Bond Affordability Calculator — What Can You Afford? (2026)
Enter your salary and the details that actually shape a real approval — existing debt, deposit, loan term — and see what a South African bank would likely approve, what it costs monthly, and how it measures against your real take-home pay.
SA banks generally apply the 30% rule: your bond instalment should not exceed 30% of your gross monthly income, at the current prime lending rate of 10.50% (SARB, held 23 July 2026). Existing debt reduces what's available; a bigger deposit increases the property price the same bond can buy. Enter your own numbers below for your exact figure.
Bond affordability isn't just a percentage of your salary — it's shaped by your existing debt, your deposit, and the term you choose, and it should be checked against what you actually take home, not just your gross pay. This calculator starts with your real salary and the details that genuinely change the outcome, then shows you the full picture: your maximum bond, the monthly instalment, the property price it supports, and how that instalment compares to your real take-home pay after tax and UIF.
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How to Use This Calculator
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1
Enter your gross monthly salary
Your total salary before tax and deductions.
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2
Add any existing monthly debt
Car finance, credit cards, personal loans — anything a bank counts against your affordability.
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3
Set your deposit
Drag the slider from 0% to 30%. A larger deposit increases the property price your bond can support.
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4
Choose your loan term
10 to 30 years. The standard South African home loan term is 20 years.
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5
Read your results
See your maximum bond, monthly instalment, maximum property price and how it compares to your actual take-home pay.
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How South African Banks Calculate Bond Affordability
Banks start with your gross monthly income and apply the 30% rule — a lending guideline aligned with National Credit Act responsible-lending principles, capping your bond instalment (and, more broadly, all monthly debt repayments combined) at roughly 30% of gross income. Existing debt is subtracted from that ceiling before your bond is worked out, so a car repayment or credit card balance directly reduces what's left for a home loan. The affordable monthly repayment is then converted into a loan amount using the prevailing interest rate over your chosen term — the same reducing-balance annuity formula used to calculate any structured loan repayment.
Bond Affordability by Salary — Quick Reference
| Gross Monthly Salary | Available for Bond (30%) | Max Bond | Max Property (10% deposit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R20,000 | R6,000 | R600,974 | R667,748 |
| R30,000 | R9,000 | R901,460 | R1,001,623 |
| R45,000 | R13,500 | R1,352,191 | R1,502,434 |
| R60,000 | R18,000 | R1,802,921 | R2,003,245 |
| R80,000 | R24,000 | R2,403,895 | R2,670,994 |
Calculated at 10.50% (SARB prime, 23 July 2026 MPC) over 20 years, zero existing debt. Actual approval depends on credit score, expenses and bank appetite — this is an estimate, not a pre-qualification.
Earning R3,501–R22,000/Month? There's a Government Subsidy Worth Checking
The figures above assume you're financing the full purchase price yourself — but if your gross monthly income falls between R3,501 and R22,000, you may qualify for First Home Finance (formerly FLISP), a once-off government subsidy of R38,878 to R169,264 paid directly toward your bond. The lower your income within that band, the larger the subsidy — it isn't a loan and doesn't need to be repaid, but it's restricted to first-time buyers who've never owned property or received a housing subsidy before, purchasing through an approved bank bond. If your salary sits in this range, it's worth confirming your eligibility before assuming the numbers above are your only path to a home loan — a subsidy this size can materially change what property price you can reach.
Want to know in detail how much you'd personally qualify for, and the exact application steps? Read the full First Home Finance (FLISP) guide on sapropertytools.co.za.
Why Your Deposit Matters More Than People Think
A deposit doesn't change how much a bank will lend you based on your income — that's fixed by the 30% affordability rule regardless of deposit size. What it changes is the total property price your bond can support: the bond only needs to cover the balance after your deposit, so a bigger deposit means the same affordable instalment can buy a more expensive home. A 20% deposit lets your bond cover 80% of the purchase price instead of 90%, meaningfully raising your ceiling without changing your monthly repayment at all.
Checking Against Your Real Take-Home Pay
The 30% rule is applied to gross salary, but what actually leaves your bank account each month is take-home pay, after PAYE and UIF. A bond that clears the 30%-of-gross test can still feel materially tighter once you see the instalment as a share of take-home pay rather than gross salary — especially at higher income levels, where a larger proportion of gross income goes to tax. This calculator shows both figures side by side so you can judge affordability against the number that actually matters day to day.
Worked Example — R35,000 Salary, 10% Deposit, 20 Years, R2,000 Existing Debt
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability ceiling (30% of gross) | R35,000 × 0.30 | R10,500 |
| Less existing debt | R10,500 − R2,000 | R8,500 |
| Maximum bond (20yr, 10.50%) | Reverse annuity formula | R851,379 |
| Maximum property price (10% deposit) | R851,379 ÷ 0.90 | R945,977 |
| Deposit amount needed | R945,977 × 0.10 | R94,598 |
| Estimated take-home pay | 2026/2027 SARS tables | R28,688 |
| Instalment as % of take-home | R8,500 ÷ R28,688 | 29.6% |
The R2,000 of existing debt directly reduces the bond this applicant qualifies for — without it, the same salary would support a bond of R1,051,704 rather than R851,379, a difference of roughly R200,000 in buying power. Checked against take-home pay rather than gross salary, the instalment represents 29.6% of what actually reaches this applicant's bank account each month — close enough to the 30% gross-income rule to be a useful sanity check, but the two numbers won't always land this close together at every income level.