Pillar guide
Home finance for self-employed and complex-income borrowers.
How lenders read self-employed, trust, dividend and variable income. Why two lenders reach different answers on the same tax return, and what to have ready before you apply.
- 01Former commercial bankers
- 02Access to 100+ lenders
- 03A director on every file
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You're not a difficult borrower. You were sent to the wrong lender.
Being told your income is 'too complex' almost always means the file went somewhere that assesses income by formula rather than by reading it.
The same set of financials can produce materially different assessable income depending on which add-backs a lender accepts, whether they'll work from one year or insist on two, and how they treat trust distributions or retained profits.
None of that is about your creditworthiness. It's about lender policy and how the file is presented, both of which are solvable.
Add-backs, explained
Your tax return is designed to minimise taxable income. Lenders know this, and most will add certain non-cash or non-recurring items back to arrive at a figure closer to your real earning capacity.
- Depreciation, a non-cash accounting deduction
- Eligible superannuation contributions above the compulsory level
- One-off or non-recurring expenses, where evidenced
- Interest on debt being refinanced or repaid
- Director wages already drawn, in some structures
Who this affects
Self-employed borrowers are the obvious group, but complex income covers far more: professionals with practice income alongside PAYG, executives with bonus or equity compensation, contractors, and anyone with income across multiple entities.
What to have ready
The single biggest cause of delay is incomplete documentation. Assembling this before you apply changes the experience substantially.
- Two years of tax returns and financial statements (or one, with strong supporting evidence)
- Recent BAS statements
- An accountant's letter where income has changed materially
- ATO integrated client account statements
- Trust deeds or company structure documents where relevant
One year of financials
Some lenders will work from a single year with supporting evidence of current trading. Fewer of them, but they exist, and the terms are often better than borrowers expect. It's a question of knowing which lenders and presenting the case properly.
Working with your accountant
Most structural problems we see come from a broker and an accountant who never spoke. We work alongside yours rather than around them.
To be clear about scope: Finstac does not provide accounting or tax advice. That relationship stays with your accountant, and we coordinate with them on the lending.
A worked example
- Net business profit
- $180,000
- Depreciation
- +$18,000
- Eligible superannuation adjustments
- +$12,000
- One-off expenses (evidenced)
- +$15,000
- Illustrative lender-assessable income
- $225,000
- Difference in assessed income
- +$45,000
Illustrative only. Lenders differ significantly on which add-backs they accept. This is not your taxable income, not a lending assessment, and not tax advice.
If you'd rather have someone work through this against your actual numbers, that conversation is free and there's no obligation attached to it.
Complex IncomeFrequently asked questions
Yes. The question is which lender, and how your income is presented. Self-employed lending is ordinary business for the right lender, not an exception.
Two is standard. Some lenders accept one year with supporting evidence such as BAS and an accountant's letter, particularly where trading is clearly established.
A non-cash or non-recurring expense a lender adds back to your net profit to better reflect your actual earning capacity. Depreciation is the most common.
Less than you'd think. A decline reflects one lender's policy at one moment. It's worth understanding the reason, but it doesn't determine what another lender will say.
No. We're finance brokers. We coordinate with your accountant on the lending, but tax and accounting advice stays with them.
This guide is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not credit, financial, legal or tax advice. Consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and seek professional advice where relevant. Credit criteria, fees, charges, terms and conditions apply.
Run the numbers
Self-employed income
Net profit plus potential add-backs, to illustrate how a lender might read your income.
Borrowing power
How much you could borrow, assessed the way lenders actually do it, with the 3% APRA buffer applied.
LVR
Your loan-to-value ratio, and how far you are from the 80% threshold where LMI usually disappears.
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
Other guides
- First Home BuyersFirst home buyer loans in Australia. The plain-English guide.
- RefinancingRefinancing your home loan. How it works, and when it's worth it.
- Property InvestmentInvestment property loans and structure. A plain-English guide.
- Business, Commercial & Asset FinanceBusiness and commercial finance. Funding growth without the cliff.
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”.