Total Debt Service (TDS)
Total Debt Service (TDS) expands on housing affordability by including not only mortgage-related costs, such as principal and interest, property taxes, and heating, but also ongoing obligations like car loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and student loans.
Why this matters:
Lenders use TDS to assess overall debt load and repayment risk. In Canada, many mortgage qualification guidelines reference a maximum TDS threshold, though acceptable limits can vary by lender, mortgage type, and borrower profile.
Related Mortgage Terms
Often confused with:
Gross Debt Service (GDS) — GDS focuses only on housing costs.
Closely related:
Debt Service Ratio — The umbrella concept.
Refinancing — Often used to consolidate debts and change TDS.
Next step:
Debt Service Ratio — See how lenders interpret both ratios together.