Multiple Business Owners

Qualifying for a self-employed mortgage when you own more than one business

Many self-employed borrowers own multiple businesses. Lenders offering self-employed mortgages can work with this complexity, combining income across entities to maximize qualifying income.

How Multiple Businesses Are Handled

Lenders evaluate each business separately, then combine the results:

1. Verify each business meets self-employment requirements (typically 2 years)
2. Collect bank statements for each business account
3. Apply appropriate expense factors to each business
4. Sum the qualifying income from all sources

Example Calculation

Business	Expense Factor	Annual Deposits	Qualifying Income
Consulting LLC	25%	$200,000	$150,000
Retail store	50%	$300,000	$150,000
Combined			$300,000

Documentation for Each Business

• 12 or 24 months of bank statements
• Business license or formation documents
• Proof of ownership percentage
• CPA letter (optional, but helpful)

Key Considerations

Ownership percentage — Partial owners may only receive credit for their share of income. A 50% owner gets 50% of qualifying income.

Intercompany transfers — Money moving between your businesses gets flagged and excluded. Keep clean records distinguishing revenue from transfers.

Business tenure — If one business is newer than two years, that income may not count even if your other businesses qualify.

More paperwork — Multiple entities means multiplied documentation. Get all businesses properly documented before applying.

For 1099 programs, lenders combine 1099 totals across businesses rather than applying expense factors to deposits.