Salary, bonus and stock

Buying or refinancing with salary, bonuses, and stock compensation?

The direct answer

Your compensation is more than your salary, and the mortgage review should account for that. If your pay includes salary, bonuses, commissions or stock compensation, I review how the lenders I work with may evaluate each part for a purchase or refinance, and I tell you what counts, what needs documenting and what stays uncertain before you shop.

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. I work with buyers and homeowners in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona, and every file is reviewed on its income, assets, credit and property.

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 2026-10-17

Text me whether you are buying or refinancing, the property state, and how your pay is made up.

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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.

Start with the one that sounds like you

Buying and need a letter? Get pre-approved, and text me how your pay is made up so the stock, bonus or commission part gets its own review. The online letter uses a soft credit check and does not by itself confirm that any of that income qualifies.

Which parts of my pay can a lender count?

Each part of your pay has its own written rule, and the rulebook I can quote is Fannie Mae's, which governs loans sold to Fannie Mae and is not a rule for every lender. Base salary counts when it is documented. Bonus and commission count when there is a history: Fannie Mae recommends two years and allows no less than twelve months where positive factors offset the shorter history, and it averages the income rather than using your current pace.

Restricted stock counts only once it has vested and been distributed to you without restrictions. A time-based award needs a twelve-month history from the current employer, and a sign-on bonus paid in restricted stock that vests over any length of time is not eligible as qualifying income under Fannie Mae's topic. The RSU income page walks through the history, continuance and calculation rules, and the commission, bonus and overtime page shows how variable pay is averaged.

FHA and VA are different rulebooks. Neither handbook has a restricted stock provision, so how a lender treats vested stock on a W-2 is that lender's reading of its general income rules. A jumbo program is not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and writes its own rules. Requirements vary by program and lender, and I confirm which rulebook applies before anything is counted.

Is my stock income, a down-payment asset, or both?

The two reviews are separate. Income qualification asks what you have received and how long you have received it. Asset verification asks what you hold today and whether it can be documented. Under Fannie Mae's assets topic, vested stocks, bonds and mutual funds are acceptable sources of funds for the down payment, closing costs and reserves when their value can be verified and your ownership is documented, and they do not have to be sold to count as reserves.

Unvested awards fall on neither side. They are not income until they vest and are distributed, and Fannie Mae's reserve rules list non-vested stock options, non-vested restricted stock and stock held in an unlisted corporation among the sources that cannot be counted as reserves. The same dollars are not counted twice: funds used to close are subtracted before reserves are measured.

Does a larger loan change the review?

Often. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their regulator set a maximum size for the loans they will buy, and larger loans are called jumbo mortgages. A jumbo loan is underwritten to its own program's rules for income history, reserves and which assets count, and some programs are stricter than the agency rule while others are more flexible. I never copy an agency calculation into a jumbo file. The jumbo page covers funds to close and reserves without selling everything you hold, and a conforming first mortgage with a second loan or line is sometimes the structure worth comparing against one larger loan.

What I review before you shop

Which income I expect a program to count, which I do not, and which needs a document before I can say. Whether the loan you have in mind is conforming or jumbo for its county, because the rulebook changes with it. Where the funds to close come from and what remains after closing. What changes if a vest date passes, a bonus falls, or you change employers before closing. Then I tell you which programs I can place, before you write an offer.

None of that is an approval. A lender decides each file on its own documents, and I do not promise that any program will accept a given file. What you get from me is the number the rulebook produces, not a guess.

What should I have ready?

Your most recent pay stubs and your W-2s for the last two years.
Award agreements and the current vesting schedule, showing past and future vesting dates.
Brokerage statements showing the shares or cash distributed in each of the last two years.
Whether any award was a sign-on grant, and whether your awards are recurring.
Your bonus or commission plan, and what the variable part came to in each of the last two years.
Whether you are buying or refinancing, which state the property is in, and whether you will live there.
Your monthly debts, because the income is reviewed alongside them.

Send documents through the secure process I give you when we talk, not by ordinary text. A conversation does not pull your credit.

Founder or early employee with private-company stock?

I will say this plainly rather than hint at a program I cannot name. Fannie Mae's restricted stock topic requires evidence that the stock is publicly traded, and its reserve rules exclude stock held in an unlisted corporation, so private-company equity does not meet those tests and I do not imply that it qualifies elsewhere. What can carry a file is the income you actually receive, documented assets you hold, or proceeds after a liquidity event has closed and the money is in an account you own. The qualifying-on-assets page explains how documented assets can support a loan, and the treatment of any particular program is checked with that lender.

Questions people ask next

Do I need a special lender because part of my pay is stock?

No. You need a program whose written income rules fit the way you are paid, and those rules differ by program and lender. Fannie Mae has a written restricted stock topic, FHA and VA handbooks have none, and jumbo programs write their own, so the first job is matching your file to a rulebook, not finding a rare lender.

Why are two lenders calculating my stock income differently?

Because they may be reading different rulebooks. Fannie Mae's topic counts distributed vested shares at a 200-day moving average price over the most recent twenty-four months, with a shorter window allowed for a twelve-to-twenty-four-month history. A jumbo or other non-agency program sets its own history, continuance and price rules. I read the particular program's guideline and run its calculation on your statements before you shop.

Is stock compensation income, a down-payment asset, or both?

It can be either, and the two are reviewed separately. Income is the vested stock you have actually received, with a history behind it. Vested shares you hold are an asset that can be documented for the down payment, closing costs or reserves under Fannie Mae's assets topic. The same dollars are not counted twice, and unvested awards are neither income nor reserves under the Fannie Mae rules.

Should I apply before or after my next vest, bonus or job change?

Tell me the dates before you decide. A vest that has happened adds to the history; a vest that has not is not income yet. A job change can reset the twelve-month history Fannie Mae asks for on a time-based award and can change which pay the lender counts. Whether to sell shares, and when, is a conversation with your tax professional.

Does an online pre-approval mean my stock income has been reviewed?

No. The online pre-approval is a soft credit check and a starting point. Stock, bonus and commission income need their own review of the award agreements, vesting schedule and pay history, and I do that review with you before you write an offer.

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.

Sources and checked dates

Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-07, Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income (checked 2026-09-12) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-01, Stocks, Stock Options, Bonds, and Mutual Funds (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts (checked 2026-10-16) · HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (last revised August 12, 2026), II.A.4.c Income Requirements (checked 2026-10-16) · VA Lenders Handbook, VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting (checked 2026-10-16) · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a jumbo loan? (checked 2026-10-16).

Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (9)

Where the facts on this page come from
What we say, and what it depends on	Source	Checked
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-07, Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income (10/07/2026): restricted stock units and restricted stock "are granted by an employer to its employees as a form of compensation based on either performance or time" and "can be awarded as either stock or an equivalent cash value." Eligibility: "Restricted stock must have vested and been distributed to the borrower without restrictions." "Sign-on bonuses received in the form of restricted stock that vest over any length of time are not eligible to be used as qualifying income." Income history: "Performance-based awards: A minimum two-year history is recommended; however, income received for a shorter period, but no less than 12 months, may be considered acceptable if there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history, such as future vesting equal or greater than previous vesting and that will continue for at least 24 months; or restricted stock income received for the previous 5 years from any employer." "Time-based awards: A minimum 12-month history from the current employer is required." Continuance: for performance-based awards and recurring time-based awards "The lender is not required to verify continuance unless they have reason to believe the income may not continue"; for one-time time-based awards "The lender must document that income on the vesting schedule is expected to continue for at least three years from the application date." Qualifying income, paid in shares: "(200-day moving average of share price x total number of distributed vested shares (pre-tax) in most recent 24 months) / 24 months"; paid in cash: "The cash distributed (pre-tax) equal to the total value of vested shares in the most recent 24 months / 24 months"; "When the borrower has a history of income ranging from 12-24 months, the lender may use the actual number of months the borrower has received the income rather than 24 months." Documentation: a completed Form 1005 showing restricted stock distributions, or the most recent paystub showing restricted stock income and two years' W-2s; "evidence stock is publicly traded; current vesting schedule reflecting past and future vesting; 200-day moving average stock price (for income paid in shares); and brokerage or bank statement showing receipt of previous year(s) distribution of restricted stock and, at a minimum, the number of vested shares or cash equivalent"; and a verbal verification of employment.	Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-07, Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income	2026-10-16
Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide topic B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income, states four things this page relies on. Documentation: the lender must obtain a completed Request for Verification of Employment (Form 1005), or the most recent paystub and two years’ W-2s, and a verbal verification of employment is required as well; for tip income not reported by the employer, two years’ personal tax returns with IRS Form 4137 may be provided in lieu of a W-2. Income history: "A minimum two-year history is recommended; however, income received for a shorter period, but no less than 12 months, may be considered as acceptable if there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history." Qualifying income where the trend is stable or increasing: "Calculate an average income amount using year-to-date and previous year’s earnings, divided by the number of months included in the year-to-date paystub and W-2s. The calculation must include a minimum of 12 months’ income." Qualifying income where the trend is decreasing: "The lender must confirm the current income level has stabilized after the decline; otherwise, the income is not eligible for qualifying. To calculate income, use the year-to-date income divided by months elapsed since the income stabilized." The topic also requires bonus income to be converted to a monthly amount for the trending analysis, giving an annual bonus divided by 12 as its example, and notes that where a documented, non-recurring event outside the borrower’s control temporarily prevented the borrower from earning income, the lender may exclude that period from the calculation.	Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income	2026-09-12
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-01, Stocks, Stock Options, Bonds, and Mutual Funds (06/30/2015): "Vested assets in the form of stocks, government bonds, and mutual funds are acceptable sources of funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves provided their value can be verified. The lender must verify the borrower's ownership of the account or asset." The value of vested stock options is documented from the option count, option price and current stock price; "Non-vested stock options are not an acceptable source of funds for the down payment, closing costs, or reserves." When used for reserves, the full value of the assets as so determined may be considered, "and liquidation is not required."	Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-01, Stocks, Stock Options, Bonds, and Mutual Funds	2026-10-16
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements (08/07/2024): "Liquid financial reserves are those liquid or near liquid assets that are available to a borrower after the mortgage closes. Liquid financial reserves include cash and other assets that are easily converted to cash by the borrower by" drafting or withdrawing funds from an account, selling an asset, redeeming vested funds, or obtaining a loan secured by assets from a fund administrator or an insurance company. "Reserves are measured by the number of months of the qualifying payment amount for the subject mortgage (based on PITIA) that a borrower could pay using their financial assets." "Funds to close are subtracted from available assets when considering sufficient assets for reserves." Acceptable sources include "readily available funds in" checking or savings accounts; "investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, money market funds, and trust accounts;" "the amount vested in a retirement savings account;" and "the cash value of a vested life insurance policy." Unacceptable sources include "funds that have not been vested;" "stock held in an unlisted corporation;" "non-vested stock options and non-vested restricted stock;" "personal unsecured loans;" and "cash proceeds from a cash-out refinance transaction on the subject property."	Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements	2026-10-16
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income (03/04/2026): a full-text search of the topic on 2026-10-16 for "signing", "sign-on", "sign on" and "one-time" found no provision on signing or sign-on bonuses paid in cash. The topic's income history rule reads: "A minimum two-year history is recommended; however, income received for a shorter period, but no less than 12 months, may be considered as acceptable if there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history." For bonus income, "the lender must calculate the monthly amount accurately for use in the trending analysis," and the guide's example annualizes an annual bonus by dividing it by twelve. The topic does not say whether variable-pay history from one employer carries to the next.	Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-02, Bonus, Commission, Overtime, and Tip Income	2026-10-16
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts (10/07/2026): Option 2, "Paystub Not Obtained Prior to Delivery", "is limited to loans that meet the following criteria:" purchase transaction, principal residence, one-unit property, "the borrower must not be employed by a family member or by an interested party to the transaction, and" "the borrower is qualified using only fixed-base income." "The borrower's start date must be no earlier than 30 days prior to the note date OR no later than 90 days after the note date." Documentation: "The lender must obtain and review the borrower's fully executed and non-contingent offer or contract for future employment." Determination of qualifying income, both options: "The lender must use the monthly income amount in the offer letter as qualifying income."	Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts	2026-10-16
HUD Handbook 4000.1 (Update 18, issued August 12, 2026; page footers "Last Revised: 8/12/2026"), II.A.4.c Income Requirements (TOTAL): "Effective Income refers to income that may be used to qualify a Borrower for a Mortgage"; "Effective Income must be reasonably likely to continue through at least the first three years of the Mortgage, and meet the specific requirements described below"; "Employment Income refers to income received as an employee of a business that is reported on IRS Form W-2"; and "The Mortgagee may use Employment related Income as Effective Income in accordance with the standards provided for each type of Employment related Income." The section lists primary, part-time, overtime, bonus or tip, seasonal, commission and self-employment income and eighteen other sources, including investment income ("interest and dividend income received from assets such as ... stocks") and capital gains. A full-text search of the handbook on 2026-10-16 for "restricted stock" and "RSU" found no provision on restricted stock income, and the section has no catch-all paragraph for income types it does not list.	HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (last revised August 12, 2026), II.A.4.c Income Requirements	2026-10-16
VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting, Topic 2, Income: "Income is considered effective when it is determined to be verifiable, stable and reliable, and anticipated to continue for the foreseeable future. Income analysis is not an exact science." "Only verified income can be considered in the repayment calculation." Under Other Types of Income: "While not all types of income can be listed, documentation of income must support the history of receipt and the likelihood or continuance of the income for at least 3 years from the anticipated closing date to include in effective income." Its list of other income types names pension or retirement benefits, disability income, dividends from stocks, interest, royalties, notes receivable and trusts. A search of the chapter on 2026-10-16 for "restricted stock" and "RSU" found no provision on restricted stock income, and no provision on using asset balances as income.	VA Lenders Handbook, VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting	2026-10-16
The CFPB's Ask CFPB page "What is a jumbo loan?" (last reviewed January 12, 2024): "Each year Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), set a maximum amount for loans that they will buy from lenders." "Mortgage loans are allowed to exceed these loan limits. Larger loans are called jumbo mortgages. The cost of obtaining a jumbo mortgage may be higher than the cost of obtaining a conforming mortgage." The related page "What is a conforming loan?" (last reviewed February 2, 2024): "A conforming mortgage loan is one that satisfies the terms and conditions set forth by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)."	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a jumbo loan?	2026-10-16

Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.

Last updated 2026-10-17.

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.

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