How Do Lenders Verify Income? (2024)

FAQs

How Do Lenders Verify Income? ›

Mortgage lenders verify employment

Gross income is the sum of all your wages, salaries, interest payments and other earnings before deductions such as taxes. While your net income accounts for your taxes and other deductions, your gross income does not. Lenders look at your gross income when determining how much of a monthly payment you can afford.

Banks can call your employer to verify employment for personal loans. But most banks will simply verify your income through a tax document or bank statement when evaluating your application for a personal loan.

Once the borrower is ready to move forward with a loan, they're required to provide their lender with their employment history and information, including contact info along with supporting employment/income documents like W-2 forms, pay stubs, bank statements, and other financial documents.

Only a few lenders, like Upgrade and Universal Credit, offer unsecured loans for a single borrower with no income verification. Secured loan lenders, car title loan lenders, and pawnshops may issue loans without considering your income or credit.

Mortgage lenders verify employment by contacting employers directly and requesting income information and related documentation. Most lenders only require verbal confirmation, but some will seek email or fax verification. Lenders can verify self-employment income by obtaining tax return transcripts from the IRS.

To afford a $400,000 home, assuming a 20% down payment and a 6.5% interest rate on a 30-year mortgage, you would need a gross monthly income of approximately $7,786.55. This assumes you have $1,000 in monthly debt.

Mortgage lenders usually verify income and employment by contacting a borrower's employer directly and reviewing recent employment and income documentation. These documents can include an employment verification letter, recent pay stubs, W-2s, or anything else to prove an employment history and confirm income.

Employment Documentation Provided by the Borrower's Employer

If a lender cannot sufficiently document a borrower's income, they will contact the borrower's employer directly using a Request for Verification of Employment (VOE) or a third-party service.

Some lenders will verify your employment with your employer either over the phone or through a written request. Then, about 10 days before your scheduled closing, re-verify your employment. This is done to make sure nothing has changed with your employment status.

How long do lenders verify employment before closing? ›

Most mortgage companies will go through a second VOE about ten days before closing. Remember, you are borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and your lender wants to make sure you are still earning enough to make your house payment. If you are considering a job change, you should not do it while purchasing a home.

Some lenders go further, verifying employment by contacting the employer listed on the W2. Unfortunately, some fraudulent document services will provide falsified employment information when a lender calls.

Income, asset and employment verification

You'll need to submit documents such as W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements for verification. If you're self-employed, you may need to provide more documents like profit and loss statements.

Key takeaways: Lenders require income verification because they don't want to approve a loan you can't afford. Modern technology allows lenders to verify income from many employers electronically. If you receive your income in cash, you should be able to prove it with bank statements or tax returns.

Tempting as it may be, lying on your mortgage application is never the answer. Not only is it unethical, it's illegal and can lead to serious consequences if you get caught.

What is the easiest loan to get approved for? The easiest types of loans to get approved for don't require a credit check and include payday loans, car title loans and pawnshop loans — but they're also highly predatory due to outrageously high interest rates and fees.

As a rule of thumb, personal finance experts often recommend adhering to the 28/36 rule, which suggests spending no more than 28% of your gross household income on housing. For someone earning $70,000 a year, or about $5,800 a month, this means a housing expense of up to $1,624.

So, by tripling the $15,600 annual total, you'll find that you'd need to earn at least $46,800 a year to afford the monthly payments on a $200,000 home. This estimate however, does not include the 20 percent down payment you would need: On a $200K home, that's $40,000 that needs to be paid in full, upfront.

If you follow the 2.5 times your income rule, you divide the cost of the home by 2.5 to determine how much money you need to earn annually to afford it. Based on this rule, you would need to earn $100,000 per year to comfortably purchase a $250,000 home.