Borrowing Capacity

What Is Borrowing Capacity?Borrowing capacity (zdolność kredytowa) is the maximum mortgage amount a bank is willing to lend you.The bank checks whether you can comfortably make your future mortgage payments, based on your income, your expenses and the loans you already have.
That's why two people with the same salary can be offered very different amounts. And the same person can get a different result at different banks — each bank uses its own way of assessing risk and income.
What affects your borrowing capacity?Banks look at your situation as a whole. The most important factors are:
Your income and how stable it is. It's not only about how much you earn, but also where your income comes from, how long you've had it and how stable the bank considers it.Your type of employment and tax form. An employment contract (umowa o pracę), B2B, a sole proprietorship (JDG), flat-rate tax (ryczałt), a mandate contract (umowa zlecenie) or a specific-task contract (umowa o dzieło) can all be treated differently. Even with the same real earnings, the income a bank accepts for its calculation can vary — especially for business owners.Other loans and financial commitments. Consumer loans, instalment plans, credit cards and overdraft limits all reduce the amount the bank can allow for a new mortgage — even if you rarely use them.Household expenses. The bank considers how many people are in your household and your typical monthly costs. The less money left after essential expenses, the lower your borrowing capacity usually is.Credit history. The bank checks how you've repaid past and current loans. Late payments, the number of active loans and how much of your credit limits you use can all affect the result.The mortgage itself. The loan amount, the repayment period, the cost of financing and your own deposit all play a role.
Why does one bank offer PLN 500,000 and another PLN 700,000?Because banks don't calculate borrowing capacity the same way.One bank may count your type of income in full, while another accepts only part of it. One may be more open to business owners or ryczałt, while another assesses the same situation much more cautiously.So a calculation from one bank doesn't always show your real maximum on the market.
This matters even more for foreigners. Besides the standard financial assessment, banks may look at your residence documents, how long they're valid and their own specific requirements.
Can you increase your borrowing capacity?In most cases — yes. The right steps depend on your situation, and that's exactly what we look at during a consultation.
Expert tipBe careful with online mortgage calculators. They give a rough estimate, but they can't reflect your specific situation or how different banks calculate income. This is especially true if you:• work on B2B or run a sole proprietorship (JDG)• pay flat-rate tax (ryczałt)• have non-standard income• have several sources of income• live in Poland on a residence card or another foreigner's document• have had loans or bank refusals in the pastIn these cases, the difference between banks can be significant.
Want to know your real borrowing capacity?Book a free consultation. Together we'll go through your situation and find out:• how much you can realistically borrow• which banks assess your type of income best• what is currently limiting your borrowing capacity• what you can change before you apply