Self-employed mortgages.
You built the business to minimize tax — then the bank read your tax return literally. We qualify you on your real income, across BC and Alberta.
The self-employed mortgage problem is a paperwork paradox: every dollar your accountant legitimately writes off saves you tax and shrinks the income a bank will lend against. The bank isn't wrong — it's just reading line 150. The fix isn't earning more or deducting less; it's choosing the lane that reads your income the way it actually flows: averaged with add-backs at an A-lender, through business deposits on a stated-income or bank-statement program, or against equity while a transition year passes. Same business, three very different approvals.
Every version of working for yourself.
Income kept in the corporation for tax planning — qualified without gutting your accountant's strategy.
Strong revenue, heavy write-offs — the classic file banks misread.
Line 150 looks small because deductions did their job; add-backs put the real income back.
Realtors, advisors, drivers, creators — variable income averaged and structured properly.
Less than two years of history — placed on programs that read the business, not just the tax returns.
Business deposits stand in for tax-return income where the write-offs run deep.
Repricing or restructuring while self-employed — including moving off a punitive rate.
First home, move-up, or the rental — structured around how your income actually arrives.
Three ways to qualify without a T4.
The right lane depends on your history, your documentation, and your timeline. We size every file against all three before recommending one.
A-lenders can average your last two years or add back eligible expenses like capital cost allowance. The file is won or lost in the packaging — the same numbers presented two ways get two different answers.
Business deposits and viability stand in for line 150. A bridge by design: two or three years of clean history later, the same file refinances at A-side pricing.
For the year the corporation restructured, the season the income dipped, or the purchase that can't wait for a clean tax year. Placed only with a written exit back to cheaper capital.
Rates, ratios, and leverage are typical ranges for illustration — last reviewed July 2026 — and change with the market, the lender, and your file. Go deeper on our stated-income program page or run your numbers with the affordability calculator and check the debt ratios a lender will see with the GDS / TDS calculator.
Case Studies — files like this
Why this file belongs here: a self-employed owner whose tax returns did not show the real cash flow. A stated-income alternative file, placed properly, cut his borrowing cost in half.
- Case study · Commercial / Alternative-to-ABanks Declined. Private Lenders Charged 10%+. We Cut His Rate in Half.Cut the borrower's interest rate in half, moved from double-digit private mortgage costs to an alternative commercial mortgage, paid down principal, improved his credit and cash flow, and positioned him for a prime-lender refinance within two years — one broker, one custom plan, from private exit to prime placement.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / AlternativeStated Income From Their Own Engineering Firm: An Alternative Lender Financed a Move to a Surrey Condo at 80%Business owners moving from Calgary bought a Surrey condo at 80% in 2022 through an alternative lender's stated-income program, about $490,000 at 5.84% on a five-year adjustable term, on income of about $150,000 from their own corporation.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / AlternativeSelf-Employed for a Year and for Six Months: An Alternative Lender Financed a House on Stated Income at 80% in Maple RidgeTwo massage therapists, self-employed for just over a year and for about six months: an alternative lender's stated-income program financed their Maple Ridge house at 80% in 2025, about $980,000 at 5.34%, on 12 months of bank statements.Read the file →
More case studies like these (43)
- New Sole Proprietor, Return Not Filed
- 17 Years Self-Employed, a New Job: Rowhome
- New Business, No Tax Return Yet: First Home
- Self-Employed Farrier's First Townhouse
- Realtor's First Home on Commission Statements
- Assignment Rental on Commission and Tips
- 574 Score, Stated-Income Townhouse
- First Condo on Rideshare Income, 10% Down
- Six Years From Presale Deposit to Keys
- First Home on Business Bank Statements
- Nail Salon Owner's Refinance for a Suite
- Realtor Moves to Ontario: Burlington at 45%
- Restaurant Owner's First Condo at 80%
- Business Owners: Salary, Dividends, Add-Back
- Alberta Rental's Tax Arrears Cleared
- Business Owner's Rental Off Private Rates
- Blended Rate Kept a 2021 Mortgage Rate
- Alberta Condo Out of a Private Mortgage
- Collections Cleared, Title Corrected, 75%
- Renewal Offer Not Competitive: Moved Lenders
- Foster Family's 8-Bedroom Home at 50% LTV
- Leasehold Condo First Home, Insured at 90%
- Foster-Care Income Counted at a Bank
- Salon Owner's Stated-Income Refinance at 68%
- Business Owner Out of a Private Mortgage
- Franchise Owners: Two Private Mortgages Out
- Ontario Refinance at 75% Funded the Presale
- Presale Carried on an Open Private Mortgage
- Presale Sold, Two Private Mortgages Paid Out
- Buying Before the Presale Sold, Inter Alia
- 487% Gross-Up for a Coquitlam Lawyer's First Home
- 181.5% Gross-Up for a Realtor's First Home
- Bankruptcy Behind Them, Alberta Purchase
- Consumer Proposal: From 10% to Under 5%
- Grande Prairie Oilfield Owner's First Home
- Bank First and Private Second Folded Into One
- Blend and Extend Avoided a $50K+ Penalty
- CRA Debt Cleared, Brewery's Credit Line Kept
- Low Appraisal, Private Second Closed the Deal
- Private Second Funds a New Franchise
- Clinic Loan Judgment Settled by Refinance
- Officer Buys a Townhouse, Keeps the Condo
- Net Worth Mortgage After a Separation
Common self-employed questions.
Can I get a mortgage if I'm self-employed and write everything off?+
Yes. A-lenders can average your last two years of income or add back certain business expenses; where the tax returns still understate reality, Alternative (B) and stated-income programs qualify you on business deposits and viability rather than line 150 alone. The write-offs that save you tax don't have to cost you the house.
What is a stated-income mortgage — and is it legitimate?+
It's a program where the lender accepts a reasonable declaration of income supported by evidence of the business — deposits, contracts, licences — instead of tax-return income alone. It's fully legitimate lending with real underwriting; 'stated' describes the documentation style, not a loophole. We break the whole program down on our dedicated stated-income page.
See it on a real file: Salon Owner's Stated-Income Refinance at 68% →
How many years of self-employment do lenders want?+
Two years is the standard ask at A-lenders. With less history, the file shifts to lenders who read the business itself — prior industry experience, contracts in hand, deposits — typically on the Alternative side until two clean tax years exist.
How much down payment do I need when self-employed?+
The tiers are the same as anyone else's: 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million, 20% at $1.5 million or above. What changes is the lane — insured programs need documentable income, while stated-income and B-side programs typically want 20% down.
Do I have to pass the stress test?+
On A-side files, yes — you qualify at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. Many Alternative lenders qualify at the contract rate instead, which is one reason a B-side file can approve where a bank declined the identical income.
How high can my debt ratios go as a business owner?+
Some alternative (B) lenders go further. As of October 2026, one will go up to 60% GDS and TDS for business owners (55% when most of the income is salary) on homes in Greater Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Kelowna, Kamloops, Squamish, Nanaimo, Calgary and Edmonton, with at least 20% equity and 680+ credit (25% equity at 640 to 679 credit, and in Calgary and Edmonton).
My income is retained in my corporation — does it count?+
It can. Some programs read the corporation's financials and count retained earnings or gross-ups the personal tax return never shows. That's a placement decision: the same incorporated borrower can be declined at one lender and comfortably approved at another.
See it on a real file: 181.5% Gross-Up for a Realtor's First Home →
Is a B-side self-employed mortgage permanent?+
No — it's a bridge. Typical terms run 1–3 years at roughly 1–3% above bank pricing, and the plan from day one is to graduate to an A-lender at renewal once the income history supports it. We map that path before you sign, not after.
Self-employed and mortgage-ready? Have these on hand.
Your accountant already has most of this — forward the list, or have them call us directly.
- Last 2 years T1 Generals and Notices of Assessment
- T2s and corporate financial statements, if incorporated
- 12 months of business bank statements (for bank-statement programs)
- Business licence, articles of incorporation, or GST registration
- A note on major write-offs — capital cost allowance, home office, vehicle
- 90-day history for your down payment
- Current mortgage statement and property tax bill (refinance or renewal)
- List of other debts — balances and monthly payments
Bank read your taxes, not your business? Start here.
Tell us how the income actually flows — corporation, deposits, contracts — and we'll tell you which lane fits and what you'd qualify for.