1099-Only Mortgage Loans

A contractor's tax return is built to minimize taxes. Every legitimate write-off shrinks the income a traditional lender can count.

So a professional earning strong 1099 revenue can look poor on paper. The work is real. The deposits are real. The tax return just tells a different story.

The 1099-only program skips that fight. It qualifies you on the 1099 forms themselves.

Typical files use one to two years of 1099s, plus year-to-date evidence that the work continues. The lender applies an expense factor — a standard percentage haircut — instead of digging through returns.

No tax returns on many programs. No profit-and-loss debates. The 1099 total, trimmed by the factor, becomes your qualifying income.

Everything else runs like a normal loan: credit, down payment, reserves, and the property itself.

Independent sales professionals. Consultants and IT contractors. Medical professionals on locum or contract work. Real estate agents. Drivers and gig workers with steady volume.

If your income arrives on 1099s and your tax return undersells it, this program was written for you.

Flexibility has a price. Rates run somewhat above full-documentation loans, and down payments start higher — often ten to twenty percent depending on the file.

The comparison worth making is not against a full-doc loan you cannot get. It is against waiting years to restructure your taxes, while prices and life move on.

Keep the 1099 work consistent — same field, steady clients, deposits that match the forms. Hold reserves; months of payments in the bank calm every underwriter.

Bring licenses or contracts that prove the work continues. A clean, boring file is a fast file.

Timing helps too. Apply after a strong year closes, and the 1099 doing the talking is your best one.

And keep the write-offs. That is the point of this program: your tax strategy and your mortgage no longer have to fight.

The stack is mercifully small. The 1099 forms for the years used. Year-to-date proof the work continues — invoices, deposits, or a current contract. Bank statements. Identification and the usual property papers.

Compare that to a full-documentation self-employed file, and you understand why contractors smile at this program.

Already own, but bought under harder terms? The 1099-only loan refinances too. Same mechanics: forms in, expense factor applied, qualifying income out.

Contractors often start with a flexible loan, season a year or two of strong 1099s, then refinance into sharper terms. The program is not just a door in — it is a ladder up.

Cash-out works here too, for contractors turning home equity into working capital. Business needs money the way work needs tools.