Nationwide Mortgage Calculator: Compare Your Max Loan With 7 Lenders

The rates in the result are read, each time the page loads, from the table on our Nationwide mortgage rates page, which our weekly rate check keeps current, so the calculator never quotes a rate older than that table. If the read fails, the calculator uses the rates last checked on 16 October 2026 and says so beneath the result.

The calculator applies each lender's published income multiple and loan size cap by LTV for a house purchase on capital and interest repayment, read from the lenders' own criteria on 13 October 2026. It does not deduct credit commitments or childcare, run a credit score, or apply the limits for flats and new build, as a decision in principle does.

Where your LTV falls between the bands in our Nationwide table, which runs at 60%, 75% and 90%, the calculator applies the next band up, so the rate shown is Nationwide's price for that band and never below it. A loan at 78% LTV is priced at the 90% band rate of 5.36% on a 2-year fix, where Nationwide's own 75.01% to 80% band charges 5.24% on a £999 fee. Our affordability calculator runs the same income at a range of multiples and stress rates without naming a lender.

Worked examples: the maximum at Nationwide and 7 rivals

On a sole first-time buyer income of £38,000 with a £25,000 deposit, Nationwide's Helping Hand reaches £228,000 at 6 times income, against £209,000 at HSBC and Accord on 5.5 times and £170,000 at Halifax, Barclays and TSB on 4.49 times. On joint home mover income of £90,000 with £150,000 down, Nationwide and Barclays both reach £540,000.

The table beneath the calculator sets out five scenarios. In each the loan is the largest, in £1,000 steps, that passes the lender's income multiple and its loan size cap at the LTV that loan produces. On a joint first-time buyer income of £62,000 with £40,000 saved, Helping Hand reaches £372,000, against £341,000 at NatWest, Halifax, HSBC and Accord on 5.5 times and £278,000 at Barclays and TSB on 4.49 times. The deposit matters as much as the income: a sole home mover on £120,000 with £80,000 down reaches £720,000 at Nationwide, exactly 90% LTV, and a pound less deposit would move the loan into the 95% LTV band, where Nationwide prices higher and caps the loan at £750,000.

The monthly payment uses the 5-year fixed rate of the table band covering the loan's LTV. Scenario C's £540,000 at 5.31% over 25 years costs £3,255 a month, and scenario D's £720,000 at 5.31% over 20 years costs £4,876. Scenarios A and B sit above 90% LTV, where our table stops, so their payment uses Nationwide's first-time buyer 5-year fixed rate for the 90.01% to 95% band, 5.69% on a £999 fee, read from its product guide effective 30 September 2026.

Can you borrow 5, 6 or even 7 times your salary?

Up to 6 times, at three of the eight lenders, where your income qualifies. Nationwide lends 6 times to first-time buyers through Helping Hand and to home movers with eligible income of £75,000 or more, Barclays applies 6 times from £75,000 at up to 85% LTV, and NatWest's income grid reaches 6 times from £75,000 of joint or £100,000 of sole income with a quarter deposit, stepping to 6.5 times for joint incomes of £150,000 or more. No lender here publishes 7 times.

Helping Hand is the most reachable of the 6 times routes because its floor is low: every applicant must be a first-time buyer, income at least £30,000 for one applicant or £50,000 for two, on a 5-year fix up to 95% LTV or a 10-year fix up to 90%, with £500 cashback on completion. Nationwide's own examples show the step: joint applicants on £50,000 can borrow up to £300,000 against £225,000 without it, and a single applicant on £30,000 up to £180,000 against £135,000. Existing Nationwide borrowers moving home can borrow up to 6 times with no minimum income at all, which the calculator does not model because it prices new borrowers.

The price of the extra borrowing is the product. Helping Hand is available on 5 and 10-year fixed rates only, and Nationwide's first-time buyer range prices above its home mover range at the same LTV: the 5-year fix at 85.01% to 90% LTV is 5.35% on a £999 fee against 5.31% for a home mover, and at 90.01% to 95% it is 5.69%. On £228,000 over 25 years, 5.69% costs £1,426 a month. The 5-year fix carries early repayment charges of 5% in year one, falling by one point a year to 1% in year five, so a buyer who may sell or remortgage inside five years should weigh that against the larger loan. Our first-time buyer mortgage guide covers the deposit, the schemes and the process around it.

Five and 5.5 times are far more widely available than 6. HSBC lends 5.5 times to first-time buyers earning £35,000 alone or £55,000 jointly at up to 90% LTV, and 5 times from £45,000. Halifax's First-Time Buyer Boost applies 5.5 times from £40,000, and 5 times from £50,000 generally. Accord's Boost reaches 5.5 times for first-time buyers at up to 95% LTV with no income floor, and for home movers from £65,000. Santander applies 5.5 times from £100,000 and 5 times from £45,000, TSB 5.5 times above £75,000 and 5 times above £50,000 below 85% LTV. Below every threshold the standard 4.45 to 4.49 times applies.

Searches for a mortgage at 7 times salary end at specialist lenders, not the high street. None of the eight lenders compared here publishes a multiple above NatWest's 6.5, and where 7 times exists it is niche lending for defined professions, underwritten case by case. The practical route to a larger loan is rarely a higher multiple: it is the lender whose published tier your income already qualifies for, which is exactly the comparison the calculator runs.

If the standard multiple leaves you short of the home you want, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

Which lender lends the most against your salary?

It changes with your income band, your deposit and whether you are a first-time buyer, which is why the question has no single answer. In the five published scenarios Nationwide leads or shares the lead, because Helping Hand and the £75,000 high income tier both reach 6 times. Between those tiers its standard 4.49 times is beaten: a sole home mover on £60,000 with £60,000 down reaches £269,000 at Nationwide against £330,000 at Barclays on 5.5 times.

Joint home movers on £70,000 with £50,000 down show the same gap, reaching £314,000 at Nationwide against £385,000 at NatWest and Accord on 5.5 times, with Santander at £350,000 on 5 times. First-time buyers below the Helping Hand floor sit in the gap too: joint buyers on £45,000 with £20,000 saved fall under the £50,000 joint minimum, so Nationwide applies 4.49 times and reaches £202,000, where Accord's Boost on 5.5 times reaches £247,000. A sole buyer on £28,000 with £15,000 down reaches £125,000 at Nationwide and £154,000 at Accord.

At the top of the income scale the field closes up: joint home movers on £160,000 with £300,000 down reach £960,000 at Nationwide, NatWest and Barclays alike, all on 6 times, and the choice turns on rate, fee and the property. The lender who lends the most on one income can sit mid table on another, so the calculator names the lender whose criteria reach furthest on your figures and the gap to Nationwide. That gap is what a whole of market broker closes before a decision in principle is run against the wrong lender, and the same search prices Nationwide's fee tiers against each rival's. Figures as of 16 October 2026.

Which Nationwide rate applies to your maximum loan

The calculator reads Nationwide's home mover fixed rates by LTV band from our rates table: at our 16 October 2026 check, 2-year fixes of 5.04% at up to 60% LTV, 5.13% at 75% and 5.36% at 90%, and 5-year fixes of 5.06%, 5.18% and 5.31%, all on a £999 fee, matching Nationwide's product guide effective 30 September 2026.

A 2-year and a 5-year fix are therefore priced within five basis points of each other at every band, so the term decision at Nationwide turns on how long you want the rate held rather than on price.

Nationwide prices three fee tiers on each deal. The £999 fee covers loans up to £299,999, the £1,499 fee on loans of £300,000 and above sits 0.05 points below the £999 rate in every band, and the fee-free versions cost more: 5.29%, 5.34% and 5.54% on the 2-year fix and 5.16%, 5.29% and 5.44% on the 5-year at 60%, 75% and 90% LTV. On a £200,000 2-year fix at 60% LTV, the £999 fee buys a rate 0.25 points lower than fee-free, £1,174 a month against £1,203, so the fee pays for itself over the two years at roughly that loan size. The table on our rates page carries the fee tiers and Nationwide's tracker and standard variable rates alongside.

Above 90% LTV the calculator shows no rate, because our table stops at the 90% band. Nationwide does lend to 95% LTV for home movers: its guide prices the 2-year fix at 5.74% and the 5-year at 5.69% on a £999 fee in the 90.01% to 95% band, on loans up to £750,000. On £269,000, the £60,000 sole home mover's maximum in the section above, the loan sits at 81.8% LTV, so the calculator applies the 90% band: the 5-year fix at 5.31% costs £1,622 a month over 25 years against £1,629 on the 2-year at 5.36%. Nationwide's place in the wider market sits on our current UK mortgage rates hub, where each big lender's lowest fixes are set side by side.

Which income counts towards your maximum at Nationwide

Nationwide does not accept income paid in a foreign currency on a purchase, remortgage or further advance. Seafarers employed in sterling under the Seafarers Earnings Deduction are considered with a UK tax calculation or an employer letter, contractors with two years' trading can be treated as employed or self-employed, and the self-employed need two years' accounts.

The foreign currency rule is absolute for new lending: Nationwide will consider foreign currency income only for an existing borrower changing term or repayment type with no new money. A UK buyer paid in dollars, euros or dirhams is therefore placed elsewhere, and the lenders that do take that income, with their currency haircuts and minimum loans, are set out on our expat mortgage rates page. For a seafarer, Nationwide needs the latest payslip and, where it shows no UK tax or National Insurance, the latest UK tax calculation and tax year overview, or an employer letter confirming permanent employment, a core contractual income in sterling and the UK tax exemption. A fixed term contractor shows the latest contract, and the core contractual income must be in sterling. Our seafarer mortgage pages cover the lenders that read Seafarers Earnings Deduction income more widely.

Contractors who have traded on a self-employed basis for two or more years can be keyed as employed on a fixed term contract, with the full contract income used, or as self-employed. Umbrella company workers with 12 months' history are treated as fixed term contractors on day rate times days times 52 weeks. Self-employed applicants provide two years' tax calculations and tax year overviews or an accountant's certificate, and company directors are assessed on salary and dividends, the lower of the latest year or the two-year average, which penalises a business whose most recent year is the strong one. Self-employed home movers with eligible income of £75,000 or more are eligible for the 6 times multiple, so the calculator's home mover maximum applies to them as it does to the employed.

To have the maximum at Nationwide and seven other lenders costed against your own income, deposit and property, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

Back to Calculators

The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal or regulated financial advice. If you'd like to understand what these moves could mean for you, speak to Mortgage One. We can explain your options and timings based on your specific circumstances.

FAQs

1. What is the maximum mortgage I can borrow? Your gross income times the lender's multiple, within its loan to value caps. Standard multiples run from 4.45 to 4.49 times across the big lenders, rising to 5.5 times on qualifying incomes and 6 times at Nationwide, Barclays and NatWest. On £50,000 of income that is a range from £224,500 to £300,000, and your deposit decides whether the top is reachable.

2. How do you calculate your maximum mortgage? Multiply your gross annual income by the lender's income multiple, then check the result against its loan to value cap for your deposit and its loan size bands. The lowest of the three is your maximum. A lender's decision in principle then deducts committed credit, childcare and essential spending, so the figure it offers can sit below the published ceiling.

3. How much mortgage could I borrow on a £40,000 salary? From £179,600 at the standard 4.49 times to £240,000 at 6 times through Nationwide's Helping Hand, where every applicant is a first-time buyer and the deposit covers at least 5% of the price. Between the two, Halifax's First-Time Buyer Boost and HSBC's first-time buyer tier both reach £220,000 at 5.5 times on a £40,000 sole income.

4. Can I borrow 5 times my salary for a mortgage? Yes, where your income meets the lender's threshold: Santander and HSBC apply 5 times from £45,000, Halifax from £50,000 and TSB above £50,000, at up to 85% or 90% loan to value depending on the lender, with 5.5 and 6 times available above higher thresholds or through first-time buyer ranges. Below the thresholds the standard 4.45 to 4.49 times applies, whatever your deposit.

5. Who lends the most mortgage? No single lender lends the most on every income. At 6 times on qualifying cases Nationwide, Barclays and NatWest lead, and NatWest reaches 6.5 times for joint incomes of £150,000 or more with a quarter deposit. Between the tiers a 5.5 times lender such as Accord or Barclays often beats all three. The calculator ranks the eight on your own figures.

6. Does Nationwide lend 6 times salary? Yes, in two cases: first-time buyers through Helping Hand, where every applicant is a first-time buyer and income is at least £30,000 sole or £50,000 joint on a 5 or 10-year fix, and home movers with eligible income of £75,000 or more. Existing Nationwide borrowers moving home can borrow 6 times with no minimum income. Otherwise the standard 4.49 times applies.

7. Is the maximum mortgage figure what Nationwide will lend? No. It is the largest loan Nationwide's published income multiple and loan size cap allow for a house purchase. Nationwide's decision in principle then deducts credit commitments and essential spending, checks credit and applies property rules, so the offer can be lower. Treat the figure as the ceiling, not the offer.

8. Does Nationwide accept foreign currency income? Not for new lending. Nationwide does not accept income paid in a foreign currency on a purchase, remortgage or further advance, and considers it only for an existing borrower changing term or repayment type. Seafarers paid in sterling under the Seafarers Earnings Deduction can be considered with a UK tax calculation or an employer letter.