Student Loan Payment Calculator for Mortgages
See the student loan payment a mortgage underwriter has to count for VA, conventional, FHA and USDA loans. It is often not the payment on your credit report.
Student Loan Qualifying Payment
VA · Conventional · FHA · USDA
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How to Use the Student Loan Payment Calculator
- Choose your mortgage loan type: VA, conventional, FHA or USDA.
- For each student loan, enter the balance, the payment on your credit report and the loan’s status.
- Click Calculate Qualifying Payment.
The student loan payment calculator applies your program’s rule to each loan and compares all four programs. Add the total from the student loan payment calculator to your other debts in our DTI Calculator.
How Each Loan Program Counts Student Loans
VA loans
If written evidence shows the loan is deferred at least 12 months past closing, no payment is counted. Otherwise the lender uses 5% of the balance divided by 12, or the credit report payment if it is higher. A lower payment can be used only with a statement from the student loan servicer dated within 60 days of closing.
Conventional loans (Fannie Mae)
The lender may use the payment on the credit report. A documented $0 income-driven payment can count as $0. For deferred or forbearance loans, the lender uses 1% of the balance or a fully amortizing payment based on the documented terms. This calculator uses 1%.
FHA loans
FHA uses the payment on the credit report or the documented payment when it is above zero. When the payment is zero, FHA uses 0.5% of the outstanding balance, whatever the loan’s payment status.
USDA loans
USDA uses the reported or documented payment when it is above zero, and 0.5% of the outstanding balance when the payment is zero.
Student Loan Payment FAQ
Why is the payment counted higher than what I pay?
Income-driven and deferred payments can change, so most programs count a set percentage of the balance unless the rules allow the actual payment.
Which program is most favorable for a $0 income-driven payment?
Conventional (Fannie Mae) can count a documented $0 income-driven payment as $0. FHA and USDA count 0.5% of the balance, and VA counts 5% of the balance divided by 12 unless a servicer statement supports the lower payment.
Does this change my debt-to-income ratio?
Yes. The qualifying payment is added to your monthly debts. Use our DTI Calculator with the total shown here.
