A straight answer
Can I get a mortgage with a profit and loss statement instead of tax returns?
The direct answer
Yes. I offer loans qualified on a prepared profit and loss statement instead of the net income on your tax returns, under the program's rules on who prepares the statement and what supports it. I'm Zach von der Linden (NMLS 1652805), a mortgage broker with West Capital Lending, based in San Clemente.
I arrange loans with lenders and put the financing together; West Capital Lending offers loans qualified on a profit and loss statement, and I place them. On a standard loan, tax returns are the income document and the statement only supports them, so I check that route first, because the agency rules add some deductions back. When the returns still cannot carry the payment, I compare the profit-and-loss route against a bank-statement route on your real numbers, and whether the program accepts your file depends on its guidelines. Text or call me with the business type, the year it started, and whether you are buying or refinancing. I work with homeowners in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona.
Zach von der Linden, mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending · NMLS 1652805
Wholesale pricing · California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona
5.0 across 66 reviews on Experience.com (read on 2026-09-24) · Text reaches Zach directly · Last updated 2026-10-19
Returns that do not show this year's business? Text me the business type, the year it started, whether you are buying or refinancing, and who keeps the books.
No credit pull happens from a text or a call. Texts and calls go to Zach's cell.
What happens after you text me?
Texts go straight to my cell, and I answer them myself when I'm free. I'll ask for the few details that actually matter, tell you whether the structure looks worth pursuing, and explain the next step. If I don't think the loan fits, I'll tell you that too.
A text or phone conversation does not pull your credit.
What does a lender do with a profit and loss statement on a standard loan?
It supports the returns; it does not replace them. Fannie Mae's rule lets a lender use a profit and loss statement, "audited or unaudited," for a self-employed borrower's business "to support its determination of the stability or continuance of the borrower's income," and says a year-to-date statement "is not required for most businesses," though the lender may require one when the application is dated well after the business's tax year ended (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.7-04). The income itself is documented with signed federal returns for the past two years with all schedules, or IRS transcripts, and a cash flow analysis of the business (B3-3.5-01).
FHA is more specific about when the statement is required. HUD's handbook asks for "a year-to-date Profit and Loss (P&L) statement and balance sheet if more than a calendar quarter has elapsed since the date of the most recent calendar or fiscal year-end tax period," adds that a balance sheet is not required for a Schedule C filer, and requires an audited statement or a signed quarterly return from the IRS only where the income used to qualify exceeds the two-year average of the returns (HUD Handbook 4000.1). On both rulebooks the statement is a check on the returns, and a strong year on the statement does not lift the qualifying figure above what the returns support.
Can I qualify on a profit and loss statement alone?
Not under the agency rulebooks. No sentence in Fannie Mae's documentation topics permits qualifying on a profit and loss statement without returns, and FHA's rule reads the statement alongside the returns. Where the question has a yes is outside those rulebooks: I offer a documentation-based loan that qualifies a self-employed borrower on a prepared profit and loss statement instead of the net income on filed returns. The program writes its own rules, and I state none of them here.
What the program looks at: who prepared the statement and whether that person is independent of you; the period it covers; whether deposits in the business bank statements support the revenue it shows; how long the business has operated and your ownership share; and the rest of the file, meaning credit, the down payment or equity, reserves and debts. The lender still has to verify that you can repay: the CFPB's page on qualified mortgages says a lender must consider and verify your current monthly income or assets and your monthly debt, and a different income document does not remove that duty.
Approval depends on the program guidelines. Whether the program accepts your state, your property and your file is confirmed before you rely on it; nothing on this page is an approval, and I will say plainly if the standard route or a bank-statement route fits better.
Why would I use a profit and loss statement instead of bank statements?
Because they read different evidence. A bank statement program reads 12 months of deposits from your personal or your business account, whichever shows the larger average monthly deposits, and applies an expense factor to business-account deposits to allow for the cost of running the business, so a business with heavy pass-through costs can look thinner than it is. A profit-and-loss route reads the statement's net income, which can document lower real expenses. Which one produces the better figure depends on how your money actually moves, and I work that out before anyone gathers a document. The bank statement loan page explains the deposit method; the self-employed HELOC answer covers a line of credit qualified the same ways.
If the business is new, the history rule comes first: the newly self-employed page explains the two-year benchmark and its shorter paths. If the returns are the problem because of write-offs, the write-offs page shows which deductions the standard calculation adds back before any alternative is needed.
My real expenses are lower than the bank statement expense factor. What then?
Then a profit and loss statement is the route to test.
On a bank statement loan, business-account deposits get an expense factor, and the program sets it.
A loan qualified on a prepared profit and loss statement reads the statement's net income instead.
I offer both, and I compare them on your real numbers.
The statement still has to reconcile to your business bank statements.
I also offer a HELOC qualified on a profit-and-loss statement.
It counts your profit, not losses, based on what runs through your bank accounts each month.
The bank statement HELOC I offer does not use a CPA letter.
A CPA letter does not change its expense factor.
If your business is seasonal, tell me which months the statement covers, because the period it covers is one of the program's rules.
The bank statement page explains why only part of your business deposits count and how seasonal deposits are read.
What has to be true, and what the lender checks
- The business is real and established, with records that show it: a license where one applies, the entity documents, and the books.
- The statement is prepared the way the program requires, covers the period it requires, and reconciles to the business bank statements.
- The returns are filed, even if they understate the business; a lender reads them alongside the statement.
- The rest of the file carries its weight: credit, the down payment or equity, reserves after closing, and your monthly debts.
- The standard route was tested first. If the returns support the loan, I will say so.
What should I have ready?
- What the business does, when it started, how it is set up, and your ownership share.
- Your last two filed returns, personal and business, with every schedule, even if they look low.
- A year-to-date profit and loss statement, and who prepared it.
- The last several months of business bank statements, so the deposits can be matched to the statement.
- Whether you are buying or refinancing, the state, and whether you will live in the home.
- Your monthly debts, your down payment or equity, and what would be left after closing.
Send documents through the secure process I give you when we talk, not by ordinary text. A conversation does not pull your credit. Buying a home? Get pre-approved once we have talked. The online letter uses a soft credit check and is written for W-2 employees; self-employed income starts with the conversation above, and the letter does not by itself confirm that a documentation-based program will accept the file.
The hard-to-qualify hub lists the other income situations I can review.
Questions people ask next
Does my accountant have to prepare the profit and loss statement?
It depends on the rulebook. Fannie Mae lets a lender use an audited or unaudited statement to support the returns. FHA requires an audited statement, or a signed quarterly return obtained from the IRS, only where the income used to qualify exceeds the two-year average of the returns. The profit-and-loss program I offer sets its own rule on who prepares it, and that is one of the first things I check.
Do I still need tax returns?
On a standard loan, yes: the signed returns or IRS transcripts are the income document, and the statement supports them. The profit-and-loss loan I offer qualifies you on the statement instead, under the program's conditions. Bring the returns either way; a lender reads them.
Can I use a profit and loss statement to refinance?
The same income review applies to a refinance as to a purchase. Whether the program allows a refinance, or cash out, for your property and your file is confirmed before you rely on it. The property, your equity and the loan purpose are reviewed alongside the income.
My business is less than two years old. Does a profit and loss statement help?
It helps a lender read the business, but it does not shorten the history test. Fannie Mae and FHA each set a length-of-self-employment rule with a conditional shorter path, and the profit-and-loss program sets its own minimum history. The newly self-employed page walks through the dates.
Is this the same as a bank statement loan?
No. A bank statement program reads deposits with an expense factor; a profit-and-loss route reads the statement's net income. Both are documentation routes rather than loans without documents, and underwriting still happens. I compare the two on your numbers rather than guess which fits.
Why does a bank statement loan count only part of my business deposits?
Business-account deposits get an expense factor that treats a share of them as the cost of running the business. When your real costs are lower, the profit-and-loss route reads the statement's net income instead, and I compare the two on your numbers.
Will asking about this affect my credit score?
No. A text or a call does not pull your credit. An application is a separate step, and I tell you before it happens.
What clients say
Zach was so easy to work with. He made a stressful situation into a very positive experience for us and did push us one way or another. He listened to what we hoped we could accomplish and made it happen.
Word for word from Experience.com. Read all reviews.
Sources and checked dates
Sources: Confirmed by Zach, October 19, 2026 (9:29 PM PT, via the Chief of Staff) (checked 2026-10-19) · Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 (checked 2026-10-19) · Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 (via the Chief of Staff) (checked 2026-10-17) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.7-04, Analyzing Profit and Loss Statements (checked 2026-10-17) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.5-01, Underwriting Factors and Documentation for a Self-Employed Borrower (checked 2026-10-17) · FHA single family housing policy handbook 4000.1, Update 18, section II.A.4.c.x (checked 2026-09-12) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.5-01, Underwriting Factors and Documentation for a Self-Employed Borrower (checked 2026-09-12) · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, what is a qualified mortgage (checked 2026-09-10) · Supplied by Zach, September 10, 2026 (checked 2026-09-10) · Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 (checked 2026-10-17).
Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (11)
| What we say, and what it depends on | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Zach offers financing for these self-employed situations: a HELOC to pay off an IRS tax lien; mortgage income for S corporation owners (W-2 wages, K-1 income and distributions); a HELOC to pay off business loans and business credit cards; a divorce buyout for a self-employed homeowner; a DSCR cash-out refinance of a rental qualified on its rent; business funds for a down payment; a HELOC after a drop in self-employed income; combining a spouse's W-2 income with bank statement income; a mortgage when the business pays a debt in the owner's name; seasonal business income; bank statement loans when real business expenses are lower than the expense factor; and a mortgage when a self-employed owner moves a business into California, Utah, Oregon or Arizona. He arranges each as a broker. | Confirmed by Zach, October 19, 2026 (9:29 PM PT, via the Chief of Staff) | 2026-10-19 |
| Zach's answers for the self-employed HELOC answers. The bank statement HELOC he offers has no set minimum time in business, so a business under two years old is fine. An unfiled or extended tax year does not matter for the bank statement HELOC, because tax returns are not part of how it qualifies; no extra documents are needed for it. He also offers a HELOC qualified on a profit-and-loss statement; it counts profit only, not losses, based on what runs through the borrower's bank accounts each month. He takes 1099 and gig earners with no business entity and no business account: any account the borrower receives income into can be used, as long as it gets frequent deposits, and those deposits count toward qualifying income. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| The bank statement HELOC Zach offers does not take a CPA letter into account, so a CPA letter cannot lower the expense factor on that product. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| Zach offers loans qualified on a prepared profit and loss statement instead of the net income on tax returns; West Capital Lending offers them, and he arranges them. | Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 (via the Chief of Staff) | 2026-10-17 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.7-04, Analyzing Profit and Loss Statements (04/01/2009): "The lender may use a profit and loss statement" (the topic adds "audited or unaudited", set off by dashes) "for a self-employed borrower's business to support its determination of the stability or continuance of the borrower's income. A typical profit and loss statement has a format similar to IRS Form 1040, Schedule C." "A year-to-date profit and loss statement is not required for most businesses, but if the borrower's loan application is dated more than 120 days after the end of the business's tax year, the lender may choose to require this document if it believes that it is needed to support its determination of the stability or continuance of the borrower's income." "If the lender did not count the borrower's year-to-date salary or draws in determining the borrower's qualifying income, it may add them to the net profit shown on the profit and loss statement as well as adding any of the allowable adjustments it used in analyzing the tax returns for the business, such as nonrecurring income and expenses, depreciation, and depletion." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.7-04, Analyzing Profit and Loss Statements | 2026-10-17 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.5-01, Underwriting Factors and Documentation for a Self-Employed Borrower (12/13/2023), re-read 2026-10-17: "The lender may verify a self-employed borrower's employment and income by obtaining from the borrower copies of their signed federal income tax returns (both individual returns and in some cases, business returns) that were filed with the IRS for the past two years (with all applicable schedules attached)." Transcripts are an alternative "as long as the information provided is complete and legible and the transcripts include the information from all of the applicable schedules." "Any individual who has a 25% or greater ownership interest in a business is considered to be self-employed." One year of returns is allowed when "the business from which the borrower is using self-employed income must have been in existence for five years as reflected on the Form 1003, and the borrower has had an ownership share of 25% or more for the past five years consecutively," with a cash flow analysis in the file. The lender "may use Cash Flow Analysis (Form 1084), another type of cash flow analysis, or an automated tool such as Fannie Mae-approved vendor tools or the Income Calculator, that apply the same principles as Form 1084." The factors include "the ability of the business to continue generating and distributing sufficient income to enable the borrower to make the payments on the requested loan." A full-text search of the topic on 2026-10-17 for "profit and loss", "P&L", "year-to-date", "audited" and "business bank statement" found no profit-and-loss requirement in this topic. | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.5-01, Underwriting Factors and Documentation for a Self-Employed Borrower | 2026-10-17 |
| FHA requires “a year-to-date Profit and Loss (P&L) statement and balance sheet if more than a calendar quarter has elapsed since the date of the most recent calendar or fiscal year-end tax period,” adds that “a balance sheet is not required for self-employed Borrowers filing Schedule C income,” and requires an audited profit and loss statement or a signed quarterly tax return only where the income used to qualify exceeds the two-year average of the tax returns. | FHA single family housing policy handbook 4000.1, Update 18, section II.A.4.c.x | 2026-09-12 |
| Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide section on underwriting a self-employed borrower requires the lender to analyze the stability of the borrower’s income, the location and nature of the business, the demand for the product or service, the financial strength of the business, and, in the guide’s words, "the ability of the business to continue generating and distributing sufficient income" to make the payments on the loan. To reach a figure the guide says "The lender must complete Fannie Mae’s Cash Flow Analysis (Form 1084) or any other type of cash flow analysis form that applies the same principles," and it permits Fannie Mae’s own income calculator instead, with the written analysis or findings report kept in the loan file. | Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.5-01, Underwriting Factors and Documentation for a Self-Employed Borrower | 2026-09-12 |
| The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s page on qualified mortgages states that a lender must consider and verify a borrower’s current monthly income or assets, other than the value of the property that will secure the loan, and the borrower’s monthly debt. | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, what is a qualified mortgage | 2026-09-10 |
| West Capital Lending offers bank statement loans, and Zach can arrange them. | Supplied by Zach, September 10, 2026 | 2026-09-10 |
| Zach offers loans qualified on 12 months of bank statements instead of tax returns, at any loan size. He qualifies the borrower on either the personal or the business bank account, whichever shows the larger average monthly deposits over the past 12 months, and business-account deposits get an expense factor. | Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 | 2026-10-17 |
Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.
Last updated 2026-10-19.
Verify him: NMLS Consumer Access, ID 1652805 · 66 reviews on Experience.com.
Sources for product claims are listed on this page, with the date each was checked.