Home Loans for Self-Employed Borrowers
What is a Self-Employed Home Loan?
This loan caters to self-employed individuals whose income may not be shown through standard PAYG payslips. Instead, lenders assess business activity statements, tax returns, or low-doc evidence to evaluate your capacity to repay.
How Lend Dreams Can Help You
We work with specialist lenders who understand the complexities of self-employment. We help present your income in a lender-friendly way and match you with the most flexible and suitable loan products on the market
Things to consider
Proof of Income Requirements
Lenders typically ask for 1–2 years of business tax returns or financial statements. If these are not available, low-doc options may be considered using BAS or bank statements.
Loan Type & Lender Flexibility
Some mainstream banks have rigid rules for the self-employed. We work with specialist lenders who offer flexible documentation requirements tailored to business owners.
Business Structure Impacts Borrowing
Whether you’re a sole trader, partnership, or director of a company can influence how income is assessed. We help present your business performance clearly to the lender.
Deposit & Credit History
A good deposit (usually 10–20%) and a clean credit history strengthen your chances. We advise you on preparing your finances before applying.
Banks read payslips. Your income does not come on one.
Self-employed borrowers are routinely knocked back or under-lent, not because the income is not there, but because it is presented the way an accountant minimises tax, not the way a bank assesses servicing. Depreciation, one-off costs and retained profits can all be legitimately added back to show your real position.
And when the standard two-years-of-tax-returns path does not fit, you restructured, you had a covid-shaped year, you grew fast, there are alt-doc lenders who assess on BAS, business bank statements or an accountant’s declaration instead.
How we get the self-employed approved
- Add-backs done properly: depreciation, interest, one-offs and super above the minimum, added back to show true income.
- The right document path: full-doc where it works, alt-doc where it works better.
- Structures handled: sole trader, company, trust, or a mix: we present it so the assessor gets it first time.
- Timing advice: sometimes lodging this year’s return first is worth tens of thousands in borrowing power. We will tell you when to wait.
Self-employed lending, answered
Most lenders want two years of tax returns, but several accept one full year, and some consider less if you moved from PAYG into the same line of work. An ABN and GST registration history helps. There are more paths than most people are told.
Often, yes. Lenders can add back non-cash and one-off deductions, depreciation, extra super, borrowing costs, to your taxable income when assessing. The difference between raw taxable income and assessed income is frequently the difference between declined and approved.
A loan assessed on alternative evidence, commonly BAS statements, business bank statements, or an accountant’s declaration, instead of finished tax returns. Rates are typically slightly higher than full-doc, and it can be a stepping stone: refinance to full-doc once your returns catch up.
No, it is just more pages. Lenders assess the whole structure: your wage, distributions, and retained company profits can all count. The key is presenting the group position clearly, which is precisely what we prepare before anything goes to a bank.
No payslips? No problem. Talk to a broker who gets self-employment.
A free 15-minute chat with a local broker. No obligation, no jargon.