TDSR & Your Loan Size: Singapore Bank Rate Comparison | Homejourney

The total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) in Singapore caps your total monthly debt repayments at 55% of your gross monthly income, and this directly determines how much you can borrow for a home loan and which bank packages you qualify for.

In this Homejourney guide, we explain TDSR, how it affects your mortgage eligibility, and how to compare bank rates safely and transparently using Homejourney's tools.

How TDSR Singapore Works in One Simple Explanation

TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) is calculated as:

TDSR = (Total Monthly Debt Obligations ÷ Gross Monthly Income) × 100%[2][4]

Under current MAS rules, your TDSR must be ≤ 55% for any new housing loan from a bank or financial institution.[2][4] This 55% limit applies to loans for HDB flats, executive condominiums (ECs) and private properties[2][3].

"Total monthly debt obligations" include:

Current or new home loan instalments
Car loans and motorbike loans
Student loans
Renovation / personal loans and credit lines
Minimum payments on credit cards
Any other secured or unsecured instalment loans[2]

For HDB and EC buyers, you must also satisfy the separate Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) of 30% of gross income, which caps just the housing instalment itself[1][2][3].

TDSR Explained: Key Rules That Affect Your Mortgage Eligibility

When you apply for a bank home loan in Singapore, the bank will check your eligibility using three main MAS frameworks:[3][4]

TDSR limit 55% – applies to all property loans
MSR 30% – applies only to HDB flats and ECs financed by banks or HDB[1][2][3]
LTV (Loan-to-Value) – caps the maximum percentage of the property price/value you can borrow[3][4]

For this article, we focus on how TDSR and MSR affect your mortgage eligibility and how to compare bank rates once you know your limits.

To see all factors together (LTV, income, age), refer to our main pillar guide: Mortgage Eligibility in Singapore: Practical Guide with Homejourney Tools Mortgage Eligibility in Singapore: Practical Guide with Homejourney Tools .

Eligibility Basics: Who Qualifies Under TDSR in Singapore?

In practice, you are more likely to qualify for a bank mortgage in Singapore if you meet all of the following:

Stable monthly income (salaried, commission-based or self-employed) with documented proof
Total monthly debt obligations within the 55% TDSR limit[2][4]
For HDB/EC buyers: housing instalment within the 30% MSR limit[1][2][3]
Reasonable credit history and repayment conduct
Loan tenure within MAS age–tenure guidelines (typically up to 30 years for HDB and 35 years for private properties, subject to age)

Common reasons borrowers fail TDSR checks include:

High car loan instalments relative to income
Multiple personal or renovation loans
High credit card utilisation and revolving balances
Trying to stretch for larger private properties (e.g. a new condo in District 15 or District 9) without first clearing existing debts

Homejourney’s eligibility calculator at Bank Rates helps you see in minutes whether your income and existing loans fit within the TDSR and MSR limits before you pay any option fee.

Key Requirements: Income, TDSR, MSR, Age & Credit Score

1. Income Requirements and What Banks Look For

Banks typically divide borrowers into three groups for TDSR calculation:

Fixed salaried employees – e.g. a teacher in Jurong or an engineer at Changi Business Park. Banks use your latest 3 months’ payslips and CPF contribution history, and may take 100% of your base pay and a haircut on variable bonuses.
Commission-based or variable income workers – e.g. real estate agents or sales staff. Banks usually average 12 months of income and apply a haircut (commonly ~30%) to be conservative.
Self‑employed / business owners – e.g. a hawker stall owner at Toa Payoh Lorong 4 or a freelancer working from home in Punggol. Banks rely on 2–3 years of Notice of Assessment, applying haircuts to account for income volatility.

These haircuts are part of the MAS affordability framework and can significantly lower the income used in your TDSR calculation, so your actual borrowing capacity may be less than your headline income suggests.[2][4]

2. TDSR Limit 55% – Practical Explanation

The MAS states that a borrower’s TDSR should be ≤ 55% for new housing loans.[4] That means:

Maximum total debt = 55% × Gross Monthly Income[2][4]

Example (single borrower):

Gross monthly income: S$7,000
Maximum TDSR allowance (55% of S$7,000): S$3,850
Existing car loan instalment: S$800
Existing personal loan: S$400
Minimum credit card payment: S$150
Remaining available for property loans under TDSR: S$3,850 − S$1,350 = S$2,500

So even if a bank’s rate is very attractive, your home loan monthly instalment cannot exceed S$2,500 under TDSR in this scenario.

3. MSR Limit 30% for HDB and EC Buyers

MSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio) caps just the housing instalment at 30% of gross monthly income for HDB flats and ECs financed by banks or HDB.[1][2][3]

Using the same S$7,000 income:

MSR cap: 30% × S$7,000 = S$2,100
Even if your TDSR allowance leaves S$2,500 for housing, your HDB or EC instalment is capped at S$2,100 by MSR.

Banks will always test MSR first for HDB/EC, then TDSR.[2][3]

4. Age, Tenure and Stress-Test Rate

MAS also requires banks to use a medium-term interest rate floor (often around 4% p.a. or higher) when calculating TDSR/MSR, even if the current package rate is much lower.[2]

On top of that:

Maximum tenure is generally up to 30 years for HDB flats and up to 35 years for private properties, subject to your age.
If the loan stretches beyond a certain age or tenure, your LTV ratio may be reduced, forcing a higher cash/CPF downpayment.[3][4]

This is why a 30‑year‑old buyer in Sengkang usually qualifies for a bigger loan than a 48‑year‑old buyer with the same income, all else equal.

5. Credit Score and Employment Stability

While MAS publishes TDSR rules, banks also conduct their own credit assessment.[3][4]

A healthy repayment record, low unsecured debt, and steady employment (usually 6–12 months with the same employer) improve your chances.
Frequent job changes, many recent loan applications, or late payments can lead to stricter internal limits or even rejection despite being within 55% TDSR.

Homejourney encourages users to check their own monthly commitments carefully and be transparent with banks; this supports responsible lending and protects buyers from over‑stretching.

Real TDSR Calculation Examples: How Much Can You Borrow?

The following simplified examples give an idea of how mortgage eligibility TDSR works for different buyers. Actual results will depend on exact bank criteria, interest rate used for stress-testing, and your full financial profile.

Example 1: Single Buyer, No Other Loans (Private Condo)

Profile:

Age: 32
Gross monthly income: S$8,000 (fixed salary)
Existing loans: None
Property: New private condo in Queenstown

TDSR-based affordability:

Max TDSR allowance (55% of S$8,000): S$4,400
No other debts, so up to S$4,400/month can go to the home loan under TDSR.

Assuming a 30-year loan tenure and a stress-tested rate of ~4% p.a., a monthly instalment of around S$4,400 supports a loan size in the region of S$900,000–S$1,000,000 (illustrative only). Exact numbers depend on bank formula and rate.

You can model this precisely using the Homejourney mortgage calculator at Mortgage Rates or .

Example 2: Married Couple with Car Loan (HDB Resale)

Profile:

Husband: S$5,000/month
Wife: S$4,000/month
Combined income: S$9,000/month
Existing car loan: S$900/month
Credit card minimum: S$200/month
Property: 4‑room HDB resale flat in Bishan

Step 1 – TDSR (55% limit):

Max TDSR allowance: 55% × S$9,000 = S$4,950
Existing debt: S$900 (car) + S$200 (card) = S$1,100
Max available for all property loans under TDSR: S$4,950 − S$1,100 = S$3,850

Step 2 – MSR (30% limit, HDB):

MSR cap: 30% × S$9,000 = S$2,700
So their HDB loan instalment is capped at S$2,700/month, even though TDSR allows up to S$3,850.

In this case, MSR is the tighter constraint and determines their maximum loan size.

Example 3: Investor with Multiple Loans (Second Private Property)

Profile:

Age: 45
Gross monthly income: S$15,000
Existing home loan (own stay): S$3,000/month
Car loan: S$1,200/month
Personal loan: S$600/month
Property: Investment condo near Great World MRT

TDSR calculation:

Max TDSR allowance: 55% × S$15,000 = S$8,250
Existing debts: 3,000 + 1,200 + 600 = S$4,800
Remaining allowance for all property loans combined: S$8,250 − S$4,800 = S$3,450

This S$3,450 must cover both the existing and proposed loans if structured together. In practice, the bank will run detailed calculations to check if the new investment property loan fits within the 55% cap when combined with all existing debts.[2][4]

Many investors in older OCR condos (e.g. Sengkang, Pasir Ris) discover that taking up new personal or car loans after the first property can drastically reduce their ability to buy a second property under TDSR.

Interest Rates, SORA and Why They Matter for TDSR

Even though the TDSR framework uses a stress-test rate set by MAS (often higher than your package rate), the actual bank interest rate you choose affects:

Your real monthly instalment (cash & CPF outflow)
Your long-term interest costs
How comfortable you feel staying within your own preferred budget (which may be below 55% TDSR)

Today, most floating-rate home loans in Singapore are pegged to SORA (Singapore Overnight Rate Average), plus a bank spread. Fixed-rate packages, meanwhile, lock in an interest rate for a few years before reverting to a floating structure.

The chart below shows recent interest rate trends in Singapore:

Homejourney tracks live 3M and 6M SORA rates through Bank Rates , so you can see how rates are moving before deciding between fixed and floating packages.