Self employed
Being self-employed does not mean a worse loan. We get you a full-doc loan at normal rates by matching you to the right lender and presenting your income properly. 35+ lenders. $0 cost.
Yes, and it does not have to be harder or more expensive. Being self-employed simply means lenders assess your income differently. The catch is that the taxable income on your return is often well below your real cash flow, thanks to legitimate deductions, so a bank that only reads that figure may say no while the right lender says yes.
That is the gap we close. We work out your true borrowing power using legitimate add-backs, match you to a lender that reads self-employed income well, and get you a full-doc loan at normal rates. We compare 35+ lenders, and it costs you $0.
Here is the part worth knowing: many self-employed borrowers think they need an expensive low doc loan, and most do not. If your returns are lodged, we can usually get you approved full-doc, at the same rate as any other borrower. We focus on exactly that.
The figure on your tax return is often lower than your real income. The right lender adds legitimate expenses back to work out what you can really service. Here is an illustrative example for a company director.
| Working out your assessable income | Amount |
|---|---|
| Company net profit | $45,000 |
| Add back: director’s wages (paid to yourself) | + $65,000 |
| Add back: depreciation (non-cash) | + $12,000 |
| Add back: one-off expenses | + $6,000 |
| Add back: extra super contributions | + $15,000 |
| Add back: interest on ongoing debt | + $4,000 |
| What the right lender assesses | $147,000 |
Illustration only. Not every lender adds back every item, and lenders will not add back genuine ongoing costs, so the real figure depends on your situation and the lender. Adding back too much is a common reason applications are declined, so it needs to be legitimate and well presented, which is exactly what we do. Confirm the tax side with your accountant.
The starting point is your lodged tax returns and notices of assessment. For a company, partnership, or trust, lenders also want the business returns and financials. From there, two things decide your borrowing power: the add-backs a lender allows, and how they read your recent history.
Add-backs are the big lever. Depreciation, one-off costs, and extra super contributions reduce your taxable income but are not ongoing cash costs, so the right lender adds them back. Interest on your ongoing debts can be added back too, since those repayments are counted separately in the assessment. Either way, your assessable income climbs. The catch is that lenders will not add back everything, and overdoing it gets applications declined, so it has to be legitimate and well presented.
The other lever is how your history is read. Most lenders average your last two years, but where your latest year is stronger, some will use just that year, and several will accept a single year of returns. Where your income is growing, being matched to the right lender can lift what you can borrow by a wide margin.
Low doc has a reputation as the self-employed option, but for most borrowers it is not the best one. A low doc, or alt-doc, loan uses alternative income evidence when your full tax returns are not available, and it usually comes with a bigger deposit and a higher rate to match. Those higher rates are where the idea that self-employed loans cost more actually comes from.
A full-doc loan, by contrast, uses your lodged returns and gives you the widest lender choice and the sharpest rates, the same rates as any other borrower. We focus on full-doc, because for the large majority of self-employed borrowers it is simply the better outcome.
So the single most useful thing you can do is get your tax returns lodged and up to date. Once they are, we can usually get you approved full-doc, present your income at its legitimate best, and find you a mainstream rate. If your returns are behind, that is the first thing to fix, and we will tell you exactly what is needed.
A few things make a real difference to how much you can borrow and how smoothly it goes.
Real answers to the questions self-employed borrowers ask us most.
We work out your real borrowing power, present your income at its legitimate best, and get you approved full-doc at a mainstream rate across 35+ lenders. $0 cost.
MFAA member. 10+ years lending experience.
Explore the guides and services that pair with a self-employed loan.
Self-employed home loan specialists helping sole traders and business owners across 220+ Sydney suburbs and Australia wide. Meet our team. Service regions: Sydney CBD, Sydney Central, Eastern Suburbs, Northern Beaches, North Shore, Inner West, Sutherland Shire, Hills District, St George, Canterbury-Bankstown, Western Sydney, Penrith.
