KALP — how the bank decides whether you can afford the mortgage

KALP, an affordability assessment (kvar att leva pa — “left to live on”), is the amount remaining from your income after the bank has deducted housing costs, loans and standardised estimates for living expenses. If the result is positive the loan is approved. If it is negative, or too small, the answer is no. Simple in theory. Somewhat brutal in practice.

The bank does not trust what you think you can live on. They run their model.

The formula is simple. The assumptions are not.

Net income minus housing costs minus living expenses minus other loans. What remains is your KALP. But the bank does not calculate with the interest rate you actually pay. They calculate with a stress interest rate (kalkylranta) of 5–7%, sometimes more than double the actual mortgage rate. It is a stress test built into the application: can you handle this if rates shoot up?

Banks simultaneously apply a 30% tax deduction (ranteavdrag) in the calculation, just like the actual tax rules. It softens the interest cost, but the stress interest rate still means the calculated cost often far exceeds your actual monthly cost.

That is also the reason people who “can afford it” sometimes still get a no.

Worked example: 2 adults, 1 child, SEK 4 million loan

Item	Per month
Net income (2 adults, 1 child)	SEK 55,000
Interest cost at 7% stress rate, after 30% tax deduction	-SEK 16,333
Amortisation (2%)	-SEK 6,667
Housing association fee + operating costs	-SEK 4,500
Living expenses (KoV 2026, 2 adults + 1 child aged 4–6)	-SEK 19,000
Student loan (CSN)	-SEK 1,500
KALP	+SEK 7,000

Positive. The loan can be approved. But the margin shrinks fast. Add one child (aged 7–10) and the standardised estimate increases by roughly SEK 5,200. Raise the stress interest rate from 7 to 8% and the interest cost after deduction increases by SEK 2,333/month. The combination brings the KALP close to zero, without anything in reality having changed.

New from 1 April 2026

From 1 April 2026 the tightened amortisation requirement — the extra percentage point that applied when the debt-to-income ratio (skuldkvot) exceeded 4.5 times gross income — is abolished. At the same time, the mortgage ceiling (bolantak) is raised from 85 to 90%, lowering the down payment (kontantinsats) requirement from 15 to 10%. Both changes can improve your KALP: a lower amortisation requirement directly gives more room in the calculation, and a lower down payment makes it possible to enter the market with less saved capital.

The stress interest rate varies between banks, and it matters

Banks set their stress interest rate slightly differently. The difference between a 6% and a 7% stress rate is (before the tax deduction) SEK 2,500 per month on a SEK 3 million loan. Same person, same finances, but one bank approves and another declines. Always compare at least two banks. This is also the reason pre-approvals (laneloften) can differ by hundreds of thousands of kronor.

Standardised living-cost estimates

Banks generally base their estimates on the Swedish Consumer Agency’s (Konsumentverket) calculated household costs, but may add their own buffers. The Consumer Agency’s figures for 2026 (all items, all food at home) look roughly like this:

Household type	KoV 2026
One adult (25–50 years)	~SEK 8,400/month
Two adults (25–50 years)	~SEK 14,100/month
Per child	~SEK 4,700–6,400 (age-based, incl. share of shared costs)

KoV 2026 is noticeably lower than 2025 due to a new calculation model with reduced food costs (new meal plan, lower food VAT, lower assumed activity level). The bank may have higher amounts in their calculation, but you cannot argue them down. You cannot tell them you live cheaply.

What can you do about a weak KALP?

There are a few common ways to improve the calculation:

Paying off existing loans is often the most effective. Every loan that disappears improves the KALP krona for krona. A car loan of SEK 2,000/month gives SEK 2,000 more room in the bank’s calculation.
A larger down payment reduces the loan amount and lowers both the interest cost and amortisation in one go. From 1 April 2026, however, only 10% is required (down from 15%).
A cheaper property always improves the calculation.
Comparing banks can make more of a difference than you might think, since the stress interest rate varies.
Timing can matter. A pay rise, a loan running out, or the tightened amortisation requirement having just been abolished, can change the picture.

On the other hand, it is hard to argue away the standardised estimates. Banks do not have much room to manoeuvre there.

See the full picture

The affordability assessment shows whether the bank says yes. It does not show what the home actually costs. To see the full cost picture including the tax deduction and operating costs (driftskostnader) you need to go one step further.

With an affordability calculator based on the Swedish Consumer Agency’s estimates you can adjust price, income and down payment and see where you land, without triggering a credit check. BoKalk does exactly that calculation.

Christoffer, founder BoKalk