What could you actually afford?
Three figures, no account, nothing saved. The same engine the banks' packs are built on — not a teaser version of it.
About your money
Before tax and before deductions, as it appears on your payslip.
Nothing you type here is saved, submitted, or seen by a credit bureau. The sums happen in this browser.
What that instalment buys
A bond over a house, a flat or vacant land. Home loan →
at about 11,75% — prime plus 0,5%
A car, a bakkie or a bike, new or used. Vehicle finance →
at about 13,25% — prime plus 2%
Machinery, plant, vehicles for a business, or anything else with a serial number. Equipment and asset finance →
at about 13,75% — prime plus 2,5%
Unsecured money for whatever you need it for. Personal loan →
at about 22,25% — prime plus 11%
Working capital, expansion, or bridging a gap in the cash flow. Business finance →
at about 16,25% — prime plus 5%
A guide, not an offer. Every lender does its own affordability assessment under section 81 of the National Credit Act, off your bank statements and your credit record, and that is the only one that counts. The rates above are prime (11,25% from 25 September 2026) plus a rough published margin for each kind of finance, because the rate you are granted depends on a credit record we have not seen.
This applies both of the tests a bank applies and shows you which one binds, then says what that instalment buys under each kind of finance and what the interest costs you over the life of each. That last figure is the one nobody shows you and the one that decides whether it was worth it.
The two tests, and the lower one wins
A lender works out what you can carry twice and then believes the smaller answer. The first is a ceiling: an instalment may only reach about 30% of what you earn before deductions. The second is what is genuinely left over once living costs and the debt you already service are taken off.
They catch different people. A large salary with nothing left at the end of the month fails the second test however comfortable the percentage looks. A modest salary with almost no outgoings fails the first, because the ceiling does not care how frugal you are. Whichever is smaller is the honest figure, and it is the one used here.
Why the same instalment buys such different amounts
Because the interest differs enormously, and the reason is security. Where a bank can take a bond over a house or register its interest over a vehicle, it has somewhere to go if it all goes wrong, so it lends at a rate close to prime. Unsecured money has nothing standing behind it but your word, and it is priced accordingly.
The same instalment can carry close to a million rand of home loan and a small fraction of that as a personal loan. If there is a way to secure what you are borrowing, it is almost always worth asking.
What it does not know
The rate you are actually granted. That depends on your credit record, which we have not seen, so the figures here assume prime plus a rough published margin for each kind of finance and say so beside every one of them. A good record gets a concession off that. A thin or damaged one gets a loading, or a decline.
It also does not know what your bank statements say. Every lender does its own affordability assessment under section 81 of the National Credit Act, off three months of statements and a credit report, and that assessment is the only one that counts. This is a guide so that you go into it knowing roughly where you stand.
Questions
How much can I borrow on my salary in South Africa?
Roughly: a lender allows an instalment of about 30% of your gross monthly income, then checks that the money is actually there once your living costs and existing debt are paid, and uses whichever figure is lower. That instalment is then turned into a loan amount at the rate and term for that kind of finance — which is why the same salary carries a far bigger home loan than personal loan.
Does a bank use my gross or my net salary?
Both, for different parts of the sum. The 30% ceiling is worked out on gross income, before tax and deductions, as it appears on your payslip. What is left over is worked out on what actually reaches your account and leaves it again, off your bank statements. Overstating the gross figure here only produces a number that a bank will later contradict.
Will the bank offer me what this says?
No, and nothing on this page is an offer. Every lender does its own affordability assessment under section 81 of the National Credit Act, off your bank statements and your credit record, and that is the only assessment that counts. This tells you roughly where you stand before you spend a weekend looking at houses you cannot carry.
Does using this affect my credit record?
No. Nothing is submitted, no credit bureau is contacted and no enquiry is recorded. Nothing you type on the page is saved anywhere either — the arithmetic happens in your browser and the figures never leave it.
Why is a personal loan so much more expensive than a bond?
Because nothing stands behind it. A home loan is secured by the property and runs for twenty years at close to prime; a personal loan is secured by nothing, runs for three years, and is priced for the risk that it is not repaid. Over the life of each, the difference is not a few per cent — it is often several times the interest.
What should I count as what it costs me to live?
Everything that leaves the account each month: rent or bond, food, transport and fuel, school fees, medical aid, insurance, airtime, the lot. Count your existing loan and card repayments separately in the third box. A figure close to the truth is worth far more than a flattering one, because a lender works it out from your statements anyway.
Read next
- AffordabilityHow much can I borrow?Banks do not start from your salary. They start from what is left after everything else, and then they stress it. Here is the arithmetic, and the three things that move it most.Read →Self-employedA bond when you are self-employedNo payslip does not mean no bond. What a bank reads instead, why drawing a small salary works against you, and how to present an income a credit officer can actually use.Read →RatesWhat your interest rate meansWhat prime is, what a rate concession means, and what the difference between two offers costs you over twenty years.Read →DepositDo I need a deposit?Often not. What a deposit actually buys you is a better rate rather than permission to borrow — and sometimes clearing a debt beats saving one.Read →