Debt-to-Income Ratio Worksheet

Who this is for

See how much of your income goes on debt. Enter your monthly income before tax and each debt payment at your own figures, and the sheet works out the share going on debt now and again after the payoff you are planning.

Anyone paying off loans and cards who wants one figure to track, people getting ready to apply for a mortgage or other borrowing, and couples looking at the debt they carry together.

What this helps you track

• Your monthly income before tax, from every regular source
• Every regular debt payment as a monthly figure
• The share of income going on debt payments now
• The same share once the debts you plan to clear or reduce are done
• How far you are from a target of your own, if you set one

How to use it

1. Write whose figures these are and the date, and your own target share if you have one; the sheet supplies none.
2. Enter monthly pay before tax and deductions for each earner, and any other regular income, as monthly figures.
3. Against each debt, write what you pay a month now, with credit cards at their current minimum payment; cross out rows that do not apply.
4. In After plan, write what each payment will be once your planned payoff is done: zero for a debt you will clear, the same figure for one that will not change.
5. Both ratios and the gap to your target are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide total payments by total income and multiply by 100.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Should I use income before or after tax?

The usual way of working this ratio uses income before tax and deductions, which is what the sheet asks for. To see the share of your take-home pay instead, fill a second copy with take-home figures.

How do I turn weekly pay into a monthly figure?

Multiply weekly pay by 52 and divide by 12; for fortnightly pay, multiply by 26 and divide by 12; for four-weekly, multiply by 13 and divide by 12. A yearly figure is simply divided by 12.

What is a good ratio?

The sheet gives no target, because lenders, countries and circumstances differ. If a lender or adviser has given you a figure, write it in the target field and the summary shows how far you are from it.

Does rent count as a debt payment?

Rent is not borrowing, but some lenders and calculators count housing costs. Decide which way you want to count it, note it at the top and keep to it, so the figures compare from one month to the next.