How much mortgage can I get on my salary? £20k to £100k
The short answer: most UK lenders will lend you 4 to 4.5 times your salary. On £30,000 that’s £120,000 to £135,000, and on £40,000 it’s £160,000 to £180,000. But what a lender offers and what you can comfortably pay aren’t the same thing. At today’s rates of around 6%, a 4.5 times mortgage takes about 40% of the take-home pay on £30,000. A payment of 30% of take-home, which most people find comfortable, pays for nearer 3.4 times salary.
Below are the figures for every common salary: what lenders offer, what it costs each month, and how much of your pay it eats.
What lenders offer on each salary
Lenders start with a multiple of your income before tax, then cut it back if your spending, debts or credit file don’t support it. These are the ceilings at the usual multiples, with the monthly payment on a 4.5 times loan at 6% over 30 years.
| Salary | 4× | 4.5× | 5× | Payment on 4.5× | Share of take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £80,000 | £90,000 | £100,000 | £540 | 37% |
| £25,000 | £100,000 | £112,500 | £125,000 | £674 | 39% |
| £30,000 | £120,000 | £135,000 | £150,000 | £809 | 40% |
| £35,000 | £140,000 | £157,500 | £175,000 | £944 | 41% |
| £40,000 | £160,000 | £180,000 | £200,000 | £1,079 | 42% |
| £45,000 | £180,000 | £202,500 | £225,000 | £1,214 | 42% |
| £50,000 | £200,000 | £225,000 | £250,000 | £1,349 | 43% |
| £60,000 | £240,000 | £270,000 | £300,000 | £1,619 | 44% |
| £75,000 | £300,000 | £337,500 | £375,000 | £2,023 | 46% |
| £100,000 | £400,000 | £450,000 | £500,000 | £2,698 | 48% |
Take-home is after 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and a 5% workplace pension, in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Your deposit sits on top of these figures, so £20,000 saved plus a £135,000 mortgage gives a budget of about £155,000.
The number most calculators leave out
Look at the last column. When rates were 2%, a 4.5 times mortgage took about a quarter of most people’s pay. At 6% it takes 37% on £20,000 and 48% on £100,000. The share rises with salary because higher earners lose more of each pay rise to tax, while the loan grows in step with gross pay.
So here’s the other way round: how big a mortgage you can have if the payment is 30% of your take-home.
| Salary | Take-home a month | 30% of it | Mortgage that pays for | Times salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £1,447 | £434 | £72,426 | 3.6× |
| £25,000 | £1,731 | £519 | £86,603 | 3.5× |
| £30,000 | £2,014 | £604 | £100,780 | 3.4× |
| £35,000 | £2,297 | £689 | £114,958 | 3.3× |
| £40,000 | £2,581 | £774 | £129,135 | 3.2× |
| £45,000 | £2,864 | £859 | £143,312 | 3.2× |
| £50,000 | £3,147 | £944 | £157,490 | 3.1× |
| £60,000 | £3,670 | £1,101 | £183,623 | 3.1× |
| £75,000 | £4,395 | £1,318 | £219,900 | 2.9× |
| £100,000 | £5,603 | £1,681 | £280,362 | 2.8× |
None of this means you shouldn’t borrow 4.5 times. Your pay will probably rise over the years, and you may remortgage at a lower rate later. Plenty of people stretch to 35% or 40% for the first few years. But know which number you’re signing up to. The gap between a lender’s ceiling and a comfortable payment on £40,000 is about £50,865 of borrowing, or £305 a month.
When you can borrow more than 4.5 times
Since 2014 the Bank of England has limited how many mortgages of 4.5 times income or more lenders can write. Until recently each lender could put only 15% of its new loans in that bracket, so most kept their standard offer just under 4.5 times. From 28 October 2026 the cap on individual lenders was removed. Only a market-wide limit now applies, so lenders have more room to offer higher multiples to people who pass their checks.
You’re more likely to get 5 times or more if you:
- earn above a set minimum, often £50,000 to £75,000 alone or £75,000 to £100,000 jointly;
- work in a profession some lenders favour, such as medicine, law, accountancy, teaching or nursing;
- are a first-time buyer with a lender offering a dedicated scheme (Nationwide offers up to 6 times on some first-time buyer deals);
- have a larger deposit, low other debts and a clean credit file.
A broker can tell you which lenders would offer the higher multiple to someone in your position. That’s worth doing before you fall for a house.
What counts as “salary”
- Basic pay counts in full.
- Overtime, bonus and commission often count at 50% to 100% if they’re regular and you can show a history, usually through recent payslips and P60s.
- Shift allowances and unsocial hours payments, common for NHS, police and prison staff, are often treated well if they’re a regular part of your pay. See our NHS pay bands and prison officer pay pages for typical figures.
- Self-employed income is usually your average profit over two or three years, from your tax returns.
- Second jobs can count if you’ve held them for a while.
What brings the figure down
The multiple is the most you’ll be offered. Things that cut it include car finance and loans, credit card balances, childcare costs, dependants, and a weak credit file. Student loans aren’t counted as debt, but the repayment comes out of your pay, so it reduces what lenders think you can afford. Our guide to what mortgage lenders look at goes through each one, with how much a typical car payment costs you in borrowing.
Ways to make your salary go further
- Buy with someone. Lenders add incomes together. See how much a couple can borrow.
- Save a bigger deposit. It adds to your budget pound for pound and gets you a lower rate.
- Clear small debts first. A £250 car payment can cost you more than £30,000 of borrowing.
- Think about the term. 35 years lowers the payment, but you pay far more interest overall.
- Look at shared ownership if a full mortgage won’t stretch far enough where you live.
Next step
Put your figures into the mortgage affordability calculator. It shows what a lender might offer, the payment, the share of your take-home and the stamp duty. If you already know what you want to pay each month, read what mortgage £500, £1,000 or £1,500 a month gets you.
Sources
This is general information, not mortgage advice. Lenders set their own criteria. Rates and payments are examples at 6%.
Common questions
How much mortgage can I get on £30,000?
Most lenders would offer around £120,000 to £135,000, which is 4 to 4.5 times your salary. A few go to 5 or 5.5 times. At 6% over 30 years a £135,000 mortgage costs about £809 a month, around 40% of the take-home pay on £30,000.
How much mortgage can I get on £20,000?
Around £80,000 to £90,000 at 4 to 4.5 times income. At 6% over 30 years, £90,000 costs about £540 a month. Buying with someone, using a bigger deposit, or a shared ownership scheme can stretch the budget further.
How many times my salary can I borrow?
Usually 4 to 4.5 times your yearly income before tax. Some lenders offer 5 to 5.5 times, and a few offer up to 6 times for first-time buyers who meet strict criteria. Since 28 October 2026 lenders have more room to offer loans of 4.5 times income or more, as long as the market as a whole stays within the Bank of England limit.
Is 4.5 times my salary affordable?
It depends on the interest rate. At 6%, a 4.5 times loan takes around 40% to 48% of take-home pay for most earners, more than the 30% many people find comfortable. At that rate, a payment of 30% of take-home pays for roughly 3 to 3.6 times income.
Does overtime count towards how much I can borrow?
Often in part. Many lenders count 50% to 100% of regular overtime, bonus or shift allowances if you can show a track record, usually from recent payslips and P60s. Guaranteed allowances are more likely to count in full.