Can You Get a Home Loan If You're Self-Employed?

Yes, you can. More than two million Australians are self-employed, and they buy homes, upgrade homes and build investment portfolios like everyone else.

Yes, you can. More than two million Australians are self-employed, and they buy homes, upgrade homes and build investment portfolios like everyone else. What trips people up isn't eligibility; it's that the home loan system was designed around payslips, and your income arrives as invoices, drawings, distributions or director's wages instead.

Here's how lenders actually assess self-employed borrowers, what changes depending on your business structure, and the honest answer to the 'best lender' question. This is general information rather than credit advice, but it will save you a few wrong turns.

What Lenders Actually Look At

For a standard full-doc loan, most lenders want two years of personal and business tax returns, your ATO Notices of Assessment, and financial statements such as profit and loss reports, with the last 12 months of BAS where the business is GST-registered. Two years matters because business income moves around, and lenders want evidence it's sustainable, not just that last quarter was good.

How they use those numbers matters just as much. Many lenders average your income across the two years, and some conservatively use the lower year. And it's your taxable income they assess, which creates the classic self-employed trap: every deduction your accountant found lowered your tax and your borrowing power in the same stroke. Some lenders soften this with add-backs, returning items like depreciation and genuine one-off expenses to your assessable income, but add-back policies differ from lender to lender.

Been Self-Employed Less Than Two Years?

You still have options. Some lenders will assess one year of financials where the application is otherwise strong, particularly if you previously worked PAYG in the same industry, so the income story is continuous even though the structure changed. Alt-doc and low-doc pathways go further, verifying income through six to twelve months of BAS, business bank statements and an accountant's declaration rather than lodged returns.

The trade-offs deserve plain English: low-doc loans usually cap the loan-to-value ratio lower, meaning a bigger deposit, and rates can sit above standard loans. Plenty of borrowers use them as a bridge and refinance once two full financial years are lodged. And sometimes the honest advice is that waiting one more tax return opens far better options; a good broker will tell you that rather than force a deal today.

Sole Traders, Companies and Trusts: Does Structure Matter?

It changes the paperwork more than the outcome. A sole trader mortgage application runs off your personal returns, since business income is your income. Company directors are assessed on wages plus their share of company profit, so lenders want the company financials alongside personal returns. Trust structures add distribution history to the pile.

Business owners sometimes assume a company structure disqualifies them, or that drawing a modest director's wage caps their borrowing. Neither is automatically true; lenders who understand business structures look through to the profit you control. The key is presenting the structure clearly, which is where having your broker and accountant briefly in the same conversation pays for itself.

The 'Best Lender For Self-Employed' Question, Answered Honestly

It's the most-searched version of this topic, and the truthful answer is that there's no universal best lender for self-employed borrowers. Since regulators sharpened their guidance on lending standards, some major banks ask self-employed applicants for two to three years of financials, at least one major doesn't offer low-doc loans at all, and specialist lenders offer real flexibility at a higher price. A lender that suits a two-year-old plumbing business may be wrong for a first-year consultant with the same income.

The useful question is which lender's policy fits your paperwork, structure and goals right now. Answering it means comparing policies across the market, which is the job of an independent broker with a wide panel: we're not owned by a bank, so the comparison isn't rigged toward anyone's product.

How To Strengthen Your Application

• Lodge your tax returns on time. Nothing stalls a self-employed application like a missing return.
• Keep your ATO position clean, and if you have a payment plan, keep it visible and up to date rather than hoping it goes unnoticed.
• Cancel unused credit cards and trim limits; lenders assess the limit, not the balance.
• Build genuine savings in an account that shows a steady pattern.
• Talk to your broker before your accountant lodges this year's return, not after, so deductions and borrowing plans don't work against each other.

None of these are tricks; they're the difference between a lender reading your file with confidence and reading it with questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do self-employed borrowers need a bigger deposit?

Not necessarily. With two years of solid financials, self-employed borrowers access the same deposit requirements and LVR limits as anyone else, including options with lenders mortgage insurance at higher LVRs. Where deposits do grow is on low-doc loans, which cap LVRs lower to offset the lighter documentation. Your pathway determines the deposit, not the mere fact of self-employment.

Are interest rates higher if you're self-employed?

Not automatically. Full-doc self-employed borrowers generally access the same products and pricing as PAYG applicants. Low-doc and specialist loans can carry higher rates because the lender takes on more uncertainty. Comparing the total cost across lenders, not the headline rate, is the discipline that matters, and it's the comparison we run across the panel.

Can I apply if my ABN is less than two years old?

Possibly. A handful of lenders will consider one year of financials, and alt-doc options can work from BAS and bank statements, especially where you moved from PAYG employment into the same line of work. It's case by case, and if the strongest move is waiting for one more lodged return, an honest broker will say so.

What if my last financial year was a bad one?

It depends how the lender treats the two years. Averaging softens one weak year; lower-of-two-years policies don't. Some lenders will also consider the story behind the dip and more recent BAS showing recovery. This is exactly the situation where lender selection changes the outcome, so don't assume one decline speaks for the whole market.

Does it matter whether I'm a sole trader or a company?

It changes the documents, not your eligibility. Sole traders are assessed on personal returns; directors on wages plus company profit with company financials supplied; trusts on distributions. Lenders familiar with business structures assess the income you genuinely control, and presenting the structure clearly is most of the battle.