Does it matter if my partner earns much less than me?

Not really. The bank adds both take-home incomes together as a household. What matters is the total, plus your debts and living expenses, not the split between you.

Does the bank use our income before or after tax?

After tax. The bank works out each person's net income, so a higher earner keeps a smaller share of each extra dollar, and then assesses the household total against the repayments and your costs.

Do my partner's debts count if we apply together?

Yes. Everything either of you owes is counted in the household picture, including credit card limits, car loans, HECS and buy now pay later.

What if one of us is casual or self-employed?

That's where it gets lender specific. Casual, probation, self-employed, overtime and parental leave income can be shaded or need a longer history, and lenders differ on how much they'll count.

Can we borrow more if only the higher earner applies?

Usually not. One income generally borrows less than two. Some lenders will assess a sole applicant with their partner off the loan, but the partner's situation is often still looked at.

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My partner and I earn very different amounts. How does the bank look at us as a household?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 November 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

It all gets thrown into the mix. The bank works out what each of you takes home after tax, adds it together, and the more income, the better as far as borrowing capacity goes, because you can show on paper that you're taking home more money.

I wouldn't overcomplicate it. Who's on the loan, any debts you've got outstanding at the moment, and your living expenses: that's what determines how much you can actually borrow. The split between you doesn't really matter to the bank. The total does.

The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

How the bank reads two incomes

Say partner A is on a much higher income and partner B earns a lot less. Partner A pays more tax, and a bigger share of each extra dollar they earn goes to the tax office, so their take-home looks different to their salary. Partner B pays less tax, so more of what they earn is left over to help service the loan.

The bank doesn't care who earns what. It takes both net incomes, puts them in one pot as a household, and then asks whether that pot covers the repayments, your living costs and your other debts, with a buffer on top. A big earner and a small earner can borrow the same as two people on middle incomes, give or take the tax.

What comes off the other side

Income is only half of it. The bank then takes off everything you're both carrying. Any car loans, personal loans, HECS, buy now pay later, and credit cards, which are assessed on the limit rather than what you owe. If one of you has the debts and the other has the income, it all lands in the same household picture anyway.

Then there are living expenses. The bank looks at what you've told it you spend and compares it to its own benchmark for a household your size, and it generally uses whichever is higher. That's why two couples on the same combined income can walk away with quite different borrowing numbers.

The type of income matters more than the amount

Where a difference in pay actually changes things is when the two incomes are different kinds. If one of you is full time PAYG and the other is casual, on probation, self-employed, on parental leave, or earning a lot of overtime, the bank may only count part of that income, or want a longer history before it counts it at all.

So the question isn't really how much more one of you earns. It's how each income is earned and how much of it a lender will actually use. That's the bit I check first, because it varies between lenders and it can move your borrowing number more than the gap between your pay packets.

The honest bit: both on the loan means both of everything

If you apply together, you both bring your incomes and you both bring your debts. A partner with a big credit card limit or a car loan can drag the household number down, even if they earn well. Sometimes tidying up a limit before you apply does more than a pay rise would.

And you're both responsible for the whole loan, not your half of it. That's worth being clear on before you sign, whatever the split in your pay.

Want to know what you can borrow as a household?

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Next question

How much can I actually borrow?

Income versus outgoings, then the bank adds a buffer to your rate before it names a number.