 TITLE: What Is Debt-to-Income Ratio and How Do I Calculate It? CONTENT: How Does Debt-to-Income Ratio Affect Credit?\n--------------------------------------------\nYour DTI doesn't directly affect your credit scores because credit scoring models ignore income information. However, amount owed plays a factor in your credit utilization rate, which is the second-most influential factor in your FICO® Score☉ .\nYour credit utilization rate is your credit card balances divided by total credit limits. It indicates how much of your available credit you're using. Credit experts recommend keeping your utilization rate below 30%, and the lower it is, the better. For top credit scores, keep your utilization under 7%.\nBut your DTI also includes how much you owe on other types of credit accounts, including installment loans and other revolving credit lines. The more debt you're carrying on credit cards and other loans, and the higher your utilization rate, the more negatively it can impact your credit scores. END