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Not enough income to get the loan you need? Your savings and investments can help.

Banks test whether your income can support the loan you want. This test is called TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio), and it caps your monthly repayments at 55% of your income. If your income alone isn't enough, MAS lets you top it up using savings and other assets. There are two ways to do this. Pledge your money — lock it with the bank for 4 years — and it counts in full. Show your money instead — keep it accessible — and only 30% of it counts, so you'll need more of it. This tool works out your shortfall, and how much you'd need to pledge, show, or both.

MAS Notice 645 rules, verified 12 Jul 2026 · TDSR 55% · Stress floor 4% p.a. · Pledged ÷48 (SGD deposits, no haircut) · Unpledged 30% recognised

The loan you need

S$
Your loan amount is LTV × your property price or valuation.
%
75% for a first housing loan; 45% / 35% for second and subsequent loans.
% p.a.
You can enter a lower rate, but MAS requires this test to use at least 4% p.a. — so the calculator will still assess you at 4%.
years
Leave this blank and the calculator will use whichever is shorter: 30 years, or the years left until you turn 65.

Your income profile

yrs
Joint borrowers: use the income-weighted average age.
S$
Enter your gross income before CPF deductions. If you're applying with a co-borrower, add both incomes together.
S$
Take your annual commission or bonus and divide by 12 for a monthly figure. Only 70% of that monthly figure counts toward your income — banks discount variable income by 30%.
S$
Car loans, other mortgages and minimum credit card payments all count as debt when testing against the 55% TDSR limit.

Close the gap: pledge or show

Pledge SGD deposits for 4 years and the bank adds the full amount to your monthly income when checking if you qualify for the loan. Pledge other eligible assets for 4 years and the bank only adds 70% of the value. Don't pledge it at all, and the bank only adds 30% of its value.
S$
If the amount you pledge isn't enough to get the loan you want, the calculator also works out how much you'd need in show funds on top of your pledge. Leave this at 0 to compare pledge-only and show-only numbers side by side.

The formula, step by step

Work out your required income first: your loan repayment (tested at whichever is higher, your rate or 4%) plus your existing debts, divided by 55%. Compare that to your assessable income — fixed income plus 70% of variable income. The difference is your shortfall. If you're pledging, multiply your shortfall by 48 (and divide by 0.7 if the asset isn't cash). If you're showing funds instead, multiply your shortfall by 48 and divide by 0.3. If you choose a combination of both, your pledge covers part of the gap and your show funds cover the rest.

How much do you need to pledge or show to add $1,000 a month to your income?

The example below shows what it takes to add $1,000 a month to your income, whether by pledging or showing. Pledge $48,000 of SGD deposits for 48 months, and the bank adds it to your income as $1,000 a month when checking if you qualify for the loan. Show funds instead of pledging, and only 30% of the amount counts — so you'd need $160,000, not $48,000, to add that same $1,000 a month towards qualifying for the same loan.

How much you need to pledge or show, by route, to add $1,000 a month to your income. Banks decide which assets they'll accept.
RouteHow much of it countsCost per $1,000 a monthThe catch
Pledged SGD deposits100%$48,000Locked with the bank for four years
Other pledged assets70%$68,571Locked for 4 years, valued however the bank decides
Unpledged funds you show30%$160,000Not locked, but checked at application and again before the loan is released

Pledging requires less money, but locks it up for four years — withdraw it early, and the bank can reassess you and ask for a top-up or partial repayment. Showing funds requires more money, but leaves it unlocked; the bank checks your funds are still in your account once at application, and a second time before the loan is released.

Most borrowers use a mix of pledging and showing — pledging what they genuinely won't need for four years, and showing the rest. This calculator works out exactly how much of each you need. Our pledging and unpledging guide explains how pledging and showing work, and which one suits you better.

What to consider before you pledge or show

Keep in mind: pledging or showing only affects whether you pass the bank's income test for the loan you want. Your actual monthly repayment depends on your loan amount, tenure, and real interest rate. The test only decides whether you pass — it doesn't set what you pay.

Stop and think before you pledge or show a large amount of funds. For example, showing $378,000 of funds on a $1.5 million loan means that loan is bigger than your income can comfortably support. Before pledging or showing anything, check what a smaller loan looks like with our affordability calculator — it may be more suitable to choose a less expensive property than to lock up or show a large sum for a larger loan. Clearing debt also increases how much you can borrow: pay off $500 a month of debt, and you can borrow about $100,000 more under the TDSR rules — with no money locked up.

One more thing: your bank has the final say on which assets qualify, not MAS. Some banks accept a wider range of foreign-currency deposits and shares than others.

Frequently asked questions

What does pledging assets mean?

You lock money or eligible assets with your bank for at least 4 years. A fixed deposit is the most common choice. The bank divides the amount by 48 (months) to work out a monthly figure, then adds that to your assessable income for the loan approval check. SGD deposits are added in full — no haircut applied.

What is the difference between pledged and unpledged?

Pledged assets are locked with the bank for four years. When you pledge, the bank adds SGD deposits to your income in full, and other assets at 70% of their value, to work out if you pass the income test. Unpledged funds aren't locked up, but the bank only adds 30% of the amount. So showing funds instead costs roughly 3.3 times as much as pledging, to add the same amount to your income.

How much do I need to pledge?

Multiply your monthly shortfall by 48 to find the pledge amount. A $1,000 shortfall needs $48,000 pledged in SGD deposits, or about $160,000 shown instead, since showing only adds 30% of the amount.

Which assets can be counted?

Under MAS Notice 645: SGD notes and deposits, stocks, unit trusts, business trusts, bonds, gold, foreign-currency deposits and structured deposits. Each bank chooses which of these it will accept, and how it values them.

What if I withdraw pledged assets early?

Pledge money, and it has to stay with the bank for 4 years. Take it out early, and the bank checks your loan again without the pledge. If you don't pass the income test, you may need to pledge more money or pay back part of the loan. So only pledge money you won't need for 4 years.

When are shown funds checked?

Twice — once when you apply, and again just before the loan is released. The money isn't locked, but it needs to be there for both checks.

Disclaimer This calculator is an educational estimate, not financial advice and not a loan pre-approval. It applies the TDSR (55%), MAS stress-test and Notice 645 asset-recognition rules as of July 2026; individual banks decide which assets they accept, apply their own valuations and haircuts, and may impose stricter internal policy. Pledged assets are committed for 48 months and early withdrawal can trigger loan reassessment. Always obtain an In-Principle Approval and independent financial advice before committing funds. PropertyInsider.sg disclaims liability for decisions made on the basis of this tool.

Talk it through with an advisor

A calculator gives you the number; it can't tell you what to do with it. If you want to work through what these figures mean for your own situation — budget, ABSD position, timing an HDB sale, or comparing launches against resale options — you can request a one-to-one consultation.

  • No obligation. The first conversation is about your goals.
  • Affordability and stamp duty worked out on your actual numbers.
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Disclosure: advisory consultations are provided by Jamus Lee (CEA Reg. No. R065771E, ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd, Licence No. L3002382K), the publisher of PropertyInsider.sg, via JamusProperty.com. This is a separate service from our editorial research and has no influence over what we publish. See our editorial policy. Submitting this form shares your details with the advisory practice; see our privacy policy.

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