05/28/2026
If you're self-employed and wondering how lenders assess your mortgage application, here's a straightforward breakdown.
Lenders don't use your revenue. They use your net income as declared to the CRA — averaged across your last two years.
Here's what most lenders will want to see:
Two years of T1 General tax returns and Notices of Assessment from CRA. Evidence of business operation. Two full years of self-employment history. Bank statements to show consistent cash flow.
If you run through a corporation: salary vs. dividends affects how income is calculated. Both work, but documented differently.
Self-employed mortgages are more documentation-heavy, but they're very achievable.
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