DTI Calculation (Optimizing Monthly Personal Spend)

[Jeremy M.]

First post here :)

Quick question on how DTI is calculated for a salaried employee (paid every two weeks) who also receives bonuses/commissions.

I know that every lender will be different, but as I understand it one needs to take income components:

1. Last two gross pay amounts (ie, over 4 weeks); and
2. 2-year average of monthly gross commissions/bonuses

And then calculate the level of debt being serviced every month.  I follow obvious inclusions like an auto loan, student loans etc, but what I'm not clear on is whether you'd include the full balance of one's personal credit card that is consistently paid off every month with no interest incurred.

If the monthly balance is included regardless, one could presumably optimize this by switching to paying items on a visa debit card or the like (since this would effectively cut the monthly credit card bill down to $0). If this is the case, how much time would you need to follow this model for it to influence the DTI calculation?