I’m Michael DiVita — DRE #01372066 | NMLS #241655, DiVita Home Finance (DRE #01818285 | NMLS #323700), Tiburon, CA. I’ve been in California mortgage lending since 2000 and founded DiVita Home Finance in 2007. If your accountant says you can’t get a mortgage, they’re right about the conventional path and wrong about the non-QM path. Call (800) 239-1103.
It is one of the most frustrating things a self-employed borrower can hear: you go to your accountant to ask about getting a mortgage and they tell you there is no way — your income is too low on paper. They are right about the problem and wrong about the solution.
Your accountant’s job is to minimize your taxable income. They are very good at it. But that creates a specific challenge with conventional mortgage lending, and most accountants are not mortgage specialists. They do not know about non-QM loan programs that bypass the tax return entirely.
What Your Accountant Is Actually Telling You
When your accountant says you cannot qualify for a mortgage, they almost certainly mean you cannot qualify for a conventional Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan using your current tax returns. They are correct about that. A conventional lender would look at your Schedule C or K-1 and come up with a number that does not reflect how you actually live.
But that is not the only type of mortgage that exists.
Non-QM Loans Do Not Use Tax Returns
Non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) products are portfolio loans — meaning the lender keeps them on their own books rather than selling them to Fannie Mae. Because they are not bound by Fannie Mae guidelines, they can use alternative income documentation: bank statement loans (12 or 24 months of deposits, no tax returns), P&L only loans (a CPA-prepared profit and loss statement), 1099 loans (gross contractor earnings before deductions), and asset depletion (qualifying on investment and savings balances). None of these programs require your filed tax returns for income qualification. Your write-offs are irrelevant to how the lender sizes your loan.
A Real Example
One of my borrowers owned a landscaping business in Marin County. His accountant had done an excellent job — his 2024 tax return showed $68,000 in taxable income after deductions. His business bank account showed consistent deposits of $28,000 per month. Using a bank statement loan with a 50% expense factor, his qualifying income came to $168,000 annually. He purchased a home in San Rafael at $875,000. His accountant had told him it was impossible.
What to Bring to the Conversation
Share this with your accountant: non-QM lenders do not need the tax returns for income qualification. What you need instead are 12 to 24 months of business or personal bank statements, or a CPA-prepared P&L statement. Your accountant can actually be very helpful in preparing that P&L document.
Related: Self-employed mortgage guide | Bank statement loans | P&L only loans
Frequently Asked Questions — Self-Employed Mortgage When Accountant Says No
My accountant says I can’t get a mortgage because my income is too low on paper. Is that true?
Your accountant is right that a conventional Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan would use your taxable income — and if that’s been minimized through legitimate write-offs, you may not qualify for a conventional mortgage. But they are wrong that no mortgage exists for you. Non-QM (non-qualified mortgage) lenders use alternative income documentation — specifically, your actual bank deposits, 1099 earnings, or a CPA-prepared profit and loss statement — instead of your tax returns. Your write-offs are irrelevant to how a non-QM lender calculates your qualifying income. Many self-employed borrowers who can’t qualify conventionally qualify easily under a bank statement loan program.
How does a bank statement loan work for self-employed borrowers?
A bank statement loan qualifies you based on your actual monthly bank deposits over 12 or 24 months, not your tax returns. The lender averages your deposits and applies an expense factor (typically 40–50% for business accounts) to arrive at net qualifying income. For example, if your business deposits average $28,000 per month and the lender applies a 50% expense factor, your qualifying income is $14,000 per month — or $168,000 annually. This figure is used to calculate your debt-to-income ratio and maximum loan amount. Tax write-offs don’t enter the calculation at all.
Can my CPA help me qualify for a non-QM mortgage?
Yes — and this is an important point to share with your accountant. For P&L-only non-QM loans, the lender requires a CPA-prepared profit and loss statement covering 12 or 24 months. Your accountant is the right person to prepare that document. The P&L shows gross revenue and operating expenses, and the lender uses the net profit figure as your qualifying income. Unlike tax returns, the P&L can reflect your current business performance rather than prior-year activity. Your accountant doesn’t need to know mortgage guidelines — they just need to prepare an accurate, professionally formatted P&L on their letterhead.
Talk to Michael Directly
DiVita Home Finance | Tiburon, CA | In lending since 2000, founded DiVita Home Finance in 2007. Michael DiVita DRE #01372066 | NMLS #241655. Company DRE #01818285 | NMLS #323700.
💬 Text: (310) 849-9124
