Before you commit to any property in Singapore, you must know exactly how much you can safely borrow. Your TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) and MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio) limits decide whether a bank can approve your housing loan and how big that loan can be. Homejourney’s integrated TDSR calculator and MSR calculator helps you check your eligibility limits and realistic borrowing capacity in minutes, using the same framework banks apply.
Having lived in Singapore and walked with many buyers from BTO launches in Punggol to resale viewings in Queenstown, I’ve seen how misunderstandings about TDSR and MSR cause last‑minute loan rejections, painful option fees forfeited, and months of delay. This guide is written to prevent that – with local examples, up‑to‑date rules, and step‑by‑step calculations tailored to Singapore’s regulations.
Table of Contents
- 1. What Are TDSR and MSR? Simple Definitions for Singapore Buyers
- 2. Why TDSR and MSR Matter Before You Search for a Home
- 3. Official Rules: Current TDSR and MSR Limits in Singapore (2025)
- 4. How Banks Calculate TDSR and MSR Step by Step
- 5. Using Homejourney’s TDSR & MSR Calculator: A Walkthrough
- 6. Real-World Singapore Scenarios and Calculation Tables
- 7. Key Eligibility Factors Beyond TDSR/MSR (Age, Tenure, Credit Score)
- 8. How to Improve Your TDSR and MSR to Borrow Safely
- 9. Integrating TDSR/MSR with Property Search and Budget Planning
- 10. Homejourney’s Safety-First Approach: Verification, Singpass & Multi-Bank Loans
- 11. FAQs: TDSR & MSR Questions Singapore Buyers Ask
1. What Are TDSR and MSR? Simple Definitions for Singapore Buyers
1.1 Quick definitions (for featured snippet)
Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) is the percentage of your gross monthly income that can go towards all your monthly debt repayments, including your housing loan, car loan, credit cards, study loan, and any other loans.[6]
Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) is the percentage of your gross monthly income that can go towards only your housing loan instalments, and it applies only to HDB flats and executive condominiums (ECs).[2][3]
1.2 One-sentence explanation you can remember
In everyday language: TDSR limits how much of your income can go to all your loans combined, while MSR limits how much can go to just your home loan (for HDB and EC).
1.3 Where do these rules come from?
Both TDSR and MSR are frameworks introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to ensure borrowers do not over‑stretch themselves when buying property, especially when interest rates rise or income falls.[6][2]
HDB also references the MSR rules for HDB and EC buyers to make sure monthly instalments remain affordable over time.[3]
2. Why TDSR and MSR Matter Before You Search for a Home
2.1 Avoid nasty surprises after paying option fees
In Singapore, it is common to pay an option fee (e.g. 1% of the purchase price for a private resale condo) to secure a unit. If your housing loan is later rejected due to TDSR or MSR, you may forfeit this amount.
I’ve seen buyers in Tampines and Kovan lose several thousand dollars because they assumed the bank would match an online estimate, without checking their full debt profile and stress‑tested interest rates first.
By using Homejourney’s debt ratio calculator to check your TDSR and MSR limits upfront, you reduce the risk of committing to an Option to Purchase (OTP) you cannot finance safely.
2.2 Plan your property budget around reality, not wishful thinking
Your dream of a 3‑bedder condo near Tanjong Pagar MRT may not be realistic if your TDSR is heavily used up by a car loan and credit card debts. Conversely, you might be pleasantly surprised that a 4‑room resale in Queenstown or Dakota is comfortably within your limits.
Homejourney helps you start from your borrowing capacity TDSR, then move to Property Search to shortlist units priced within your safe budget band.
2.3 Safer long-term planning
When you live here and ride out cycles of economic uncertainty – from retrenchments in CBD offices to salary cuts in hospitality – you see how quickly a high monthly instalment can become a burden.
Staying comfortably within, not just at, your TDSR/MSR limits gives you buffer if bonuses shrink or you take a break from work, and Homejourney’s calculators make it easy to model those what‑if scenarios.
3. Official Rules: Current TDSR and MSR Limits in Singapore (2025)
3.1 Current official limits
These caps are set and periodically updated by MAS; the TDSR cap was tightened from 60% to 55% in December 2021 and remains at 55% as of 2025.[2][3]
3.2 Official TDSR formula from MAS
Meteoric property prices in areas like Holland Village and Tiong Bahru have made this rule especially important, and MAS defines the calculation formally as:[6]
TDSR = (Total Monthly Debt Obligations / Gross Monthly Income) × 100%[6]
Total Monthly Debt Obligations include:
- All property loans (existing and the one you are applying for)
- Car loans
- Credit card minimum payments
- Personal loans and renovation loans
- Education loans
- Any other term debts or instalment plans
3.3 How MSR is calculated
Various financial education portals and HDB-aligned guides state the MSR formula as:[1][3]
MSR = (Monthly Housing Loan Instalments / Gross Monthly Income) × 100%[1][3]
For HDB and new EC buyers, both TDSR (55%) and MSR (30%) must be satisfied. Even if you pass TDSR, you can fail MSR if your intended instalment exceeds 30% of your income.[2][3]
3.4 Stress-test interest rate
MAS requires banks to use a medium-term interest rate floor (currently around 4% p.a. for residential property loans) when calculating TDSR and MSR, even if the actual promotional rate you see is much lower.[2][3]
That means when you key values into any TDSR calculator, including Homejourney’s, the monthly instalment is usually calculated at this higher stress rate to ensure you can still cope if interest rates rise.
4. How Banks Calculate TDSR and MSR Step by Step
4.1 TDSR calculation step-by-step
- Determine gross monthly income
Include fixed salary, variable income (with haircut), rental income (with haircut), and allowable bonuses. Self‑employed income is often averaged over a 2–3 year period with a haircut. - List all monthly debt repayments
Include car instalments, existing housing loans, student loans, personal loans, renovation loans, and minimum credit card payments. - Estimate the new housing loan monthly instalment
This is based on the requested loan amount, tenure, and the stress-test interest rate (e.g. 4% p.a.).[2] - Add up all debt obligations
Total Monthly Debt Obligations = existing debts + new housing instalment. - Apply the MAS formula
TDSR = (Total Monthly Debt Obligations / Gross Monthly Income) × 100%.[6] - Check against 55% limit
If the result > 55%, banks must reduce the loan amount or reject the loan unless exceptional criteria are met.[2][6]
4.2 MSR calculation step-by-step
- Determine gross monthly income (similar basis as TDSR).[3]
- Calculate proposed monthly housing instalment at stress interest rate and requested tenure.
- Apply formula: MSR = (Monthly Housing Loan Instalments / Gross Monthly Income) × 100%.[1][3]
- Check against 30% limit for all HDB flats and new ECs bought from developers.[2][3]
4.3 Income haircuts and variable income
For buyers working in commission-based roles (e.g. property agents, insurance, sales with high commissions) or those with regular OT, banks often apply a 30% haircut to variable components. That means only 70% of such income counts towards TDSR/MSR, to keep assessments conservative.[1]
If you are self‑employed (e.g. running a café in Bedok or a logistics business in Jurong), banks typically require 2–3 years of income documents and may average your income with a haircut to account for fluctuations.
5. Using Homejourney’s TDSR & MSR Calculator: A Walkthrough
5.1 Where to find the calculator
You can access Homejourney’s TDSR calculator and MSR calculator directly via our bank rates page: Bank Rates or the built‑in mortgage eligibility tool: Mortgage Rates .
The same page also allows you to compare live home loan packages from DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank, CIMB, RHB Bank, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank and Citibank in one place.
5.2 Inputs you should prepare
- Monthly gross income (fixed salary and typical variable components)
- Existing loans: car, student, renovation, personal loans
- Average monthly credit card obligations (at least the minimum payments)
- Desired property price and downpayment amount
- Preferred tenure (e.g. 25, 30, or 35 years, subject to rules)
- Property type (HDB, EC, or private property)
5.3 What Homejourney’s calculator shows you
When you key in your details, our debt ratio calculator will:
- Estimate your TDSR percentage and whether it is within the 55% cap
- Estimate your MSR percentage (for HDB/EC) and whether it is within the 30% cap
- Show your maximum safe loan amount based on these limits
- Estimate your expected monthly instalment using stress-test rates
- Highlight how different tenures affect your monthly payment and ratios
From there, you can click to compare specific bank packages on Bank Rates and even launch a Singpass-powered application.
5.4 Homejourney’s Singpass/MyInfo integration
When you proceed from calculation to application, Homejourney allows you to use Singpass/MyInfo so your income, CPF and employment details are auto‑filled securely. This reduces manual data entry errors that can affect your TDSR/MSR assessment and speeds up bank approvals.
You can learn the full Singpass loan application steps in our detailed guide: Singpass贷款申请完整步骤指南：Homejourney安全再融资2025 .
