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Business debt load calculator

Enter the total loan payments for the year (principal plus interest) and annual revenue. The calculator works out what share of revenue goes toward servicing debt.

Principal plus interest across all loans and borrowings for the year

Result

Debt load

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This calculation is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Formulas and rates may not fit your exact situation — double-check the figures before making decisions.

How it is calculated

Debt load = annual loan payments ÷ annual revenue × 100%. It answers a simple question: what share of every dollar the business brings in goes toward servicing debt before the rest can go to operating costs and profit.

Unlike DSCR, which compares debt payments to operating cash flow (what's actually available to cover them), this ratio is computed directly from revenue — simpler, but it doesn't show whether the money actually earned is enough to make the payments.

There's no single safe threshold for this ratio — the acceptable level depends on the business's margin: at high margins even 15–20% of revenue on debt can be comfortable, while for a low-margin business even 5–10% can create liquidity trouble.

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