step-up EMI schemes (low EMI now, scaling up over years) where the starting EMI is what’s used for FOIR. Useful for younger applicants on a clear salary trajectory.
The lever not to use: under-reporting existing obligations. Banks check CIBIL/Experian, your bank statement, and AA (Account Aggregator) data. Hiding a credit card EMI to manipulate FOIR shows up immediately and gets the application rejected outright.
Frequently asked questions
What income counts for FOIR?
Banks use net take-home (after PF, professional tax, TDS). For salaried applicants, the latest 3-6 months of bank statements showing salary credits are the proof. Variable pay (bonuses, incentives, ESOP cash-outs) is usually NOT counted unless it has a 2-year proven track record. Self-employed and freelance applicants have a different test — banks look at ITR-based annual income averaged over 2-3 years, plus business stability.
Are credit cards counted in obligations?
Usually the minimum payment on the outstanding credit card balance, treated as a recurring obligation. So if you carry ₹50,000 on a credit card with 5% minimum, that’s ₹2,500 added to your fixed obligations. If you pay your card in full every month, banks may exclude it but most still count something nominal because the credit limit itself represents potential obligation.
Does rent count as an obligation?
If you’re paying rent and also applying for a home loan, banks have different policies. SBI and HDFC typically include rent in obligations until the new home is ready (since you’re paying both rent + home loan EMI). Once the home loan converts to full EMI and you move in, the rent stops, so this is treated as a transitional concern. Some banks let you exclude rent if you can demonstrate you’ll move into the new property within 6 months.
What about EMIs from family members?
Only the EMIs in your name count. Family members’ EMIs (e.g., your father’s home loan, your spouse’s car loan if not jointly held) don’t reduce your FOIR. However, banks sometimes look at total household financial situation in the credit narrative, especially for high-value loans. Don’t overstate or understate this — give an honest picture in the application.
What if my FOIR is above the cap but I have high savings?
Some banks (HDFC, ICICI, Tata Capital) consider net worth and existing assets as a compensating factor. If you have ₹50 lakh in mutual funds and your FOIR is 60%, the bank may approve at a higher cap. This is more common for premium banking customers (Imperia, Privée, etc.). Standard retail underwriting models stick rigidly to the FOIR cap regardless of assets.
Do I include LIC premiums and SIPs as obligations?
SIPs are not obligations (you can stop them anytime). Insurance premiums (LIC, term, health) are usually not counted because they’re variable-frequency. The exception: ULIP premiums treated as recurring fixed payments are sometimes included. The rule of thumb — anything you’re contractually committed to pay every month and would default on if you skipped is an obligation; anything you can pause is not.
How is FOIR different from DTI (debt-to-income)?
FOIR is the Indian banking term; DTI (Debt-to-Income Ratio) is the US equivalent. Math is similar — total monthly debt payments divided by gross or net income. US lenders typically want DTI under 36%; Indian banks accept up to 55-65% because of different underwriting models and the lower household leverage in India historically.
Will my FOIR check appear on my credit report?
Yes. Each loan application triggers a “hard inquiry” on your CIBIL/Experian/Equifax report. Multiple applications in a short window (especially if rejected) hurt your credit score. Use this calculator to pre-screen before applying — only formally apply where you’re confident of approval. Banks like HDFC and Axis offer “soft inquiry” pre-approval portals where you can check eligibility without it showing up on the credit report.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction on Loans and Advances (FOIR / DTI guidelines)
- Bank of Baroda, SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Bajaj Finserv: published FOIR caps and credit policy
- CIBIL TransUnion: credit scoring and obligation reporting methodology
- Bajaj Finserv FOIR explainer (2026): typical lender ranges