Income Requirements for Home Loans: How Homejourney Gives You an Edge
If you are trying to understand income requirements for home loans in Singapore, the fastest way to get clarity is to check how your salary, existing debts, and property choice fit into MAS rules like TDSR and (for HDB/EC) MSR, then match this to bank criteria using a trusted platform like Homejourney.
In simple terms, your income must be high and stable enough that your total monthly debt stays within 55% of your gross income (TDSR), and for HDB/EC, housing instalments must stay within 30% of your income (MSR), on top of each bank’s own internal checks.[5][6]
This article is a focused cluster in our broader mortgage pillar, “Income Requirements for Home Loans in Singapore: Homejourney’s Definitive Guide” Income Requirements for Home Loans in Singapore: Homejourney’s Definitive Guide . It zooms in on how income requirements are applied in practice and why applying via Homejourney significantly improves your chances of approval and getting better offers.
Key Income Rules Every Singapore Borrower Must Know
In Singapore, home loan eligibility is shaped by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) rules and, for public housing, HDB policies. These are the backbone of any income requirement home loan assessment.[5]
1. Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) – applies to all property types
TDSR limits your total monthly debt repayments (including the new home loan, car loans, credit cards, personal loans and overseas property loans) to a fixed percentage of your gross monthly income.[5]
- TDSR limit: Up to 55% of gross monthly income (current MAS cap for new housing loans).[5]
- Covered debts: All monthly instalments and minimum payments (car, personal, credit card, student loans, other mortgages).
- Interest-rate “stress test”: Banks use a higher test rate (e.g. around 4% p.a. or more) rather than the current promo rate when calculating affordability, so your usable income may be lower than you expect.[1]
Example: If your combined household income is S$8,000 and you have no other loans, the maximum total monthly debt under TDSR is S$4,400 (55% of S$8,000). This figure caps your possible monthly mortgage instalment.
2. Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) – for HDB and EC buyers
If you are buying an HDB flat or Executive Condominium (EC), your Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) also applies. MSR limits your housing loan instalment alone to a percentage of gross household income.[5][6]
- MSR limit: Up to 30% of household income going to HDB/EC monthly mortgage instalments.[5][6]
- Applies to: All HDB flats and new EC purchases.
So if your household income is S$7,000, your HDB/EC mortgage instalment cannot exceed S$2,100 per month, even if you are within the 55% TDSR.
3. Income Ceilings – for HDB and EC purchases
Beyond loan rules, HDB imposes income ceilings that decide if you can buy certain flats or receive grants.[2]
- HDB new / subsidised flats: Monthly household income ceiling of S$14,000.[2]
- Executive Condo (EC): Monthly household income ceiling of S$16,000.[2]
- Grants: Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and other grants have tiered benefits up to income caps (e.g. S$9,000 for some grants).[2]
For private condos, there is no official income ceiling, but TDSR and the bank’s internal criteria still apply. In practice, this sets a minimum salary for mortgage depending on loan size and tenure.
How Banks Assess Income Eligibility in Real Life
Living in Singapore, you quickly see how differently banks treat a stable civil servant salary versus a Grab driver’s fluctuating income. Homejourney’s mortgage brokers see these patterns daily and know how each bank (DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Maybank and others) interprets your profile.
Salaried Employees
For salaried workers (for example, a teacher at a secondary school in Jurong West or a manager in Raffles Place), banks usually look for:
- Last 3–6 months’ payslips and corresponding bank statements showing salary credit.
- Latest IRAS Notice of Assessment (NOA) for tax-verified income.
- Length of employment and type of contract (permanent vs contract).
Most banks will use your gross fixed monthly salary as income, ignoring one-off bonuses. If your basic is S$6,000, banks generally take S$6,000 (not including a variable bonus paid once a year) when calculating TDSR.
Self-Employed & Variable Income Mortgage Applicants
For a self-employed mortgage applicant (e.g. a F&B business owner in Bedok or a freelance designer working from home in Queenstown), banks apply stricter rules:
- Minimum 2 years of business history and financial statements.
- Latest 2 years’ IRAS NOAs; banks often average these to derive income.
- Possible “haircut” of 10–30% on variable income to be conservative.
For a variable income mortgage (e.g. commission-based property agents or salespeople), banks typically take an average of 6–12 months of commissions and may apply a discount before using it in TDSR. The practical effect: you may need a higher headline income than a fixed-salary worker to qualify for the same loan quantum.
How Interest Rates Interact with Your Income Requirement
Banks in Singapore mostly price home loans off benchmarks like the 3M or 6M SORA, adding a fixed spread on top. When MAS and banks apply TDSR, they use a stress-test interest rate (commonly around 4% or more) to ensure you can still afford repayments even if rates rise.[1]
The chart below shows recent interest rate trends in Singapore:
When rates rise, the same loan amount results in a higher monthly instalment, which tightens your income requirement. Homejourney’s real-time SORA tracking and bank rate comparison Bank Rates help you decide whether to lock in a fixed rate, choose a floating SORA package, or wait for conditions to improve.
Step-by-Step: Check Your Income Eligibility Using Homejourney
Instead of manually guessing figures and calling each bank, you can use Homejourney’s tools to quickly understand your income eligibility and borrowing power, then submit a multi-bank application in one go.
Step 1: Estimate How Much You Can Borrow
Start at Homejourney’s bank rates page Bank Rates and scroll to the mortgage calculator Mortgage Rates / eligibility section. Enter:
- Combined monthly income (include spouse if buying together).
- Existing monthly loan repayments (car, personal, credit cards, other mortgages).
- Desired property price and estimated loan tenure.
The calculator shows your indicative maximum loan based on TDSR and—if applicable—MSR. You can immediately see if your income supports a S$600,000 HDB resale in Tampines or a S$1.4M condo near Paya Lebar MRT, for example.
Step 2: Adjust Property Budget with Homejourney Search
Use the budget results to refine your property hunt on Homejourney’s property search Property Search . Filter listings within your affordability band—say S$500k–S$650k for BTO/HDB or S$1.2M–S$1.5M for condos. This helps you avoid falling in love with units that your income simply cannot support under MAS rules.
