---
title: "DTI (Debt-to-Income Ratio) — What It Means | Ondo RE"
canonical: https://www.ondorealestate.com/glossary/dti/
---

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- DTI (Debt-to-Income Ratio)
Mortgage & lending[All terms starting with D](/glossary/#letter-D)

# DTI (Debt-to-Income Ratio)

Also called: debt to income, debt-to-income, back-end ratio, front-end ratio

The share of your gross monthly income taken up by monthly debt payments, including the proposed housing payment.

Underwriters usually look at two ratios. The front-end ratio counts only the housing payment. The back-end ratio counts the housing payment plus the other monthly obligations reporting on your credit: car loans, minimum card payments, student loans, and support obligations.

What counts is narrower than most people expect. It is monthly obligations on the credit report, not your whole budget: groceries, utilities, and childcare generally do not appear, while a car payment you intend to pay off soon still does.

## Why it matters

DTI is usually the constraint that decides how much home you qualify for, more often than the down payment. Published maximums are not a promise that a high-DTI file will be approved.

## Put a number on it

This term feeds the calculators below.

- [Home Affordability CalculatorEstimate what home price fits your income, debts, and expenses.](/calculators/affordability/)
- [Required Income CalculatorCalculate the income needed to qualify for your target home price.](/calculators/income/)
- [Buying Power CalculatorSee how rate, down payment, and debts change your buying power.](/calculators/buying-power/)

## Related terms

- [Pre-approvalA lender’s conditional commitment to lend after reviewing your credit, income, and assets: stronger than a pre-qualification.](/glossary/pre-approval/)
- [UnderwritingThe lender’s review of your credit, income, assets, and the property to decide whether the loan can be made.](/glossary/underwriting/)
- [PITIPrincipal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance, the four parts of a typical monthly mortgage payment.](/glossary/piti/)
- [HOA (Homeowners Association)An association governing a community, collecting dues and enforcing rules that can include rental restrictions.](/glossary/hoa/)

## Go deeper

- [DTI, front-end and back-end, with HOA](/blog/dti-frontend-backend-with-hoa/)

## More in Mortgage & lending

- [Amortization](/glossary/amortization/)
- [APR (Annual Percentage Rate)](/glossary/apr/)
- [ARM (Adjustable-Rate Mortgage)](/glossary/arm/)
- [Cash-out refinance](/glossary/cash-out-refinance/)
- [Closing costs](/glossary/closing-costs/)
- [Conforming loan](/glossary/conforming-loan/)

## Have a question about your own situation?

Ondo handles brokerage, lending, property management and notary under one roof, so the answer does not change depending on who you ask.

[Talk to Ondo](/contact/)[Browse all terms](/glossary/)

Loan information is provided by Ondo Real Estate (NMLS ID on file). This is not a commitment to lend, a loan approval, or an offer of credit. Rates, terms, and payments shown are estimates for illustration only, are not a quote, and are subject to credit approval, underwriting, and market conditions. You are not required to use Ondo for financing to buy or sell with Ondo. Equal Housing Lender. Program rules, fees, and county loan limits change. Confirm the current published schedule and lender overlays. Nothing here is a quote, a lock, or a credit decision. [Licensing and disclosures](/licensing/)