TDSR: Total Debt Servicing Ratio

TDSR caps all your monthly debt obligations — home loan, car loan, credit card minimums, personal loans — at 55% of your gross monthly income. It applies to all property loans in Singapore, HDB and private.

MSR: Mortgage Servicing Ratio

MSR is a stricter, additional cap that applies only to HDB flats and Executive Condominiums: your home loan instalment alone (not counting other debts) cannot exceed 30% of your gross monthly income. Since MSR only looks at the mortgage, it's often the binding constraint for HDB buyers even when TDSR would allow more.

How income is counted

  • Fixed monthly salary counts in full.
  • Variable income (bonuses, commission, rental income) is subject to a 30% haircut — only 70% of it counts towards your eligible income.
  • Banks apply a stress-test interest rate (a floor of roughly 4%, even if your actual rate is lower) when computing your maximum eligible instalment, to make sure you can still service the loan if rates rise.
Worked example

At $6,000 gross monthly income, the TDSR-permissible instalment ceiling works out to roughly $1,800/month (55% is the debt ceiling, but MSR's 30% cap for HDB flats is usually the binding constraint at this income level) — translating to an approximate maximum loan quantum of $341,000 at typical HDB loan terms. Use our TDSR/MSR Calculator to run your own numbers.

Why this matters before you view flats

Many buyers fall in love with a flat before checking their maximum loan quantum, only to discover MSR or TDSR won't support the price. Always calculate your ceiling first, then shop within it.