What is the debt ratio? (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of debt ratio? ›

The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed as a decimal or percentage. It can be interpreted as the proportion of a company's assets that are financed by debt.

Do I need to worry about my debt ratio? If your debt ratio does not exceed 30%, the banks will find it excellent. Your ratio shows that if you manage your daily expenses well, you should be able to pay off your debts without worry or penalty. A debt ratio between 30% and 36% is also considered good.

How do I calculate my debt-to-income ratio? To calculate your DTI, you add up all your monthly debt payments and divide them by your gross monthly income. Your gross monthly income is generally the amount of money you have earned before your taxes and other deductions are taken out.

What if the debt ratio was much higher, like 0.8, or 80%? A debt ratio this high would throw up a red flag to the bank. At this level, the company would appear to have most of their assets funded by debt and would be a high risk for the bank.

Key takeaways

Debt-to-income ratio is your monthly debt obligations compared to your gross monthly income (before taxes), expressed as a percentage. A good debt-to-income ratio is less than or equal to 36%. Any debt-to-income ratio above 43% is considered to be too much debt.

The bad debt to sales ratio represents the fraction of uncollectible accounts receivables in a year compared to total sales. For example, if a company's revenue is $100,000 and it's unable to collect $3,000, the bad debt to sales ratio is (3,000/100,000=0.03).

Rent is an expense, and it can be a liability, but it is not a debt unless it is overdue. Rent and mortgage interest are in the same class of expense. But then mortgage interest is not a debt either.

50% or more: Take Action - You may have limited funds to save or spend. With more than half your income going toward debt payments, you may not have much money left to save, spend, or handle unforeseen expenses.

It's calculated by dividing your monthly debts by your gross monthly income. Generally, it's a good idea to keep your DTI ratio below 43%, though 35% or less is considered “good.”

Let's say you have 600,000$ in total assets and 150,000$ in liabilities. To calculate the debt ratio, divide the liability (150,000$ ) by the total assets (600,000$ ). This results in a debt ratio of 0.25 or 25 percent.

How can I lower my debt-to-income ratio quickly? ›

Example of Debt to Equity Ratio

A corporation with $1,200,000 of liabilities and $2,000,000 of stockholders' equity will have a debt to equity ratio of 0.6:1. A corporation with total liabilities of $1,200,000 and stockholders' equity of $400,000 will have a debt to equity ratio of 3:1.

Low debt ratio: If the result is a small number (like 0.2 or 20%), it means the company doesn't owe a lot compared to what it owns. This is usually a good sign. A lower debt ratio indicates a healthier financial position.

From a pure risk perspective, debt ratios of 0.4 or lower are considered better, while a debt ratio of 0.6 or higher makes it more difficult to borrow money.

Interpreting the Debt Ratio

If the ratio is over 1, a company has more debt than assets. If the ratio is below 1, the company has more assets than debt. Broadly speaking, ratios of 60% (0.6) or more are considered high, while ratios of 40% (0.4) or less are considered low.