The RealityCheck Affordability Score is a convention, not a law of finance. It exists so that two decisions can be judged on the same terms. This page documents every threshold in it, so you can disagree with any of them on an informed basis.
| Score | Reads as |
|---|---|
| 85–100 | Comfortable |
| 70–84 | Reasonable |
| 50–69 | Stretch |
| 0–49 | High financial pressure |
Each component is measured, scored 0–100 against the curve shown, then combined as a weighted average. Between the points listed, scores are interpolated in a straight line. Below the first point you get its score; above the last, its score.
weight 0.35 of 1.15
Monthly cost of the decision ÷ take-home income
The heaviest single component, because a monthly commitment is what you actually live with.
weight 0.15 of 1.15
(Living costs + existing EMIs + new cost) ÷ income
Catches the case where the new cost looks modest but there was no room left to begin with.
weight 0.20 of 1.15
Months of cover remaining ÷ months you asked to keep
Cover is measured against total monthly outgo including the new EMI, not just living costs.
weight 0.10 of 1.15
Existing EMIs ÷ income
What you already carry before this decision is considered at all.
weight 0.20 of 1.15
Upfront cash ÷ current savings
A large down payment lowers the EMI but drains the buffer. Both effects are scored.
weight 0.15 of 1.15
Total cost ÷ everything earned during ownership
Applied to cars and homes, where costs continue long after the purchase.
For home decisions the monthly cost fed into the first two components is the cost after home-loan tax relief, because that is what actually leaves your account. Relief is computed year by year from that year's real interest and principal, then averaged across the ownership period rather than taken from the first year, which would flatter the result.
Under the new tax regime a loan on a home you live in carries no deduction, so nothing changes and the score is unaffected. Under the old regime, section 24(b) allows up to ₹2,00,000 of interest a year, and principal repayment competes with EPF, PPF, ELSS and insurance for a shared ₹1,50,000 limit under 80C. On a large loan the 24(b) cap binds every year, so relief is flat rather than tapering.
Not modelled: let-out property, section 80EEA (available only on loans sanctioned up to 31 March 2022), and surcharge on very high incomes.
It is not a probability, a credit assessment, or a measure anyone else recognises. Two reasonable people could weight these components differently and produce different numbers from identical inputs.
What it does guarantee is consistency. The same inputs always produce the same score, so when you compare a 30 lakh car against a 22 lakh car, the difference between the scores means something even if the absolute values are debatable.
Every number is computed by deterministic formulas in src/domain. No language model is involved in producing any figure, and none ever will be.
RealityCheck is a decision-support tool, not financial advice.