Commission income is strongest when the history supports the expectation, not when the most recent figure looks good. A lender is trying to work out what you’re likely to earn going forward, and one strong month (or even one strong quarter) doesn’t answer that question on its own.
Where lenders differ
- Minimum history required before any commission is counted at all
- Averaging period, some use the last year, some the last two, some a rolling period
- Lower-of vs average-of, some policies use whichever year is lower as a conservative check; others average the two
- Shading, a percentage discount applied even to a strong, consistent history
- Payment frequency, quarterly commission structures can need different evidence to annual ones
A worked example
A sales role on a $70,000 base plus commission that came to $22,000 last financial year and $31,000 this financial year to date (annualised, roughly $38,000). The strongest-looking number is this year’s figure, but several policies would look at the two-year pattern together, and some would use an average or the lower figure as the conservative starting point rather than simply extrapolating the strongest recent trend.
What to prepare
- YTD commission figure
- Previous one to two years’ commission income
- An employer statement explaining your commission structure
- Bank statements showing the commission actually landing, matching your payslips
Next step: map your specific commission history in the Scenario Lens‘s Commission / Bonus tab, then talk with KartikKumar about how it’s likely to be assessed.