If you are self-employed and your tax returns do not show what you actually earn, traditional underwriting is not your only option. Bank statement, 1099, P&L, asset-based, and other Non-QM programs.
If your returns do show what you actually earn, start with Florida home loans instead.
Income is derived from deposits over a set period rather than from your returns. Personal or business accounts, depending on the program.
For contractors and commissioned earners who receive 1099s but write enough off that the net figure does not reflect the work.
A prepared P&L for the business, used in place of returns. Requirements around who prepares it differ by lender.
Qualifying from what you hold rather than what you earn. Checking, savings, brokerage, retirement, trust accounts, the cash value of life insurance, and crypto can all count, at percentages that vary by program.
Good tax planning and a strong mortgage application pull in opposite directions. These programs look at a different number.
A strong year next to a quiet one averages badly under traditional underwriting. There are other ways to present it.
Retired, between ventures, or simply holding more than you draw. Assets can do the qualifying.
Some of my clients come to me after being told no somewhere else. A decline at one lender is not a decline everywhere.
Buying it as a rental instead? See DSCR loans, which qualify the property rather than you.
If you are qualifying on assets and the money sits in a business account, it usually has to move into your personal account first. That often means a distribution, a conversation with your CPA, and sometimes a letter from them. It is very manageable when it comes up in week one. It is a problem when it comes up in underwriting, which is where it surfaces if nobody asked. I ask.
Guidelines differ meaningfully between lenders on how deposits are counted, how long you need to have been self-employed, and how assets are treated. Send me the shape of your income and I will tell you which program fits and where it prices best. In the meantime the calculators will give you a realistic monthly figure to work from.