Complex & Self-Employed Income
Complex income, read properly. Not treated as a problem.
Self-employed, company director, trust income, multiple sources, a business that had one unusual year. None of that makes you a difficult borrower. It makes you a borrower who needs someone to read the whole file.
- A director reads your financials, not a processing centre
- Add-backs identified and presented properly to lenders
- We know which lenders assess your income type well
- We coordinate with your existing accountant
Get started
Tell us what you're trying to do.
Who you'll be dealing with
Jonathon Radford, Director
- Master of Applied Finance, majoring in Investment Management
- Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning
- Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management
- 15+ years across commercial banking, investments and wealth management
- 15+ years of business ownership and operating experience
Finstac Pty Ltd, Credit Representative 582083, authorised under Elders Home Loans Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 384408
The situation
The same tax return, three different answers.
Lenders differ enormously in how they read self-employed and complex income. One will assess your net profit and stop there. Another will add back depreciation, one-off expenses and eligible superannuation adjustments, and arrive at a materially higher assessable figure on identical financials.
That's why a knock-back from one bank tells you almost nothing, and why being told your situation is 'too complex' usually means it was sent to the wrong lender with the wrong presentation.
We work out what your income genuinely looks like to a lender, then take it to the lenders whose policy fits it.
Why Finstac
Who this is for.
Self-employed and business owners
Sole traders, company directors and trust structures. One year or two years of financials, and the add-backs that go with them.
Professionals with layered income
PAYG plus practice income, dividends, distributions or partnership income read together rather than piecemeal.
Variable and recent-change income
Bonuses, commissions, contract income, or a business that's changed shape recently and doesn't look like last year's return.
Larger and structured borrowing
Lending across entities, coordinated with your accountant, with a director owning the file end to end.
The same numbers, read two ways
Why two lenders reach different answers on one tax return.
Nothing below is about creditworthiness. It is about how a file is assessed and how it is presented. Both columns are legitimate assessments of identical financials.
Net profit
Taken at face value from the tax return.
Starting point only, before eligible add-backs are identified and evidenced.
Depreciation
Usually left as a deduction, because it appears as an expense.
Presented as a non-cash deduction where the lender's policy allows it to be added back.
One-off expenses
Treated as ongoing, since nothing in the return says otherwise.
Documented as non-recurring, commonly with a letter from your accountant.
Two years of figures
Often averaged, which pulls a growing business down toward its weaker year.
Some lenders will use the most recent year where the trend is supported by evidence.
Lender selection
One lender, one policy, one answer.
Matched to lenders whose published policy suits your income type and structure.
What you receive
A number, with little explanation of how it was reached.
The reasoning set out, so you can see which assumptions moved the figure.
General information only, not credit advice. Add-back treatment, income assessment and documentation requirements vary by lender and are subject to each lender's current credit policy. Finstac does not provide accounting or tax advice; that stays with your accountant.
Want the real number, not an estimate?
A director will run your actual position across the 100+ lenders we have access to.
The process
How it works.
Tell us what you're trying to do
A quick conversation gives us the context: your goal, your timeline and where you're up to.
We assess your position
We look at your circumstances, objectives and the lending options actually available to you across the lenders we have access to.
We structure the strategy
We identify an appropriate lending approach, and explain the trade-offs in plain English before you commit.
We handle the process
From application through to settlement, we stay involved and keep you updated.
Free guide
The Complex Income Finance Guide
For self employed people, business owners and professionals
- How lenders assess self employed and variable income
- Add backs: what they are and which ones lenders commonly accept
- Why two lenders can read the same tax return differently
- What to have ready before you apply
Straight answers
The questions we get asked most.
The things people actually ask before they pick up the phone. If yours isn't here, ask us directly and we'll give you a straight answer either way.
It's usually too complex for an automated assessment, which is a different problem. Complex files are the ones that reward being read properly by someone who has seen them before.
A decline from one lender is a data point about that lender's policy, not about you. It's worth understanding why before assuming the answer is the same everywhere.
Some lenders will work with one year plus supporting evidence: BAS, an accountant's letter, current trading. Fewer, but they exist, and the terms are often better than people expect.
Often well. But a private bank can only offer its own products. We can tell you when they're competitive and when they aren't, and you keep the relationship either way.
Yes, and we'd prefer to. Most structural problems we see come from the broker and the accountant never having spoken. Note that we don't provide accounting or tax advice ourselves. That stays with your accountant.
Generally two years of tax returns and financial statements, recent BAS, and an accountant's letter if your income has changed materially. Trust deeds or company documents where relevant. Getting these together early removes most of the delay.
Not inherently. It makes it more complex to read, which is a different problem, and one that's solved by sending the file to a lender who assesses those structures regularly.
Usually averaged over two years, and often shaded. Lenders differ on how much they'll count, particularly where the bonus is a large share of total income.
No, but it needs explaining. A declining trend is assessed more cautiously than a stable or rising one, and an accountant's letter explaining a one-off event carries real weight.
Sometimes. Under a year of trading narrows the options considerably, though a strong history in the same industry beforehand can help. We'll tell you honestly whether it's worth applying now or waiting.
Complex income · Case study
Self-employed couple told they couldn't borrow enough.
The situation
A couple running a services business through a company structure, with two years of financials and a strong trading history. Their own bank assessed them on net profit alone and came back with a figure well below what they needed for the home they'd found.
The problem
The bank's assessment ignored depreciation and a one-off equipment write-down from the prior year, and treated retained profits as unavailable. On paper they looked like they earned far less than they actually did.
What we did
- Reviewed two years of financials with their accountant to identify eligible add-backs
- Documented the one-off expense with an accountant's letter explaining it wouldn't recur
- Selected three lenders whose policy treats company profits and add-backs favourably
- Presented the file with the add-back reasoning set out explicitly rather than leaving the assessor to find it
The outcome
Assessable income was read materially higher than the original bank assessment, and the loan was approved at the amount required. The structure also preserved capacity for a future investment purchase.
The numbers
- Net business profit
- $180,000
- Eligible add-backs identified
- $45,000
- Original bank assessment
- ~$620,000
- Approved amount
- $840,000
- Time from enquiry to approval
- 3 weeks
Illustrative example based on typical client scenarios. Individual circumstances, lender policies and outcomes vary. Not a guarantee of approval or result.
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Our people
The people behind Finstac.
A small senior team, by design. You deal directly with the people who built the business, from the first conversation through to settlement.
Meet our people
Ready when you are.
Three quick questions, then a director comes back to you within one business day. No obligation, and we'll tell you honestly if the answer is “not yet”.