What NHT charges at your pay
NHT sets your interest rate from your weekly gross pay. On a joint loan it uses the average of everyone’s pay, so one rate covers the whole loan. The service charge, a share of the loan, follows pay too.
| Weekly pay | Interest rate | Service charge |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage to J$30,000.99 | 0% | 0% |
| J$30,001 to J$42,000.99 | 2% | 2% |
| J$42,001 to J$100,000.99 | 4% | 5% |
| J$100,001 and above | 5% | 5% |
Source: NHT: loans, JIS: NHT reduces deposit on open market loans for contributors earning less than $30,000 a week. Read .
Teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers and the security forces get 1% off the rate with 5 to 10 years of service and 2% off with 10 or more, from 1 July 2026. The rate never goes below 0%. The service charges in the table apply from 1 July 2025.
How much NHT lends
The limits below are NHT’s, in force since 16 June 2025. Open Market is a house or lot bought from a private seller or developer. If you buy an NHT-built scheme house, NHT finances all of it, up to J$17,000,000Source: NHT: loan limits (updated July 2025), if you can afford the payments.
| Loan | One applicant | Two applicants | Three applicants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Market | J$9,000,000 | J$17,000,000 | J$23,000,000 |
| Build on your own land | J$11,000,000 | J$17,000,000 | J$23,000,000 |
| House lot | J$5,000,000 | J$7,000,000 | J$10,500,000 |
| Home improvement | J$5,000,000 | J$10,000,000 | Not published |
| Home Plus | J$5,000,000 | J$10,000,000 | Not published |
Source: NHT: loan limits (updated July 2025). Read .
On your own, an Open Market loan goes up to J$12,000,000 when the home costs J$14,000,000 or less. Three applicants can borrow the three-applicant limit only if the home has at least 2 bedrooms. The calculator takes the smaller of the limit and the price less your deposit, then shows what is left over.
Deposit and the young adult advance
NHT finances up to 95% of an Open Market purchase, so the deposit is 5%Source: JIS: NHT reduces deposit on open market loans for contributors earning less than $30,000 a week of the price. If you earn less than J$30,000 a week and the home costs J$14,000,000 or less, the deposit is 2%Source: JIS: NHT reduces deposit on open market loans for contributors earning less than $30,000 a week. Applicants aged 35 and under can ask NHT for an advance of up to J$2,000,000Source: NHT: buy loans toward the deposit. It comes off what you can borrow.
How long you have to repay
NHT loans run up to 40 yearsSource: NHT: loans. Applicants must be between 18 and 70 years. Newspaper columns also say the loan has to be repaid by age 70, so someone who is 40 would get 30 years. NHT’s website doesn’t state that rule, so we show it as an assumption in the calculator. Change the age or clear the box if NHT tells you something different.
If you earn more than the 0% band
If you earn more than J$30,000.99 a week, NHT sends you to a partner bank or credit union for the loan, and its interest rates still apply to the NHT part. The partners NHT lists are Scotiabank, NCB and COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union, but NHT dated that list 1 August 2023, and COK Sodality has since merged into C&WJ Co-operative Credit Union. Ask NHT which lenders take part today.
When the price is more than NHT will lend, the rest comes from a bank. The calculator starts that top-up at 7.6%, the Bank of Jamaica’s average J$ mortgage rate for July 2026. Every bank sets its own rate. You will find what they publish on our mortgage rates page. For a bank-only or mixed loan with closing costs added, use the mortgage calculator.
NHT decides who qualifies and how much it lends. EveryDolla is not part of NHT and can’t apply for you. Our NHT loan guide covers who qualifies.