Your business income is not one number, it’s read differently by every lender.
If your income comes from a business, contracts, commissions or a mix of sources, the figure that ends up in a lender’s servicing calculator can look very different from what your accountant would call your income. Two clients with identical financials can get materially different outcomes purely based on which lender’s policy is applied.
If your business is growing
Strong business growth does not flow into borrowing capacity the same way everywhere. Some lenders/products can use a recent single financial year in eligible circumstances, useful if your latest year is your strongest. Others will average two years, cap how much of a large increase they’ll count, ask for an explanation of what drove the growth, or lean on current BAS/trading evidence to confirm the increase is holding rather than a one-off. Add-backs (non-cash or one-off expenses added back to reported profit) are treated differently too, not every lender accepts the same add-backs, or accepts them at full value.
If your latest year is down on the year before
A lower latest year can change the assessment quickly, and it’s usually the more important number in that scenario, not the earlier stronger year. What tends to matter: why profit fell (a one-off cost is a very different story from an ongoing decline), whether it was a lost contract or client, whether the business has since restructured, and what current BAS or bank statements show about trading right now. Being able to explain a decline clearly, with evidence, is usually more useful than hoping it goes unnoticed.
Shorter trading history
A newer business doesn’t automatically rule out finance, but it does narrow the field. Depending on ABN and GST registration age, some lender policies open up 12, 18 or 24-month pathways, sometimes through alternative or mid-doc evidence rather than a full two years of tax returns. Industry experience prior to starting the business (for example, an established tradesperson who recently went out on their own) can also factor into some policies. A shorter trading history can move the application into a different product, LVR band, or pricing category, it’s a policy-fit question, not a flat rejection.
| Business situation | What differs by lender |
|---|---|
| Growth year-on-year | Single-year use, averaging, growth caps, add-back acceptance |
| Decline year-on-year | Weighting of the lower year, current-trading evidence required |
| Under 2 years trading | Full-doc vs alt/mid-doc pathways, ABN/GST age thresholds |
| Company/director structures | Whose income counts, and how business debts factor into personal serviceability |
What to prepare
- Two years of financial statements and tax returns where available, even if only the latest year will ultimately be used
- Current BAS and recent business bank statements, particularly if the latest full year isn’t your strongest
- A clear, written explanation for any year-on-year swing, up or down
- A list of business liabilities alongside personal ones, both matter to serviceability
- ABN and GST registration dates
Self-employed income can be assessed differently across lenders. The useful starting point is your actual business structure, trading history, financial results and current evidence, then the available lender options can be checked against those facts.
Next step: talk with KartikKumar about your specific financials before applying anywhere.