₹1 crore home loan: EMI is ₹80,559 at SBI's 7.5% starting rate. Here is the salary you need

SBI raised its external benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points from 15 October 2026, Business Today reported. Its regular home loans now range from 7.50% to 8.80%, depending on the borrower's profile. We worked out what a ₹1 crore loan costs at these rates, and the take-home pay lenders would look for.

On a ₹1 crore loan over 20 years, the EMI is about ₹80,559 at 7.5%, ₹85,207 at 8.25% and ₹88,690 at 8.8%. The gap between SBI's lowest and highest rate is about ₹8,100 a month. That is why your credit score, which affects the rate you are offered, matters as much as the headline rate.

Stretching the loan to 30 years lowers the EMI to about ₹69,921 at 7.5%, ₹75,127 at 8.25% and ₹79,027 at 8.8%. That saves about ₹10,600 a month at 7.5% compared with 20 years. Lenders cap tenure based on your age at the end of the loan, so not every borrower can choose 30 years.

At 7.5%, total interest on ₹1 crore is about ₹93.3 lakh over 20 years and about ₹1.52 crore over 30 years. The extra 10 years add roughly ₹58 lakh in interest. At 8.8%, the 30-year interest bill rises to about ₹1.84 crore. These figures assume the rate stays the same for the whole loan, which floating rates rarely do.

Lenders check how much of your monthly income goes to EMIs, called FOIR. Bajaj Finserv says most lenders apply 40-45% for high-value loans, and up to 50% for smaller ones. At SBI's 7.5% rate over 20 years, that means a take-home pay of about ₹1.61 lakh at 50%, ₹1.79 lakh at 45% and ₹2.01 lakh at 40%.

At 8.8% over 20 years, the take-home pay needed rises to about ₹1.77 lakh at a 50% limit and ₹2.22 lakh at 40%. Over 30 years, it falls to ₹1.58 lakh and ₹1.98 lakh. Existing EMIs on a car or personal loan count against the same limit and reduce what you can borrow.

Ask the bank for the exact rate it will offer you, not just its range, and whether the loan is linked to the repo-based EBLR. Check your credit score first. Existing borrowers should ask whether the rise will raise the EMI or extend the tenure. These figures assume a single applicant with no other loans.