Other Acceptable Income Sources

A guide to other types of incomes that your lender can accept

Resources > Mortgage Manual > Income & Employment > Other Acceptable Income Sources

If you or your co-borrower receive income from any additional sources, please review the list here to see if it is included. This list is not necessarily all-encompassing, but it covers the majority of remaining acceptable income types for Conventional and government-backed mortgages:

  • Accessory unit
  • Alimony or child support
  • Automobile expense account
  • Boarder income
  • Capital gains
  • Dividends/interest
  • Employment-related assets
  • Foreign income
  • Foster-care
  • Housing choice voucher program (Section 8)
  • Military base pay, clothes allowance, combat pay, flight pay, hazard pay, overseas pay, prop pay, quarters allowance, rations allowance, variable housing allowance. (All military income can be combined and entered as Base Income in Section V for conventional loans.)
  • Mortgage credit certificates
  • Mortgage differential payments income
  • Non-borrower household income
  • Notes receivable and installment debt
  • Other types of income
  • Pension and retirement income
  • Royalty payment
  • Seasonal income
  • Schedule K-1
  • Social Security disability income
  • Temporary leave (see data entry instructions below)
  • Tip income
  • Trust income
  • Unemployment and public assistance income
  • VA benefits (non-education)

What do we need?

In general, the most important things to be shown and verified for any income streams during underwriting are:

  1. Stability of Income: Most broadly, you will want to show this income stream on your most recent two years of tax returns (1040’s). It should be stable or increasing.
  2. Continuity of Income: Any income source that has a definitive expiration date needs to be expiring more than three years after the closing date. 
  3. Ongoing Receipt of Income: For all income streams we will need to be able to show the most recent expected receipt of income has been completed, and this is defined by the historical frequency of payment.

Follow this link to the Fannie Mae Guidelines for specific requirements pertaining to your type of income.