MSR Calculator

How MSR works

MSR limits your monthly housing loan instalment to 30% of your gross recognised monthly income. It is a narrower test than TDSR (55%) because it ignores your other debts entirely and only looks at the new housing loan itself. MSR applies to HDB flats, and to Executive Condominiums bought from the developer or still within their 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

Worked example

Say a couple has a combined recognised monthly income of $9,000 and no other debts, buying an HDB flat with a 25-year loan. Their 30% MSR ceiling is $2,700 a month. Their 55% TDSR ceiling is $4,950 a month. Because $2,700 is lower, MSR binds — even though they have no other debts eating into their TDSR room. At the 4% stress rate over 25 years, a $2,700 monthly instalment supports a loan of roughly $511,000.

What changes your MSR limit

Your recognised income drives the MSR ceiling directly: fixed salary counts in full, and annual variable income (bonuses, commission) is recognised at 70% of its monthly equivalent. Adding a joint applicant combines both incomes before applying the 30% cap. Existing debts do not touch your MSR limit at all — they only affect the wider 55% TDSR limit, which is why MSR (not TDSR) usually binds for HDB buyers with clean credit.

Common mistakes

• Assuming MSR and TDSR give the same answer — for HDB and new EC buyers, MSR is almost always the tighter limit.
• Forgetting that MSR is assessed at a 4% stress rate, not your actual loan rate, which is why the MSR-based loan is smaller than a simple "30% of income ÷ rate" estimate.
• Applying MSR to an EC resale after MOP or to private property, where only TDSR applies.
• Not accounting for a co-borrower's income, which can be combined to raise the MSR ceiling.

If your MSR-based loan falls short of the loan-to-value cap, see the pledge and show funds calculator to close that gap, or the HDB loan calculator to compare an HDB concessionary loan against a bank loan on the same flat.