U.S. Mortgage Index

Back-end DTI

Also called Back-end ratio

Definition

Back-end DTI is a debt-to-income ratio that includes the proposed housing payment plus other monthly debt payments, divided by gross monthly income. It is broader than front-end DTI.

In plain English

Debt-to-income can be measured in more than one way. Back-end DTI, sometimes called the back-end ratio, adds other recurring debts to the housing payment before dividing by income. Front-end DTI looks only at housing costs. Neither ratio is a credit score. This page does not set an approval cutoff.

Technical definition

CFPB defines debt-to-income as monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Back-end DTI is the broader consumer form of that ratio. The acronym DTI already belongs to the existing debt-to-income page.

Why it matters

Underwriting notes and consumer explanations often pair front-end and back-end figures. Mixing them hides which debts were counted.

Example

Alex’s back-end ratio includes the proposed mortgage payment, a car payment, and a student-loan payment, then divides by gross monthly income. The front-end figure would omit the car and student loans.

Sources reviewed