Car Affordability Calculator Singapore (2026): Cashflow and Cost
Check whether the car fits the cash you can actually spend each month. This calculator subtracts living costs, car payments and your savings target from take-home income. A positive balance is a scenario result, not a guarantee of affordability or loan approval.
Results
Worked budget and stress test
The direct-mode defaults leave S$7,200 − S$3,500 − S$1,200 − S$2,100 = S$400 monthly surplus. Reducing income by 20% produces a S$1,040 shortfall. Adding S$300 of repairs instead leaves S$100. These are illustrative inputs, not salary recommendations.
What the two cost measures mean
The monthly cash budget includes the full loan payment while the loan is running, plus recurring allowances. It excludes depreciation because depreciation is not another cash payment. After the loan ends, the loan payment stops; the headline cash budget deliberately shows the period when it is payable.
Components mode also calculates average ownership cost: (purchase price − gross resale proceeds + interest paid during the holding period) ÷ holding months + monthly running costs. It simulates a fixed, reducing-balance loan. If sold before the loan ends, the remaining balance is deducted from resale proceeds for the exit-cash result. A negative exit figure means additional cash would be needed to settle that modelled balance.
The purchase downpayment is price less loan principal. It is separate from the monthly budget. Keep enough cash after paying it for annual insurance and tax bills, repairs and other emergencies.
Model boundaries
The rate stress adds one percentage point to the annual effective rate in components mode; it is disabled in direct mode because a single cash figure contains no financing schedule. The repair stress works in both modes. Income of zero has no meaningful cost-to-income percentage. Blank, negative or invalid inputs show a message rather than a reassuring result.
Early-settlement fees and contractual interest rebates, balloon loans, COE renewal and transaction fees are not modelled. For a flat-rate loan sold early, use the lender’s repayment and settlement figures; an equivalent reducing-balance schedule is not that contract. Opportunity cost is excluded from cash affordability. A future investment return is neither a car bill nor guaranteed income.
Use the car loan calculator to compare full-term quotes, and the ownership-cost guide to build a documented running-cost and resale scenario.
FAQ
Should I enter gross or take-home income?
Use take-home income after CPF and a provision for income tax. The output is a cash budget, not a lender income assessment.
Does the remaining balance subtract my savings target?
Yes. It subtracts the car cash budget, other living costs and the entered savings target.
Does components mode include road tax?
Yes. Enter the actual annual amount divided by 12 as a monthly allowance.
Related guides and calculators
References
Rules and sources checked 14 September 2026. Worked budgets are illustrations unless explicitly identified otherwise.
Last updated: 14 Sep 2026 · Editorial Policy · Advertising Disclosure · Corrections