Income needed for a mortgage in Chile: how much you have to earn with and without a subsidy

The income needed for a mortgage depends on the monthly payment you will make. The CMF, Chile's financial regulator, notes that several institutions recommend that the payment be at most 25% of the total income of the borrower, or of the borrower and their co-signer. With that rule, for a UF 4,000 home without a subsidy you need to earn about CLP 2.9 million a month. The UF (Unidad de Fomento) is Chile's inflation-indexed unit of account. With a subsidy, the figure can drop considerably.

CLP 2.92 M

UF 4,000 home without subsidy

monthly income

CLP 2.75 M

With the rate subsidy

new home

CLP 1.01 M

DS1 bracket 2 (UF 1,600 home)

monthly income

Source: InfoByData calculation with the CMF 25% rule, a 4.45% rate and the UF of November 6, 2026

View the data as a table

UF 4,000 home without subsidy	CLP 2.92 M | monthly income
With the rate subsidy	CLP 2.75 M | new home
DS1 bracket 2 (UF 1,600 home)	CLP 1.01 M | monthly income

How the income needed for a mortgage is calculated

If the payment should not exceed 25% of your income, the math is simple: the income you need is your payment multiplied by 4. Keep three things in mind:

• You can combine incomes: the bank can add another person's income, and that person submits the same documents.
• Your debts count against you: the CMF recommends subtracting fixed expenses and other installments, such as purchases on credit, from your income.
• Each bank runs its own assessment: 25% is a recommendation, not a legal rule.

For the calculations in this article we use a 25-year loan and the banks' reference rate for November 2026 (4.45%), set by the Ministry of Finance. Payments exclude insurance and use the UF of November 6 (CLP 41,279.51, according to the SII).

Income needed for a mortgage without a subsidy

With a 20% down payment (the bank finances up to 80%), this is the income needed by home value:

Home value	20% down payment	Monthly payment	Income needed
UF 2,000	CLP 16.5 million	CLP 365,240	CLP 1,460,960
UF 3,000	CLP 24.8 million	CLP 547,860	CLP 2,191,440
UF 4,000	CLP 33.0 million	CLP 730,480	CLP 2,921,920
UF 6,000	CLP 49.5 million	CLP 1,095,720	CLP 4,382,880

On top of the down payment, you need money for notary, registrar and tax costs. We detail them in the requirements to apply for a mortgage.

With the rate subsidy: how much the income drops

The mortgage rate subsidy cuts the rate by up to 0.6 points for buyers of a new home, in its first sale, worth up to UF 6,000. It runs until May 31, 2028, and the bank handles it. With a 3.85% rate (4.45% minus 0.6 points), the income needed drops like this:

• Without subsidy
• With rate subsidy

UF 30002,191,4402,059,048

UF 40002,921,9202,745,397

UF 60004,382,8804,118,095

Source: InfoByData calculation with 20% down, 25 years, 4.45% and 3.85% rates, no insurance; Law 21,836

View the data as a table

	Without subsidy	With rate subsidy
UF 3000	2,191,440	2,059,048
UF 4000	2,921,920	2,745,397
UF 6000	4,382,880	4,118,095

On a UF 4,000 home, the subsidy reduces the income needed for a mortgage by CLP 176,523 a month. We explain its conditions in our article on the 4,000 UF subsidy.

With the DS1 subsidy: a smaller loan

The Housing Ministry's DS1 subsidy pays part of the home's price. That way, the loan you take is smaller and so is the income you need. These are the calculations with the subsidy and minimum savings of each bracket:

DS1 bracket	Home	Subsidy + savings	Loan	Income needed
Bracket 2	UF 1,600	UF 450 + UF 40	UF 1,110	CLP 1,013,541
Bracket 3	UF 2,200	UF 270 + UF 80	UF 1,850	CLP 1,689,235
4,000 bracket	UF 4,000	UF 400 + UF 200	UF 3,400	CLP 3,104,540

For brackets 2 and 3 we use the average subsidy reported by ChileAtiende; the actual amount varies by case. The 4,000 bracket has a fixed subsidy of UF 400 in central and southern Chile, according to ChileAtiende.

In the 4,000 bracket, the income is similar to a purchase without a subsidy, but the big difference is the down payment: you put in UF 200 of savings (about CLP 8.3 million) instead of a UF 800 down payment (about CLP 33 million).

Note: bracket 3 also has an income cap

If your Social Household Registry (RSH) score is above 90%, your household income cannot exceed these amounts to apply for bracket 3, according to the Housing Ministry (Minvu):

Household members	Maximum net household income (Santiago and Coquimbo to Los Lagos)
1 person	CLP 1,992,086
2 people	CLP 2,788,921
3 people	CLP 3,107,655
4 or more	CLP 3,426,388

In the extreme regions the cap is higher.

Calculate your own case with the home value, down payment and rate you are offered:

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