Your accountant’s “net profit” figure and a lender’s usable servicing income are not the same number. Lenders can add back certain non-cash or discretionary items to get closer to your real cash-generating capacity, but which items, and at what value, genuinely differs by lender. PolicyMatch will never publish a calculator that auto-totals every possible add-back and calls it your income.
Common potential add-backs, and their real conditions
| Item | What lenders show |
|---|---|
| Director salary/wages | Accepted in many policies where not already counted separately elsewhere in the application |
| Depreciation | Widely considered, but several policies cap it (commonly around 20%) or restrict it for capital-intensive/critical business assets, not simply added back in full |
| Interest | Often added back only where the related debt is already included in servicing, or is being refinanced/paid out |
| Voluntary superannuation | Commonly limited to contributions above the compulsory statutory amount |
| Non-recurring expense | Potentially acceptable with an explanation and accountant evidence, but it must genuinely be non-recurring |
| Non-recurring income | Frequently deducted rather than treated as ongoing income, the opposite direction to an expense add-back |
| Lease/hire purchase | Treatment differs; some policies add the expense back only while the corresponding liability is still being serviced |
The honest sequence
Accounting result → potential adjustments → the specific lender’s method → usable servicing income. Skipping straight from your accountant’s net profit figure to a headline “income” number is exactly the mistake this page exists to help you avoid, and exactly what a generic online add-back calculator does.
What to prepare
- Full financial statements, not just a profit summary
- A schedule from your accountant identifying which items are genuinely non-cash or non-recurring
- Details of any related business debts that pair with an interest or lease add-back
Next step: see the full add-backs bridge in the Scenario Lens‘s Self-employed tab, then talk with KartikKumar before assuming any particular add-back will be accepted.