Self-employed mortgages

The problem is documentation, not income

Most self-employed borrowers earn enough. What they cannot always do is evidence it the way a bank branch expects — two years of T4s and a letter of employment. A file built on notices of assessment, corporate financial statements, business bank statements and add-backs for legitimate write-offs is a different kind of file, and not every lender underwrites it well.

Which lender you approach first genuinely matters here. The same file that reads as thin at one institution reads as straightforward at another that understands the industry.

Business-for-self programs

Several lenders run dedicated business-for-self programs that accept a reasonable stated income supported by business activity rather than declared taxable income alone. These usually price slightly above a fully-documented file and may require a larger down payment, and for many borrowers they are the difference between owning and waiting.

If you are incorporated, retained earnings and shareholder loans can often be brought into the picture. Bring your last two years of corporate statements to the first conversation.

Plan the tax year, not just the mortgage

If a purchase is twelve to eighteen months away, there are decisions to make now with your accountant about how much income you declare. We are not your accountant and we will not pretend to be, but we will tell you exactly what a lender will want to see so that conversation is a specific one.