Maximum mortgage under Central Bank rules, with a stressed repayment.
Maximum loan
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Repayment at your rate
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Stressed (rate + 2%)
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Extra per month
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Your breakdown
Updates live as you type| Test | Ceiling it produces |
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Two Central Bank ceilings, plus your deposit
The Central Bank of Ireland sets the macroprudential rules that decide how much any lender can advance you, and there are two hard ceilings. The loan-to-income limit caps borrowing at 4 times gross income for a first-time buyer, or 3.5 times for a second or subsequent buyer. The loan-to-value limit caps the loan at 90 percent of the purchase price for first-time buyers, so you need at least a 10 percent deposit, with a tighter limit for movers. Your actual maximum loan is the lowest of those two caps and the simple gap between the price and the deposit you have saved. This tool works out all three and takes the smallest.
An €80,000 income against a €400,000 home
Take a first-time buyer household with €80,000 of gross income, buying a €400,000 home with a €50,000 deposit, over 30 years at 4 percent. Watch which ceiling binds.
Income is the binding constraint here, not the deposit. The buyer could put down more, but they still cannot borrow above €320,000 without an exception. To clear the €400,000 price they would need either more income or a larger deposit.
The two-point rate buffer lenders apply
Caps tell you the most you can borrow. Affordability tells you whether you can actually carry it, and lenders are required to check that you could still keep up repayments if rates rose. This tool models that by recalculating the monthly repayment at your rate plus two percentage points. On the €320,000 loan, the repayment at 4 percent is about €1,528 a month. Stress it to 6 percent and it climbs to roughly €1,919, an extra €391 every month. If that stressed figure would strain your budget, the headline approval is a warning rather than a green light.
Exemptions and where the caps bend
The limits are not absolute. Each lender can grant a limited number of exceptions every year, allowing some borrowers above the income or value caps where the overall lending profile justifies it. These are scarce, tend to go to strong applicants early in the year, and should never be assumed. There are also reliefs that change the deposit picture rather than the caps themselves: the Help to Buy scheme can fund part of a first-time buyer’s deposit on a new build, and the First Home shared equity scheme can bridge part of the price. A practical tip is to get mortgage approval in principle before you bid, because it tells you which of the three ceilings actually limits you, and that determines whether saving more deposit or growing income is the faster route to the home you want.
This tool is built for buyers at the planning stage who want a realistic ceiling before they fall for a property they cannot fund. Run it with your honest combined income and the deposit you have actually saved, not the deposit you hope to have. Then move the rate up and watch the stressed repayment, because the gap between today’s repayment and the stressed one is the real measure of how much headroom you are leaving yourself. A loan that only works at the lowest possible rate is a fragile loan.
Does a second applicant’s income count fully?
Yes. For a joint application the lender combines both gross incomes and applies the 4 times or 3.5 times multiple to the total. Enter the combined figure in the income field. Bear in mind lenders assess the stability of each income, so probationary or short-term contract income may be treated cautiously.
Why is my approval lower than 4 times income?
Because the loan-to-income cap is a maximum, not a guarantee. Existing debts, childcare costs, a thin savings record, or a stressed repayment that eats too much of your net pay can all pull the offer below the headline multiple. Lenders look at affordability in the round, not just the income multiple.